Abiy Ahmed depends on the support of ethnic Amhara leaders and militias whose goal is to reconquer what they consider lost territories—from Tigray to Sudan. By Kjetil Tronvoll, an anthropologist and professor at Bjorknes University College in Oslo. Members of the Amhara militia stand in a street while a soldier walks past an imperial Ethiopian…
Ethiopia’s vicious deadlock 27 April, 2021 by René Lefort The much-hyped democratic transition is not only dead but buried deep. It would need a miracle to exhume it in the near future. Last year, Tigray’s leaders underestimated their weaknesses. The region’s security forces were swept away in the conventional conflict and largely unprepared to shift…
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/eighteen-killed-clashes-between-ethiopias-oromo-amhara-groups-2021-04-19/ April 20, 20215:18 PM AEST Africa Reuters Clashes between people belonging to Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, killed at least 18 people late last week, local officials said on Monday, the latest outbreak of violence ahead of national elections in June. Political and ethnic violence has become a major…
Source: From a Presentation by Abiyu Geleta, Oromo Studies Association Conference of 2002 in Washington, DC. I. Introduction This is a brief account of major issues and outcomes of a decade of negotiations between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) since 1991. In those negotiations, there were always third…
Date: 28/01/2021Author: Martin Plaut3 Comments The background to this story is told in a BBC report. A group of Ethiopian slaves were freed by a British warship in 1888 off the coast of Yemen, as they were being taken to the slave markets of Arabia. The freed slaves were then taken round the African coast…
By Leenjiso Horo December, 2020 A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots. Marcus Garvey This article is a general summary of the conquest, resistance, and failures, betrayals, and hopes for the future. Along with these, it also points out the lack of political homogeneity…
THE GUARDIAN Global development is supported by Guardian staff Mon 21 Dec 2020 18.15 AEDT Conflict and arms ‘Slaughtered like chickens’: Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses Despite denials by Ethiopia, multiple reports confirm killings, looting and forcible return of refugees by Asmara’s forces A hotel damaged by mortar shelling in Humera, in…
Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/14/sudan-will-decide-outcome-ethiopian-civil-war-abiy-tigray/ DISPATCH Sudan Will Decide the Outcome of the Ethiopian Civil War As Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed goes to war against Ethiopia’s former rulers—the Tigray People’s Liberation Front—Khartoum’s moves will determine whether the conflict remains a local affair or a regional conflagration. BY NIZAR MANEK, MOHAMED KHEIR OMER NOVEMBER 14, 2020, 8:22 AM Members…
Curate Ethiopia Insights into Ethiopian Culture Dr. Tilahun Gamta 1st August 2020 Many Oromos wonder how I was able to write and publish The Oromo-English Dictionary (OED) in Ethiopia under Mengistu’s regime, a regime that had been openly hostile to the Oromo nation. Here, I offer my reflections on the writing of the work and…
WORLD NEWS JULY 23, 2020 Dawit Endeshaw AMBO, Ethiopia (Reuters) – The white stone house with a paved floor stands out in the Ethiopian town of Ambo, a poor region where homes are mostly constructed of wood and mud. But the surrounding fence is incomplete – a constant reminder to the elderly inhabitants of their…
1 July 2020 Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionHachalu’s songs focused on the rights of the Oromo ethnic group At least 81 people have been killed in Ethiopia after the death of a popular singer sparked huge protests in the Oromia region, a police chief said. Thousands of fans had gathered to mourn Hachalu Hundessa, who was shot…
By Reuters July 1, 2020Updated 7:01 a.m. ET ADDIS ABABA — At least 50 people were killed in Ethiopia’s Oromia region in protests following the fatal shooting of a popular singer, a regional spokesman said on Wednesday, laying bare splits in the prime minister’s political heartland ahead of next year’s polls. Musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was…
4 hours ago Image captionThe 34-year-old’s songs focused on the rights of his Oromo people Seven people have died in Ethiopia in protests that followed the shooting dead of musician Hachalu Hundessa, well known for his political songs, medics have told the BBC. Police are investigating his death. Hachalu’s songs often focused on the rights…
Bridging the Divide in Ethiopia’s North Crisis Group Africa Briefing N°156 Nairobi/Addis Ababa/Brussels, 12 June 2020 What’s new? Tigray and Amhara, the powerhouse regions of northern Ethiopia, are locked in a bitter land dispute exacerbated by national politicking that pits their elites against each other. Given dim prospects for a comprehensive settlement, the dispute could escalate…
OPINION by Michael Rubin | June 11, 2020 05:41 PM It is often forgotten that the worst dictators are often, early in their careers, lauded as reformers. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein was initially embraced as a “pragmatist” by diplomats and journalists alike. In 1991, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi…
RESEARCH ETHIOPIA: TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT 29 May 2020, Index number: AFR 25/2358/2020 The political reforms introduced in Ethiopia by the incumbent government in 2018 presented the country with an opportunity to break with its abysmal human rights record marred by extrajudicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearance among other serious human rights…
