The government of Eritrea has denied allegations that its military forces engaged in war crimes during the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia, a conflict in which it has often claimed its personnel were not involved. The denial issued Tuesday followed a statement from Tony Blinken, the United States Secretary of…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Ethiopian leaders representing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government met with Tigrayan officials on Monday in Mekelle, for talks viewed as a milestone in ending more than two years of catastrophic conflict in which up to 600,000 people have died. The delegation led by Tagesse Chaffo Dullo, speaker of Ethiopia’s parliament,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
President Isaias Afwerki, authoritarian leader of Eritrea, defended both Russia and China while holding the West responsible for the situation in Ukraine, during a speech marking Independence Day in the Horn of Africa nation. Afwerki, in office since 1991—a tenure that places him among Africa’s longest-running leaders—drew parallels to his…
Eritrea was one of just five states, including Russia, to vote against a United Nations resolution on Wednesday that called on the Kremlin to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” The others voting against the resolution…
In keeping with its annual tradition, China’s foreign minister will make his first visits to the African continent at the start of the new year. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin his journey in Eritrea on January 4. He’ll continue on to Kenya and then the Indian Ocean island nation…
The United States announced new financial sanctions on Friday in connection with the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, including sanctions imposed against the Eritrean Defense Force. “Today’s action targets Eritrean actors that have contributed to the crisis and conflict, which have undermined the stability and integrity of the…
Ethiopia’s government says a United Nations report on the year-old conflict centered in the Tigray region supports the consistent denial from Addis Ababa that it is engaged in genocide or intentionally withholding humanitarian aid as a weapon of war. “As the report makes abundantly clear, the TPLF triggered the tragic…
The Eritrean government has filed another complaint against the United Nations Security Council and UN heads of humanitarian agencies over the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The latest letter from the Eritrean mission and U.N. Ambassador Sophia Tesfamariam expressed frustration that representatives for the Horn of Africa nation…
The humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has reached a level of food insecurity not seen since the 2011 famine in Somalia, according to a new United Nations report released Thursday. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update warns that more than 350,000 people in the Tigray conflict zone,…
The Eritrean government acknowledged for the first time Friday that its troops are active in the Tigray conflict zone in northern Ethiopia, in a letter from Sophia Tesfamariam, the Eritrean ambassador to the United Nations. Tesfamariam wrote the letter in response to last week’s U.N. Security Council meeting, in order…
The government of Norway has condemned the destruction of humanitarian aid facilities in Ethiopia, where the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid group is trying to assist those affected by conflict in the Tigray region. “All parties must fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said in response…
Ismail Omar Guelleh, president of the small but strategically vital country of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, announced in late December he would be running for a fifth term in presidential elections this April. Taking advantage of the media attention surrounding the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit, which…
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Tuesday that a three-day window extended to Tigray forces in the country’s northern border region has expired, setting the stage for the Ethiopian military to end the ongoing conflict by force in the coming days. Abiy’s warning comes amid regional and international calls for…
Another locust outbreak is threatening southern Africa, this time with the potential to affect some 7 million people in four more countries. Botswana has seen smallholder farmers lose entire crops, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk as the country seeks to step up…
Human rights campaigners say they welcome the decision by Canada’s Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit against the Nevsun mining firm, which is accused of human rights violations during operations in Eritrea. Human Rights Watch said a 2013 investigation first found that an Eritrean construction firm owned by the country’s…