destabilization, the order of the day

and weather 'shocks'

Hi there,

I spent last week in Nairobi for work, and I got to attend an event aimed at raising awareness for the conflict-related sexual violence that happened in the Tigray war. The event had a film screening and then a panel with a representative from Amnesty International, an international human rights lawyer, and a doctor who has served at the conflict’s frontlines.

Accountability and justice for the thousands of women who have survived sexual violence during the years of the conflict was a major theme of the discussion. Panelists spoke about the importance of preserving evidence and documenting what has happened in the region and elsewhere in the country, even though justice may seem elusive at the moment.

The medical doctor on the panel spoke about how justice means different things to different groups and people who have been harmed. For some women, it is getting their basic needs met, like health services to heal from what happened to them, after spending nearly four years in camps with little resources.

For healthcare workers in the region, who have continued working throughout the war with no pay, and face mounting debts, and legal actions because of it, justice is getting compensation, which, again, years later, has yet to happen.

All of this points to a much-needed deep dive into what is currently happening in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, from major shifts in the region’s political party to situations concerning the return of internally displaced communities, which is in the works.

To new subscribers, welcome!

My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.

Now, to the news.

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Infrastructure: mediation efforts continued

Last week’s update on mediation efforts between Ethiopia and Somalia by Turkey featured a possible ban on flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines into Somalia’s territory.

In comparison that seems tame to news that Egypt has now sent two planes filled with weapons and ammunition, ‘delivering its first military aid to Somalia in more than four decades’ according to a story by The Arab Weekly.

Egypt will also be sending troops to support a peacekeeping mission in Somalia, a role that had been filled by Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in the country stationed to fight Al-Shabab militants through various bilateral agreements.

Here’s a summary of the response from the Ethiopian side on this from a story on the BBC:

Ethiopia, which has been a key ally of Somalia in its fight against al-Qaeda-linked militants and is at loggerheads with Egypt over a mega dam it built on the River Nile, said it could not “stand idle while other actors take measures to destabilise the region”.

Somaliland has also opposed this, saying that this move by Egypt ‘risks destabilizing the region’.

In response to this escalation, the Djiboutian government says it is ready to offer Ethiopia, “100%” access to one of its ports, according to the same story.

Meanwhile, Egypt has also sent a letter to the UN security council, rejecting Ethiopia’s move to fill the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, saying that it ‘violates the rules and principles of international law’.

The full story on the impasse between the Ethiopian and Somali governments, and what impact the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia might look like for the region’s stability, on the BBC, here.

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Security: we don’t know her (XXVII)

Fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, between the federal government and the region’s informal militia, known as Fano, passed its one-year mark last month. Officials in Sudan, which borders the Amhara region in Ethiopia, closed off borders between the two countries after Fano militants seized the town of Metema, according to a story in the Sudan Tribune.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

The sources said the Sudanese authorities allowed Ethiopian federal police and army personnel to cross into Sudan after they were disarmed. In return, Fano allowed Sudanese stranded at the border to cross into Ethiopia.

The conflicts in the two countries have had terrible consequences for citizens living on both sides. When the war started in Sudan in April 2023, tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees crossed the border to Ethiopia, only to be faced with attacks from Fano militiamen months later. The UN and Ethiopia’s Refugee Returnee Services have since shut down the two camps in the region (Awlala and Kumer), following protests from Sudanese refugees on the insecurity, and opened a new, safer site (Atfit) in the region.

Conversely, thousands of Ethiopians fled to Sudan when the Tigray war started in 2020. There are around 40,000 refugees to this day, and they now face high risk as fighting in Sudan reaches Gedaref and Kassala, where they are sheltered in camps.

One of the panelists said this about the Ethiopian survivors of sexual violence being sheltered in Sudan: “The little legal framework they had to protect them as refugees, doesn’t exist anymore. The fighters in Sudan are getting very close to the refugee camps, and the international community is no longer present and they have been left behind - not just without protection but the necessities of life.

The full story on Sudan Tribune, here.

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Migration: another coastal fatality

I write a lot about migration in this newsletter, especially updates on this infamous one that tens of thousands of Ethiopians take every year called the Eastern Route. The people who take this route are mostly economic migrants and they go from Ethiopia through Somalia or Djibouti, into and through Yemen, and often to Saudi Arabia. Yet, there are many deadly hurdles along the way, including the high risk of being trafficked.

Last week, the UN reported that 13 Ethiopians died when a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Yemen. The boat had left from Djibouti.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

The deceased include 11 men and two women, whose bodies were recovered along the shores of Bab-al-Mandab near Al-Shura in the Dubab district. The IOM stated that the cause of the incident is still unknown, and search efforts are ongoing for the missing passengers, including the Yemeni captain and his assistant.

The full story, which includes accounts of previous incidents, on Addis Standard, here.

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Security: fighting between two armed groups

Fighting between armed groups in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, the Oromo Liberation Army and Fano militiamen, have reportedly killed six civilians according to a story by Addis Standard. Over 50 homes were burned down during the conflict, which took place over six days.

Here’s an excerpt of what a resident said in the story:

“When we requested intervention from the Ethiopian National Defense Force, military leaders responded that they could not engage with the militants,” the resident claimed. “They told us their only task is to protect the city.”

People in the community say that they went to find safety in the nearby forests and that in 14 villages in the district where this took place, ‘government structures have collapsed’.

The full story, which includes more witness testimonies, on Addis Standard, here.

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Weather: still ‘recovering’ from previous calamities

The impacts of the rainy weather in Ethiopia have begun impacting communities across the country. In August, the Ethiopian parliament announced a three-day mourning period for over three hundred people who had lost their lives in a deadly mudslide in the country’s South Ethiopia region.

Last week, in the same region, floods caused the Omo River to overrun its course, and displace 79,000 people living in the area. What makes this story especially bad is that the people displaced by the floods were living in displacement camps for years, due to being initially displaced from their homes by floods. The floods have ruined the roads in the area making it difficult to get essential humanitarian support to the people affected, according to a report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Displacement caused by natural disasters is increasing in the country says the report by the Commission, and preparing communities vulnerable to repeated disasters is important for a sustainable response.

The full statement of the Commission, in Amharic, here.

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That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!

In the meantime, feel free to share this with anyone you think can benefit from keeping up with what’s going on in Ethiopia.

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