Ethiopian Citizen

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 — Afar People's Party (APP) released a statement today calling on the international community and the federal government to break their silence and give due attention to the plights of Afar people suffering under the occupation of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). It also decided not to participate in the upcoming national dialogue requesting the federal government to revisit the process which it said is as important as the outcome.  FULL STATEMENT === Urgent appeal to the International Community by Afar People’s Party In Ethiopia, the Afar Regional State is neighboring to Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions, while internationally bordering to Djibouti and Eritrea. This geopolitically important region that predominantly inhabited by indigenous Afar pastoralist is now exposed to unimaginable scale of grievances and humanitarian calamities due to the invasion of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and its military forces. The first unp

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 — Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces displaced over 34,246 Eritrean refugees who were stationed in Berhale Woreda of Afar National Regional State, according to a report from Refugees and Returnees Services Afar branch. TPLF launched an offensive claiming to defend itself against so-called "Red Sea Afar forces" last month. However, there were no armed groups from the Red Sea in Ethiopia but instead impoverished refugees taking shelter under the scorching sun of Barhale. TPLF's true intention appeared to be an ethnic cleansing targeting the Afar and their land which is full of salt and potash. Exactly last month, the Red Sea Afar Human Rights Organization (RSAHRO) expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating security, humanitarian, and human rights situations, as well as the safety and well-being of Eritrean Refugees, mostly from ethnic Afar living in Barahle district, Kiblatti Rasu of the Afar Regional State, as a

  ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 26, 2022 — Ethiopia's Field Marshal Birhanu Jula told Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) Eastern Command to be prepared for another round operation against the infamous Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which have invaded Afar National Regional State taking over Kilbati Rasu Zone, killing hundreds and forcing more than 300,000 civilians to flee. ENDF Chief of Staff Field Marshal Birhanu Jula informed the ENDF Eastern Command members to be vigilant during an award ceremony held in Semera, capital of Afar region, today. The speech from the Field Marshal comes on a time the heavily armed TPLF forces continued their attack on the poorly defended Afar front which they began on late December last year. Without the ENDF, TPLF terrorists were only facing resistance from an ill equipped Afar Special Forces and militiamen. "Our operation is not yet over. Eastern Command needs to maintain its honor and repeat its victory with minimum loss. You ne

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 — On February 17, 2022, leaders of Ethiopia, Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa met on the sidelines of the 6th EU-AU Summit at Brussels to form the Group of Four (G4) Nations whose goal will be to deal with issues confronting Africa. The G4, an initiative of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, was set up with the aim of supporting the African Union (AU) so that it can undertake its work effectively, efficiently and swiftly. Hence, the leaders confirmed that the group will be fully integrated within the AU. According to Nigeria's BusinessDay , Presidents of the four nations stressed the need to reinvigorate the G4 within the AU as a platform for bringing African countries closer, coordinating actions and reactions for the whole continent in a more proactive manner.  Leaders of the four nations used the 6th EU-AU Summit to discuss crisis areas on the continent with a view to coming up with practical and effective solutions. “Our core aim is to

  ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated today the first round power production of Africa's largest and the world's seventh largest hydroelectric dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), at Guba, Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State. "Water, as usual, is flowing to Sudan and Egypt while simultaneously generating power for the Ethiopian people who do not want to see the people of Sudan and Egypt suffer", said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The GERD, which is fully financed by Ethiopians and currently at 84% completion generates 375 megawatts, is expected to generate over 5,150 megawatts or 5,750 GWh of electricity annually which will double Ethiopia's electricity output when it is fully completed. He said the start of the GERD producing power is a good news for the African continent and for those of in the lower riparian countries. Ethiopia has no intention to harm anyone, said the Ethiopian Prime Minister and str

  ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 — In February 1937, on this day, Italy’s occupying fascist forces murdered, on the streets of Addis Ababa, over 30,000 innocent Ethiopians in broad day light. The massacre followed an attempted assassination of Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Marquis of Negele, Viceroy of Italian Colonial East Africa. The Italians who were defeated in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa held a 40 year grudge and launched a second invasion on Ethiopia in 1935 as per the orders of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Although Italy was successful at defeating the ill equipped Ethiopians with its war planes spraying chemical weapons indiscriminately, it did not succeed in breaking the spirit of the Ethiopian resistance or in fact inspired the formation of movements such as the Black Lion anti-fascist resistance movement. The Italian occupation, which had little control on swathes of Ethiopian land, only lasted for five years. 85 years later, today, Ethiopia recounts Yekatit 12 (Februar

  ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 18, 2022 — A Russian Navy delegation led by Major General Alexander Ostrikov arrived in Ethiopia to visit Ethiopia's attempt to rebuild a modern navy, according to a report from Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). Ethiopia's Chief of Naval Command, Commodore Walatsa Wacha, explained to the Russian Navy delegation that Ethiopian Navy was established three years ago and that they are working to build a strong and trained naval operations team capable of defending threats and further enhancing the military might of the Horn of African nation. According to the report from ENDF, the objective of the visit from the Russian Navy delegation is to strengthen the already thriving diplomatic relations between the governments of Ethiopia and Russia. "We have began building a comprehensive system taking lessons from other countries and from Ethiopia's previous navy experience", said Commodore Walatsa Wacha, Ethiopia's Chief of Naval Command.

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 — Tigrayan fighters affiliated with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) deliberately killed civilians, gang raped and sexually assaulted women and girls, and looted private and public property in two localities in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region, according to a report from Amnesty International. Amnesty International said on Wednesday, it has found after interviewing 30 rape survivors -- some as young as 14 -- and witnesses in Chenna and Kobo, Amhara region, who were held under TPLF occupation from August up to September 2021. In Kobo, a town in the northeast of the Amhara region, according to the report, Tigrayan fighters deliberately killed unarmed civilians, seemingly in revenge for losses among their ranks at the hands of Amhara militias and armed farmers.  Ten residents of Kobo told Amnesty International that on the afternoon of 9 September 2021, after briefly losing control of the town to armed farmers, Tigrayan fighters summarily ki

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 — Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives (HoPR), during its emergency session held today, lift ed the nationwide state of emergency imposed last year on November. After the Council of Ministers approved the lifting of the state of emergency on January 26, 2022, the decision was presented to the parliament today through Tesfaye Beljigey, Minister representing the government, who proposed and defended the idea to lift the Proclamation 05/2014. Tesfaye Beljigey, Minister representing the government Those who voted for the lifting of the state of emergency argued that maintaining the proclamation could hamper the nations image, exacerbate human rights abuses, prevent economic growth, halt tourism flow into the country and it could be a cause for diplomatic pressure on the country. While those who voted against the lifting argued that despite the fact that the country is not in a threatening situation as it was on November 2021, the Tigray Peop

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 13, 2022 — On Tuesday, the United States (U.S.) House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill introduced by Representatives Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Young Kim (R-CA) that requires the Biden administration to take additional measures against Ethiopia and Eritrea for the war Northern Tigray perpetrated by the infamous Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a terrorist designated group by the Ethiopian parliament in May 2021. The bill dubbed "Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace and Democracy Act" would sanction individuals as well as suspend U.S. security and financial assistance to the Ethiopian government. It would also prevent Ethiopia and Eritrea from getting loans from international agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The global NoMore Movement has denounced in a statement the new U.S. sanctions as a hostile attempt by the U.S. to intervene not just on the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia but also the whole of East Africa.