Ethiopia closely monitoring situation in Tigray: Gov't - Africa
The Ethiopian government says it is closely following the situation in its northern region of Tigray, where tensions between rival factions are threatening a fragile peace agreement.
A peace agreement in 2022 ended a brutal two-year war between Tigrayan rebels and the federal government that claimed up to 600,000 lives, according to some estimates.
But a failure to fully implement the terms has fuelled divisions within the Tigrayan political elite and, combined with deteriorating ties between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea to raise fears of a new conflict.
On Friday, residents sought to flee Tigray, Ethiopia's most northerly state that borders Eritrea, as a political faction told AFP it had taken control of the town hall in the state capital Mekele.
"The federal government is carefully monitoring the situation," Gedion Timothewos, Ethiopia's foreign minister, said on Friday.
"We will do everything in our power to ensure that the Pretoria agreement holds, the cease-fire holds and that peace will prevail in northern Ethiopia."
The current tensions in Tigray come from an internal power struggle between Getachew Reda, head of the state's regional administration, and Debretsion Gebremichael, head of the dominant local party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Armed supporters of Debretsion also took over the municipality in Adigrat, Tigray's second-largest town near the Eritrean border, ousting the mayor appointed by Getachew.
Debretsion's faction seized control of Mekele's town hall on Thursday to reinstate its chosen mayor, as well as the local radio station.
The foreign minister reproached the faction in his remarks.
"One, they are very blatantly and manifestly attempting to dismantle the interim administration using violence," he said.
"Two, they are making contact and collaborating with external forces that are hostile to Ethiopia," he said, without providing details.
The tensions in Tigray threaten to draw in Eritrea, which has a history of war with Ethiopia, adding another layer of fear among locals.
A war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998-2000 resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
Follow us on:
Facebook
Instagram
Whatsapp
Short link:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
10 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Israel kills 22 Palestinians across Gaza, including 16 near aid centres - War on Gaza
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 22 people across the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 16 who were waiting to collect aid. The distribution of food and basic supplies under the US-Israeli new system in Gaza has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory's deep hunger crisis. Civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP that the Al-Awda Hospital received 10 dead and around 200 wounded, including women and children, "after Israeli drones dropped multiple bombs on gatherings of civilians near an aid distribution point around the Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza". He said that Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital received six dead following Israeli attacks on aid queues near Netzarim and in the Al-Sudaniya area in northwestern Gaza. Mughayyir said another six people were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) alleged that the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas attacked aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed. GHF said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near the southern city of Khan Yunis was "brutally attacked by Hamas" around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT). In an email to AFP, the resistance group added that all five of the people killed were Palestinian aid workers for GHF. However, a unit of Gaza's police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed militia after detaining them early Thursday. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to reach GHF distribution points since they began operating in late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
US police make arrests in downtown LA during nighttime curfew - International
Downtown Los Angeles was largely calm overnight into Wednesday, with police arresting at least 25 people for violating a curfew after a fifth day of protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Heavily armed security officers, including several riding horses, patrolled near government buildings, while men boarded up storefronts after dark on Tuesday to protect against vandalism. Looting and vandalism in the second-biggest US city have marred the largely peaceful protests over ramped-up arrests by immigration authorities. The demonstrations, which began Friday, and isolated acts of violence prompted Trump to take the extraordinary step of sending in troops, over the objection of the state governor. One protester told AFP the arrest of migrants in a city with large immigrant and Latino populations was the root of the unrest. "I don't think that part of the problem is the peaceful protests. It's whatever else is happening on the other side that is inciting violence," she said Tuesday. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the curfew -- meant to stop vandalism and looting -- was in effect within one square mile (2.5 square kilometres) of the city's more-than-500 square mile area from 8:00 pm and 6:00 am (0300 to 1300 GMT). That zone was off-limits for everyone apart from residents, journalists and emergency services, she added. Protests against immigration arrests by federal law enforcement have also sprung up in cities around the country, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Austin. On Tuesday, in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, dozens of demonstrators waved American and Mexican flags and held signs against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency that has ramped up arrests and deportations of migrants under Trump. "You got people that are being arrested on the street by (immigration) agents that don't wear badges, wear masks... it makes me really angry," 26-year-old protester Brendon Terra told AFP. Breaking curfew The Los Angeles protests again turned ugly Tuesday night, but an hour into the curfew, only a handful of protesters were left downtown, with police making several arrests as they warned stragglers to leave. "Multiple groups continue to congregate" within the designated downtown curfew area, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) wrote on X late Tuesday. "Those groups are being addressed, and mass arrests are being initiated." Police arrested at least 25 people on suspicion of violating the curfew as of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an LAPD spokesperson. At their largest, the protests have included a few thousand people taking to the streets, but smaller groups have used the cover of darkness to set fires, daub graffiti, and smash windows. Overnight Monday, 23 businesses were looted, police said, adding that more than 500 people had been arrested over recent days. 'Provide protection' Trump has activated 4,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, along with 700 active-duty Marines, in what he has claimed is a necessary escalation to take back control, even though local law enforcement authorities insisted they could handle the unrest. A military spokeswoman said the Marines were expected to be on the streets by Wednesday. Their mission will be to guard federal facilities and provide protection to federal officers during immigration enforcement operations. The Pentagon said the deployment would cost US taxpayers $134 million. Photographs issued by the Marine Corps showed men in combat fatigues using riot shields to practice crowd control techniques at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Late Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state would deploy its National Guard "to locations across the state to ensure peace & order" after solidarity protests. Behaving like 'a tyrant' In sprawling Los Angeles on Tuesday, it was largely a typical day, with tourists thronging Hollywood Boulevard, children attending school and commuter traffic choking streets. But at a military base in North Carolina, Trump painted a darker picture. "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and national sovereignty," the Republican told troops at Fort Bragg. "We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy." California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with the president before, said Trump's shock militarisation of the city was the behaviour of "a tyrant, not a president." In a filing to the US District Court in Northern California, Newsom asked for an injunction preventing the use of troops for policing. US law largely prevents the use of the military as a police force -- absent the declaration of an insurrection, which Trump has mused. The president "is trying to use emergency declarations to justify bringing in first the National Guard and then mobilising Marines," said law professor Frank Bowman. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 days ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
International Media watchdogs urge immediate release of Ethiopia editor - Africa
International journalism watchdogs called on Wednesday for the "immediate release" of the founder of an independent Ethiopian outlet, after he was detained over the weekend. The east African giant of some 130 million people is regularly criticised by human rights NGOs for the repression of dissenting voices and has seen a surge in the detention of journalists in recent months. The country ranks 145th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2025 press freedom index, which cites "widespread self-censorship". Tesfalem Waldyes, founder of online publication Ethiopia Insider, was detained by plainclothes police on June 8 at a hotel in capital Addis Ababa on charges of "spreading false information", RSF said. He was held for two days and despite a court ordering his release and bail of 15,000 birr ($109) having been posted, Tesfalem remains in detention. RSF sub-Saharan director Sadibou Marong urged his "immediate release" and condemned his imprisonment. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo condemned Tesfalem's detention, and urged his release. The CPJ said that the jailing "underscores the Ethiopian government's disregard for judicial processes and press freedom". Ethiopia Insider's publisher also called for his release on Tuesday and defended "his strong commitment to professional and ethical journalism". Tesfalem has faced prison before. He spent roughly 440 days on charges of terrorism and incitement to violence after being arrested in 2014, with the charges only dropped weeks before former US President Barack Obama's visit. Arrests of reporters have increased recently, with three from the English-language daily Addis Standard detained in April. The previous month, seven journalists from a broadcaster were detained. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 and was initially hailed for his openness but rights groups have increasingly criticised a crackdown on freedom of speech in the sprawling nation. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
