Forum Replies Created
The Ethiopian rogue army doing what they know best-Human rights abuses and war crimes.
You do not need training to be humane, only animals need training.
I can not believe that any Ethiopian would treat a fellow Ethiopian in such a barbaric manner.
The individuals in the picture should all be brought to justice once the Abiy government is removed. https://ethiopia.bz/
Ataklti Haileselassie, the Interim Mayor of Mekelle city, has resigned from his post, Ataklti has confirmed to the media, but said he would provide more details on the circumstances surrounding his resignation “tomorrow.”
Atakliti was appointed by the federally arranged Tigray regional state interim administration in December 2020, shortly after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared the war in Tigray over on November 28.
In early January, while responding to questions from community members who participated in a meeting, Ataklit became the first high level official to admit the presence of Eritrean forces in Tigray and said it was “a daily question of the interim administration,” and that “relevant military leaders have been asked to give explanations.” He told the residents that Eritrean forces were “being withdrawn from the country in a short time” and that it was “a mistake to associate this with the interim administration.”
Four months after his promise, Eritrean forces remain in Tigray and have committed atrocities which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.https://ethiopia.bz/
“We are not getting the proper information we require from federal entities, especially concerning security issues”
Although we requested comprehensive information from the regional government about the security situation in the region, we still did not get a reply. This is not right. Other institutions also do the same. They either don’t do it or if they do, they consider our institution as an alien entity. Although it maintains its independence, it has to be supported and they have the responsibility to provide the necessary support. It is not a matter of mere cooperation, but they are legally mandated to do so. However, we did not receive satisfying replies. Similarly, we are not getting the proper information we require from federal entities especially concerning security issues. The good thing here is, as our structure is extended deep down to the lower levels of administration, we can rely on information gathered by our election officers. For instance, we were not alerted by the government regarding the recent incident in the Kemise zone but we received the information from our officers in that area.
Therefore, we managed to direct them to take precautionary measures and, in some cases, to get our offices protected. I can say that we don’t receive comprehensive security analyses both from the federal and regional governments. That has to change and we are informing the institutions. Unless they do so, any disruption in the process will be their responsibility.
https://ethiopia.bz/
Accounts of atrocities in Tigray, Ethiopia continue to be reported this week, as communications are slowly restored to the embattled region.
The fighting between forces supporting Ethiopian Dictator Abiy Ahmed’s government and forces supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, who long dominated Ethiopia’s government, was declared over months ago by Abiy Ahmed’s administration, but Tigray is still volatile.
The world is clamouring for information about who is responsible for the crimes being reported. Limited access for journalists and humanitarian agencies to places in Tigray contributes to the unclear picture of what is happening there.The Ethiopian foreign ministry acknowledged last week that “rape, plunder, callous & intentional mass killings” could occur in a conflict where “many are illegally armed.”
Dictator Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea, denies the presence of thousands of soldiers from Eritrea in Tigray.
The Human rights defenders have reported on increasing witness accounts of atrocities, including a potential massacre of up to 800 civilians in November at the Church of St. Mary of Zion in the ancient holy city of Axum.https://ethiopia.bz/
MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar released the following statement on the ongoing situation in Ethiopia.
“My first trip abroad as a Member of Congress was to Ethiopia. I am also entering my second term as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Africa and human rights. This year, I am honoured to be chosen as the Vice Chair of the subcommittee. The situation in Ethiopia is deeply alarming on many levels, and I have been following it extremely closely.
“I am deeply alarmed by the situation of the Oromo political prisoners, including Bekele Gerba and other leaders who are on hunger strike. The denial of access to medical treatment is a significant violation of their human rights and is only making the serious crises facing Ethiopia worse. The Ethiopian Government must treat these prisoners according to internationally recognized standards of human rights, due process, and human dignity.
“The ongoing conflict in Tigray has led to a catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situation. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands are facing starvation. Tens of thousands have left the country as refugees. Reports come in daily of new atrocities, including allegations of massacres in churches and villages, rape, and the physical destruction of refugee camps. Their whereabouts and condition are unknown.
“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed must allow unfettered humanitarian access, and unfettered access to independent human rights investigators in Tigray so we can get a full accounting of the atrocities that have been reported. He must also lift the communications blockade to allow NGOs and other humanitarian organizations to be in touch with their staff on the ground, and to allow people living in Tigray – including many of my own constituents – to finally speak to their families.
“The Tigray conflict risks spilling over into an all-out regional conflict and could claim as one of its casualties the very fragile transition to democracy in Sudan. Our national interests, values, and basic human morality demand that the United States takes decisive steps to document the allegations of human rights violations and support justice mechanisms, at the international level if necessary. The Government of Ethiopia, TPLF, Government of Eritrea, militias, and any other actors in the region must be held accountable where crimes are proven. We must reject any narrative that seeks to absolve anyone who has committed these grave violations of human rights.
“We must also continue to press for unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, journalists, and independent and credible human rights organizations. We must not tolerate these things being carried out under the cover of a blackout.
“As brutal as the situation in Tigray has become, it is not the only problem compounding in Ethiopia. I am also extremely alarmed about the continued reports, which began even before the Tigray conflict, of the targeted murders of Amhara people throughout Ethiopia. The reported massacre at Mai Kadra, among many others, also demands justice and accountability.
“It is a tragedy to see the dream of a pluralistic, democratic, and free Ethiopia slipping away. The layers of legitimate unaddressed grievances held by so many Ethiopians have to be addressed before Ethiopia can conceivably move forward in peace. From my position as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and Global Health, I will continue to strongly advocate for lasting peace and transitional justice mechanisms that take a long view of the injustices perpetrated against too many Ethiopians for too many decades.”
https://ethiopia.bz/
Dararo, the Gedeo community New Year, is being celebrated in Dila multipurpose stadium in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regional State (SNNPRS).
According to Gedeo Zone Administration, the Deraro celebrations also coincide with the end of harvesting season.
During the festivities the Gedeo community observe “Huluqa” which represents a transition to a better and brighter future.
The Gedeo community also use the celebrations to make preparations for the coming farming season.
This year’s Derera is being celebrated in the presence of the Gedeo community, Abba Gedas, community leaders and religious figures as well as officials from the federal and regional tourism bureaus, including Dr. Hirut Kassew, the federal minister of Culture and Tourism.
Happy Dararo to the Gedeo community!https://ethiopia.bz/
The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, which reputedly houses the ark – a casket of gilded wood containing stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, according to the Bible – was the scene of a recent massacre of 750 people, reports filtering out of the country say.
By Harriet Sherwood
It has been hidden from view for thousands of years, and its whereabouts never proved. But if the Ark of the Covenant indeed rests in a chapel in northern Ethiopia, this extraordinary religious treasure could be at grave risk from fighting in the area.
International experts have raised the alarm over the security of the ark and other religious and cultural artefacts as a result of escalating conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Among those voicing concern are academics from the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies at Hamburg University, who warn that Tigray’s rich cultural heritage is “highly endangered”. In an appeal, they say reports suggest “hostilities are taking place in close proximity to renowned cultural sites”.
They add: “There are reports of looting of manuscripts from Tigrayan churches and monasteries, and warnings that they will … be taken out of Ethiopia to be sold at antiquities markets in other countries.”
The conflict began in early November when Ethiopia’s Nobel peace prize-winning prime minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal forces to attack the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ruled the country for almost three decades until 2018. Abiy has accused the TPLF, which has its own military, of seeking to destabilise Ethiopia and holding illegitimate elections. Troops from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s former enemy to the north, have crossed the border to fight alongside Abiy’s forces.
The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, in Aksum, said to be home to the Ark of the Covenant. Photograph: Neil McAllister/Alamy
Reliable reports of the fighting and its impact have been scarce due to a communications blackout and lack of humanitarian access, but the UN has warned of mass killings, the displacement of civilians and looting. More than 21,000 people have reportedly fled across the border to Sudan.Heritage experts readily acknowledge that the humanitarian crisis must take priority over protection of the country’s artefacts and antiquities. But, said Alison Phipps, professor of languages and intercultural studies at Glasgow University, “these are sacred sites and of incalculable value to the history of Christianity and its development in Ethiopia in particular.
“Attacks on cultural heritage are devastating in the context of war as they speak of the destruction of the soul of a people, of things which have endured through the ancestors.”
Catherine D’Andrea, director of the Eastern Tigray archaeological project at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, said the region was “truly blessed with numerous and varied forms of tangible and intangible cultural patrimony”.
They include monumental architecture such as the Unesco world heritage site of Aksum, rock-hewn churches and remains of one of the earliest mosques in Africa, which are at high risk of damage, she said. “In addition, there are less visible cultural treasures, including manuscripts, paintings, oral traditions and artefacts held by churches and monasteries scattered throughout rural areas of Tigray. These tend not to be fully documented, so we can’t even begin to calculate the potential losses if destroyed or pillaged.”
Despite the absence of verifiable information, damage from the conflict to the recently reconstructed 7th-century mosque complex at Negash had been clearly documented, said D’Andrea. “It appears that the structure was shelled and images from within are suggestive of looting.”
At the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, fleeing civilians have said the aim of the attack, in which hundreds of people hiding in the church were brought out and shot, was to remove the ark to Addis Ababa, according to Martin Plaut, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
The ancient Debre Damo monastery, which dates from the 6th century, is reported to have been attacked. Photograph: Tim Wege/Alamy
The ark is believed by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians to have been brought to Aksum by Menelik, the son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel, after Jerusalem was sacked in 586/587BC and Solomon’s temple destroyed. It has since been guarded by a succession of monks who are forbidden until death to leave the church grounds.As well as the potential threat to the ark, Eritrean troops were “looting everything they can get their hands on” in the region, Plaut told the Observer. “They’ve also gone through some monasteries and churches, taking Bibles and icons back across the border. It’s absolutely appalling.”
The monastery of Debre Damo, dating from the sixth century and containing painted ceilings and walls, is also reported to have been attacked.
Alessandro Bausi of the Hiob Ludolf Centre said he was “extremely concerned that unique artefacts will be destroyed or lost”. The centre is calling on Ethiopia’s state institutions to do “everything possible to protect the cultural property of Tigray”, and for warring parties “to abstain from attacking the cultural heritage and to respect the integrity of the places, both religious and secular, where this heritage is preserved”.
https://ethiopia.bz/
Debre Damo – one of Ethiopia’s most famous and ancient monasteries located in Tigray – reportedly bombed.
Ethiopia’s most famous monastery has been bombed and looted of its ancient treasures according to reports emerging from the north of the country where fighting has left tens of thousands of people at risk of starvation.
Aid organisations warned they are “preparing for the worst” after four months of conflict between state forces and regional fighters in Tigray that has killed thousands amid reports of multiple massacres. Authorities in the capital have confirmed the rapes of scores of women and girls.
International experts have also raised the alarm over reports of “cultural cleansing” in the heritage-rich region with thefts and destruction of centuries-old artefacts at historically significant sites.
https://ethiopia.bz/
Traumatised and hungry, they need food, health care and safety. Children’s protection and well-being should be a priority.
This too shall pass. Thank you Sudan for your hospitality and generosity!
This is just a single example out of the many farmer’s houses in Tigray being demolished in this way.
You do not need training to be humane, only animals need training.
The individuals in the picture should all be brought to justice once the Abiy government is removed. 
Although we requested comprehensive information from the regional government about the security situation in the region, we still did not get a reply. This is not right. Other institutions also do the same. They either don’t do it or if they do, they consider our institution as an alien entity. Although it maintains its independence, it has to be supported and they have the responsibility to provide the necessary support. It is not a matter of mere cooperation, but they are legally mandated to do so. 
Land of resilient Land of perseverance Land of fair & just Land of heroes!
The fighting between forces supporting Ethiopian Dictator Abiy Ahmed’s government and forces supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, who long dominated Ethiopia’s government, was declared over months ago by Abiy Ahmed’s administration, but Tigray is still volatile.
The Ethiopian foreign ministry acknowledged last week that “rape, plunder, callous & intentional mass killings” could occur in a conflict where “many are illegally armed.”
According to Gedeo Zone Administration, the Deraro celebrations also coincide with the end of harvesting season.
The Gedeo community also use the celebrations to make preparations for the coming farming season.
Happy Dararo to the Gedeo community!
