Latest news with #TigrayWar
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Ethiopia forecasts faster growth next fiscal year
ADDIS ABABA, June 10 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's economy is forecast to grow slightly faster in the fiscal year that starts next month, while its budget deficit will increase marginally, its finance minister said on Tuesday. The East African nation is implementing far-reaching economic reforms, backed by an International Monetary Fund loan programme. Finance Minister Ahmed Shide told parliament that the economy was forecast to expand 8.9% in fiscal year that runs from July 8 2025 to July 7 2026, up from an estimated 8.4% in the current fiscal year. A budget deficit of 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected versus 2.1% of GDP this fiscal year, while overall spending will be about 1.9 trillion birr ($14 billion) next year, he said. Despite being one of the fastest-growing countries in the region in recent years, Ethiopia's economy was held back by a devastating two-year war in the northern Tigray region. ($1 = 134.4212 birr)
AFP
31-03-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Old video shows Eritrean troops returning from Ethiopia, not heading to war
Rising military tensions between neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea have put the Horn of Africa region on edge. A Facebook video of trucks filled with soldiers has been shared with a claim that the footage shows the Eritrean army recently crossing into Ethiopia. However, this is false: the footage is more than two years old and shows Eritrean troops returning home after completing a military operation in Ethiopia during the Tigray war, which ended in November 2022. The post, published in Afaan Oromoo on March 23, 2025, opens with the words 'breaking news'. Image Screenshot of the false post, taken on March 26, 2025 The post claims: 'At this moment, the Eritrean army has crossed the Ethiopian border and is marching towards Tigray. The Eritrean army has made an agreement with the TDF and Fano forces and is on its way to Tigray to fight the Ethiopian federal army.' Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia bordering Eritrea. TDF refers to the Tigray Defence Forces, a paramilitary group that fought against Ethiopia during the two-year Tigray war that ended in November 2022 following a peace deal signed in Pretoria. Fano is a paramilitary group in the Amhara region that has been at war with the Ethiopian army since July 2023. The post contains a minute-long video showing soldiers being transported through a town while people wave at them from the roadside. Similar posts were also shared on Facebook here and here. Regional tension Tensions between rival factions within the TDF are threatening the fragile peace deal in Tigray and raising the prospect of a new war between Ethiopia and Eritrea (archived here and here). In this context, the post claims the Eritrean army crossed the border and joined forces with the TDF and Fano to fight against Ethiopia. Although the Eritrean army was Abiy's ally during the Tigray War, relations between the two countries have deteriorated (archived here). According to a report on March 25, 2025, Eritrea called on young people to enlist in the army, while Ethiopia deployed troops in the border area (archived here). However, the footage does not show the Eritrean army crossing the Ethiopian border in March 2025. Army return AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the footage. The results show that the footage was published on Facebook more than two years ago, on January 25, 2023. It was originally more than three minutes long (archived here). The footage is captioned in Tigrigna, a language spoken in Eritrea and in Ethiopia's Tigray region. It translates to: 'A proud welcome to the hero of the Eritrean Defence Forces after their successful return from the peacekeeping operation.' The same video was also shared here on Facebook on the same date (archived here). At the time, several international media outlets (here, here and here) reported on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia following the signing of the peace agreement in Pretoria, which ended the Tigray war (archived here, here and here). The clip in the false post corresponds to a segment of the original video from 2'25' to 3'25'. A comparison of the vehicles in the videos shows they bear Eritrean flags and identical banners in Amharic reading: 'The joint Ethiopian-Eritrean army is a foundation for African peace, and the unity of Ethiopia and Eritrea shall be strengthened.' This refers to the Eritrean alliance with the Ethiopian government during the Tigray war. Image Screenshots of the original 2023 footage showing banners attached to vehicles describing peaceful relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea at the time Despite the growing tensions, there have been no credible reports of Eritrean forces recently crossing the Ethiopian border.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Old video shows Eritrean troops returning from Ethiopia, not heading to war
The post, published in Afaan Oromoo on March 23, 2025, opens with the words 'breaking news'. The post claims: 'At this moment, the Eritrean army has crossed the Ethiopian border and is marching towards Tigray. The Eritrean army has made an agreement with the TDF and Fano forces and is on its way to Tigray to fight the Ethiopian federal army.' Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia bordering Eritrea. TDF refers to the Tigray Defence Forces, a paramilitary group that fought against Ethiopia during the two-year Tigray war that ended in November 2022 following a peace deal signed in Pretoria. Fano is a paramilitary group in the Amhara region that has been at war with the Ethiopian army since July 2023. The post contains a minute-long video showing soldiers being transported through a town while people wave at them from the roadside. Similar posts were also shared on Facebook here and here. Tensions between rival factions within the TDF are threatening the fragile peace deal in Tigray and raising the prospect of a new war between Ethiopia and Eritrea (archived here and here). In this context, the post claims the Eritrean army crossed the border and joined forces with the TDF and Fano to fight against Ethiopia. Although the Eritrean army was Abiy's ally during the Tigray War, relations between the two countries have deteriorated (archived here). According to a report on March 25, 2025, Eritrea called on young people to enlist in the army, while Ethiopia deployed troops in the border area (archived here). However, the footage does not show the Eritrean army crossing the Ethiopian border in March 2025. AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the footage. The results show that the footage was published on Facebook more than two years ago, on January 25, 2023. It was originally more than three minutes long (archived here). The footage is captioned in Tigrigna, a language spoken in Eritrea and in Ethiopia's Tigray region. It translates to: 'A proud welcome to the hero of the Eritrean Defence Forces after their successful return from the peacekeeping operation.' The same video was also shared here on Facebook on the same date (archived here). At the time, several international media outlets (here, here and here) reported on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia following the signing of the peace agreement in Pretoria, which ended the Tigray war (archived here, here and here). The clip in the false post corresponds to a segment of the original video from 2'25' to 3'25'. A comparison of the vehicles in the videos shows they bear Eritrean flags and identical banners in Amharic reading: 'The joint Ethiopian-Eritrean army is a foundation for African peace, and the unity of Ethiopia and Eritrea shall be strengthened.' This refers to the Eritrean alliance with the Ethiopian government during the Tigray war. Despite the growing tensions, there have been no credible reports of Eritrean forces recently crossing the Ethiopian border.
South China Morning Post
27-01-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's peace strategy in Horn of Africa is slow-going, but can it reap rewards?
Published: 6:00am, 28 Jan 2025 In February 2022, amid Ethiopia's deadly Tigray War, Beijing appointed veteran diplomat Xue Bing as China's special envoy to the Horn of Africa , assigning him the difficult task of mediating disputes in a region that was in dire straits. For two years , from November 2020 to November 2022, thousands of people were killed and millions displaced after forces from the Tigray People's Liberation Front attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. Many Chinese companies that were engaged in multibillion-dollar construction and manufacturing projects in the area had to suspend operations while Beijing was forced to evacuate its citizens. Now, three years since Xue's appointment, the guns of the Tigray War may have fallen silent, but the Horn of Africa is still torn by civil wars and Islamist insurgencies. It is a challenging role for Xue, but Beijing's approach is one of dialogue and promoting economic development – China's solution to most problems in the region, according to experts. Questions remain, though, over whether China's strategy will ever actually bring any concrete peace to the area. However, while the process may be slow, experts have said Beijing views supporting development and avoiding direct involvement in disputes as less risky and less likely to make enemies.
