Ethiopia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – The TPLF should be rebuked for treating the people of Tigray as expendables (13.01.2022)

Ethiopia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Ethiopia files an objection to the misconduct of WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom (13.01.2022)

Sudan: SLM/A-AW Urgent International Communique on Sudan’s Crisis (06.01.2022)

January, 6th, 2022
The leadership of the Sudan Liberation Movement & Army unequivocally condemns the ongoing multiple criminal actions perpetrated by the illegitimate ruling military junta in Khartoum,de facto headed by coup d’etat leaders General Abdel Fattah al Bourhan and his state – sponsored Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paratroops militias, against the oppressed people of Sudan. In a long list of egregious offenses that among them witness the unceasing ferocity and gangster conduct of the state military, paramilitaries, partner militias, police and intelligence officers, ghost battalions of the regime of former president al Bashir in their indiscriminate use of lethal force, torture, rape and arbitrary arrest of unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators throughout Sudan, alongside an upsurge of as brutal wanton killing of civilians in Darfur by the same actors, to our great alarm there is now the renewed specter of famine also looming in Darfur due to deliberate government action.
The massive looting of vital food supplies in World Food Program warehouses in Darfur and the subsequent suspension of alimentary aid by the UN in North Darfur now presents the danger of starvation to more than two million people, in addition to more than two million others across Darfur facing certain death through humanitarian denial and genocide by attrition. The thievery in North Darfur was openly carried out by uniformed militias loyal to 25th of October 2021 coup regime in Khartoum betrayers of the Peoples Revolution. It was a targeted deliberately planned operation that echoes the proven tactics of the former regime of deposed President Omar al Bashir, where hunger and a purposeful blockade of all humanitarian supplies, was always a weapon of choice in the unending Darfur genocide alongside a scorched earth policy, where death by starvation and disease played as key a role in the destruction and mass murder of Darfur, as did the military arsenal of the state. Clearly the intention remains the same, to break the will of the people to resist tyranny.
As the United Nations contrary to all logic and the true situational security assessment of Darfur, ignored all of our repeated pleas not to withdraw the UNAMID peacekeeping contingent, on the hallucinatory fallacy of what was always a purely cosmetic peace process and improved safety conditions in Darfur that rationalized its drawdown, both endorsed by the UN Security Council and parallel campaigns by the Sudan Troika countries, the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, as well as the European Union and African Union; the UN is not without shared culpability in enabling the security vacuum in Darfur, by its collective incoherent judgment, that has now brought forth predictable lethal results.
As emblematic of this failure is the insistence that the genocidaire government troops, Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias would provide security for the people of Darfur. The killers cannot become protectors through enthusiastic semantics. The skewed logic of it is comparable to assigning Second World War Nazi SS death squads and their collaborationist auxiliary police, fellow genocidaires, to protect the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Because of the kleptocratic and disastrous governance of the current authoritarian regime in Khartoum, that is in practice a continuation of Bashir’s ruinous legacy, already half of the population of Sudan is food insecure. But the humanitarian catastrophe that awaits war – torn areas of Darfur, Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile state, if prompt corrective action is not taken, evokes a present-day waking nightmare of imminent mass starvation, comparable to past famines in Biafra and Ethiopia. Nonetheless; the situation in Darfur continue to be the worst and can exacerbate to become the next Yemen.
With the utmost sense of urgency we call upon the UN Security Council, the Troika countries, the EU and African Union to pass a joint emergency resolution and not suspend life saving food distribution in North Darfur but instead to take prompt measures to bring in new food supplies commensurate to the need, with an interim international security force to ensure they are not looted again. Inaction is not acceptable and if the so-called international community will sit on its hands, it too will bear an undeniable share in manufacturing a man-made famine that can result in a vast death toll. Indifference will amount to complicity.
We also call upon the International Criminal Court and all countries that practice extra-territorial law to note command responsibility for the looting of the WFP warehouses in Darfur, as a conscious method of repression and tool of war by other means, that can cost untold lives, borne by the leaders of the regime of deposed president Bashir, leaders of Janjaweeds ,Rapid Support Forces militias and their partner gangster militias, all awaiting their time in the dock at the Hague for documented past and present genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If swift measures are not taken to prevent mass famine in Darfur, the UN will be writing a new dark chapter of infamy by its paralysis that will haunt the conscience of the world, as it did in its moral and operational failure in the Rwandan and Srebrenica genocides. We must see tangible action not mere words and the UN is only as capable as the five permanent members of the Security Council allow it to be.
We urge the UN and the great powers that drive it, to act in the name of humanity and common decency, before it is too late and Darfur’s plight reaches a new pinnacle of unbearable suffering and horror. History will record whether you took the necessary moral action or turned away and aided the butchers of their own people, by a demonstrable lack of courage and humanist commitment.
As the late beloved, moral giant of the South African Anti-Apartheid struggle, our African continent sadly lost recently, Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated so eloquently: “When you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Sincerely,
Abdul Wahid al Nur
Chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement and Commander in Chief, Sudan Liberation Army.

Ethiopia: Abiy’s victory lap [and heroic people of warfare]

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali have published a text called: “Heroic people – victorious in his right hand, forgiving and merciful in his left hand!” on the 7th January 2022. This after starting a war in November 2020 and the last phase of that was starting in the end of November 2020. We are now in January 2022 and the war isn’t over. As drones and air-strikes are continuing in Tigray Region. There are reports of murders and mass-killings by state affiliates or part of the Tripartite Alliance. Therefore, the thirst for blood isn’t over and the text revels that.

One of the challenges that our country’s journey often faces is not properly completing its chapters and ending. As a result, the victories in the process are scattered throughout each chapter; Or they may not be able to achieve the desired results. Any national action must be measured by the process and the outcome. The process and the result must be at the right level and produce the right result. Ever since we started the national revolution, we have said, “Our path is inclusive, our goal is prosperity.” We have shown that peace, forgiveness and love are our core values for the path to total prosperity. Only pursuing a peaceful political path to national peace; Forgiveness of past fragments; And the way forward is for us to strengthen our national unity based on the love of the people. Let’s have a national consultation on our major differences from the beginning; It is because of this principle that our differences are not resolved through war, but through dialogue” (Abiy, 07.01.2022).

Here is trying to sell peace, which is disgraceful at this point of time. He speaks of dialogue, when his people and government is acting indifference and with no intention of talking to all parties. The Prosperity Party and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia government will not make it possible for talks or anything in association with the stakeholders, which is it’s enemies. That has been deliberate and therefore, the dialogue under Abiy will be as fruitful as the Biya Grand National Dialogue a few years ago. The warfare will continue… and civilians will die, because the Tripartite Alliance are only interested in annihilation of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Oromo Liberation Front-Army (OLF-A). So, at this stage and time it’s hard to believe from a man who has ordered and worked so tirelessly to consolidate all power. Therefore, these words are not trustworthy.

For the past three years, they have chosen violence and hatred over love; By following the path of war instead of peace; Instead of apologizing, we are plagued by forces that want to use existing fragments for political gain. Still, we chose the peaceful way to solve these problems. But these non-existent elements, apart from hatred and war, strife and division, did not choose the peaceful way. They have bitten the hand of peace that we have stretched out. When we approach them halfway through the principle of forgiveness, they flee, doubling their differences and entering a village of strife. For more than a year, our country has been at war with the terrorist TPLF and the guerrillas. The government’s first choice is always to solve problems in a civilized way. While peaceful roads may seem tedious and tedious, they greatly reduce human and material damage. It also enriches the manpower and budget needed for war. But peace is not just a matter of personal preference. No matter how much we persevere, no matter how hard we try for peace, the enemy’s heart is hardened” (Abiy, 07.01.2022).

Here is the lies of the administration. As it projects everything and all ills on the enemies of the state. Alas, the state did block humanitarian aid and assistance. The FDRE didn’t give budgeted funds to Regional State of Tigray. The FDRE sent commandos in 2018 to assassinate the TPLF leadership. Therefore, the state retaliated against Tigray long before November 2020. As the TPLF didn’t comply or accept to be part of the Prosperity Party, as Abiy and his allies incorporated all other EPRDF parties into the fold.

They are also using the cease-fire of last year, which was bogus. As the blockade continued, Western Tigray has been controlled by Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) and Amhara Para-Military Group “Fano”. They have continued to use violence and kill civilians there. So, the call out of against peace is foolish from the PM. As we are supposed to believe the man that uses drones to kill civilians as we speak. Therefore, his not the peaceful or caring about harm his war has towards others. Nevertheless, he will project all of that on the enemy, which he does so openly.

Brave people do not hate humility and forgiveness, but bow down to oppression. Winner – Conqueror, humble and merciful. Our people believe that “war is for man, victory is for the Creator.” It is good that we conclude our victory with the three values of Ethiopian victory. Victory, humility, and mercy. We must keep the door open so that we do not lose sight of the fact that we have won. With Ethiopian humility, we will end the war peacefully. On the one hand, we are showing the victorious Ethiopian arm, and on the other hand, we are showing the humble heart of Ethiopians. We hope that our victorious Ethiopian arm will not rise above our soil. With a humble heart of Ethiopia, we say our pride and pride are still open to peace today. We went to war because we could not bring peace by any other means. War is the last resort of peace. It is the ultimate force to bring to the table those who have not been able to come to war. In our culture, the end of conflict is reconciliation and forgiveness. We are a people of values, even to the point of marrying bloodthirsty warriors” (Abiy, 07.01.2022).

Here his praising the path to victory, as we know the Tigray Defence Force (TDF) did strategically retreat. While the ENDF and allies have used the sky to its advantage. As the TDF and OLA was getting closer and had closed in to Debre Birhan, which it was doing in the end of November 2021. Alas, the Prime Minister will not talk of the National Emergency and Martial Law as an effective means to gain control.

He speaks of humility, but his allies and high ranking officials is demonizing and using rhetoric, which resembles genocide and ethnic cleansing. The PP officials and aides has come out with words, which doesn’t speak of humility or any care of heart. They have come out with the blessing of massacres and getting rid of Tigrayan. If not wanting to empty the lake of all youths of Omoro. So, when PM Abiy speaks of concern or humility, I don’t believe it and it isn’t his ways. Neither is that shown by the state … which is clear with how it acts in concern with all the needs and necessities it has blocked to the Tigray region for months upon end. That is far from showing forgiveness or mercy.

Ethiopian victory also knows Mercy. We pardoned the Italian soldiers captured during the Battle of Adwa. The Italians themselves marveled and marched in praise. That is the great Ethiopian value. Today, Ethiopia is on the verge of victory. We will help Ethiopia win by working together for justice. On the one hand, we must follow the path of mercy, while at the other hand looking at injustice and destruction in the path of justice, and on the other hand giving room for correction and forgiveness” (Abiy, 07.01.2022).

Speaking of justice, how come Tigrayan war-criminals are executed, but the TDF has even sent people back to the Tripartite Alliance after keeping them captive for a while. Who is the one showing mercy and care for the enemies? Not the ENDF and allies, no they kill and arrests civilians of an ethnic group, because the state believes everyone of that sort can be a terrorist. So, it’s hard to see any mercy or humility in the acts of the FDRE under Abiy. His using historical battles to envision himself in the same lane, as he wants so dearly to be the 7th King of Abyssinia. That is very clear here. Using words of unity, but that is only for the anointed ones, as the ones in his way is getting touched or silenced. That is so clear and neither is there any signals of talks with anyone who is a stakeholder on the other side. This is why he couldn’t even care or have time to talk with PM Hamdok to settle grievances with the Sudanese Government last year. That’s the sort of fella Abiy is…

With victory, mercy and humility, we will make Ethiopia a lasting and lasting winner.
May Ethiopia be ashamed and honored by the efforts of her children and live forever !!
God bless Ethiopia and its people!”
(Abiy, 07.01.2022).

Here is his final words and he continues, as he bashes himself in glory of the recent gains. Since his in Alamata in Tigray. The other troops is in Western Tigray. While the border region of Afar Regional State is sealed off for now. While there is no signs of changes in Northern Wollo or such. Therefore, he thinks of victory and that he has secured victory. However, he has no re-entered Mekelle and neither invaded all of the region, as he did so briefly and quickly in November 2020. When he went and spent time at the Mekelle Airport with his puppet government allies, which some of them he has assassinated later. Therefore, we know the drill and this man is spiteful.

That’s why this text is for the ones that believes in the man and still praises his every move. Alas, his a liar and a warlord. This man doesn’t breath in peace or cares for making dialogue. No, he wants total control and get rid of the ones standing in his way. Peace.

Ethiopia: News Comment by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on attack that hit Mai Aini refugee camp in Tigray (06.01.2022)

I am deeply saddened to learn that three Eritrean refugees, two of them children, were killed yesterday, in an airstrike that hit the Mai Aini refugee camp in northern Ethiopia.

My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those lost in this attack.

According to the information we received, four other refugees were injured. Thankfully, their lives are not at risk. UNHCR is assisting them to receive medical care.

Refugees are not and should never be a target.

While UNHCR continues to gather and corroborate details on the events, I reiterate UNHCR’s call on all parties to the conflict to respect the rights of all civilians, including refugees. Refugee settlements must always be protected, in line with their international legal obligations.

Cameroon: A haven for refugees from conflict in the Central African Republic (05.01.2022)

In the East, Adamawa and North regions, World Food Programme cash grants are a lifeline.

ROME, Italy, January 5, 2022 – “Go get the children, we have to leave, they will kill us,” shouted Ousmane, Djanabou’s husband in the middle of the night, in December 2013. Having woken up abruptly, she gathered their four children, took the first bag of clothes she could find and got into her husband’s car. That night, Djanabou’s life was to change forever.

Djanabou and her family had no choice but to leave their home Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. On the road fleeing her hometown, cradle of a previously happy life, the muffled sounds of gunfire echoed through the screams and cries. Her husband continued to drive silently; their survival depended on it.

“We were shot at in the car, I was afraid we wouldn’t make it out alive,” she says, with tears in her eyes. It has been almost eight years since that fateful night, but she still remembers every detail of the narrow escape.

For years now, CAR civilians have continued to be victims of violence and abuses that have left thousands dead and injured. More than 290,000 Central Africans, like Djanabou and her family, have fled the fighting to the North, East and Adamawa regions of Cameroon, forced to abandon their homes, land and livelihoods.

Djanabou and her family found refuge in Ngaoundere in Adamawa.

Having abandoned their belongings, by 2016 the family were enrolled in WFP’s cash-based transfer programme which allows them to cover basic food needs in local markets. “We suffered too much from hunger after we left home,” says Djanabou as she finishes cooking jollof rice, a local delicacy with smoked fish, beef and seasonings, all mixed in a pot.

Her family, who used to be traders back at home, managed to save whatever was left from the monthly cash assistance the received once basic food needs were covered. With that saving, they were able to buy a table on which they began selling oil, peanuts and cornflour. With payback from this activity, they are able support their children’s education and health.

Djanabou was four months pregnant when she lost her husband to an illness. The mother of four ended up selling their food supplies and stuff from the small business to pay off the hospital debts.

Now, she is dependent on her 14-year-old daughter who engages in the sales of peanuts after school, earning barely US1 a week – though it’s such a small amount, Djanabou hopes to save so she can resume trading flour and peanuts, once her medical debts are paid off.

Hunger continues to be a problem as more and more people are uprooted in CAR. More than one in three refugee children under the age of 5 suffers chronic malnutrition. Meanwhile, funding to support humanitarian activities has declined significantly. In 2019, WFP was forced to cut its cash assistance by half. By November they had stopped altogether.

This risks rolling back the progress made in the fight against hunger in these regions, especially for someone like Djanabou, who finds herself affected by poor nutrition and no longer able to breastfeed her 4-month-old daughter. “With the money from the cash transfers, I could buy milk powder for my daughter,” she says. “Now that the money is reduced, I can hardly do so.”

Ethiopia: SebHedri International Civil Society of Tigray (SICS) – SICS position on Tigray’s decision to withdraw its force from Amhara and Afar (29.12.2021)

Sudan: Food looted in Darfur, 730,000 people left without (30.12.2021)

A World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse located in the Borsa area of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur State, came under attack from unknown armed groups.

NEW YORK, United States of America, December 30, 2021 – The UN chief condemned on Wednesday the looting and attacks against United Nations facilities, equipment and supplies gifted to the Sudanese authorities for civilian in El Fasher, Darfur. 

Last Tuesday evening, a World Food Programme (WFPwarehouse located in the Borsa area of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur State, came under attack from unknown armed groups.

Over 1,900 metric tons of food commodities that were meant to feed 730,000 vulnerable people for a month were stolen.

The incident followed the looting and reported violence last week at the former UN-African Union Hybrid Operation (UNAMID) base in El Fasher.

Restore order 

In his statementSecretary-General António Guterres called upon the Government of Sudan to restore order.

He stressed that the authorities must ensure that former UNAMID property and assets are strictly used for civilians – in conformity with the Framework Agreement the Government signed in March.

The UN chief also asked the Sudanese authorities to facilitate the safe working environment and passage for remaining UN operations in the region.

He concluded by thanking the UN civilian and uniformed personnel who remain on the ground under “challenging” circumstances.

Humanitarian crisis 

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Khardiata Lo N’diaye, also condemned the looting.

“This was food assistance meant for Sudan’s most vulnerable people. Humanitarian assistance should never be a target”, she underscored.

Currently, one in three people in Sudan needs humanitarian assistance – equivalent to an estimated 14.3 million individuals.

According to the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan, 25 per cent of those people require food security and livelihoods support.

An attack like this, the coordinator explained, severely impedes the ability to deliver to the people who need it the most.

“We urgently ask all parties to adhere to humanitarian principles and allow the safe delivery of life-saving assistance”, Ms. N’diaye stated.

WFP currently faces “unprecedented” funding shortfalls, estimated at $358 million.

Violence 

Earlier in the month, thousands of people took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of the uprising that led to the April 2019 overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled for three decades.

Demonstrators who made for the presidential palace were also protesting October’s military coup and the political agreement signed later on 21 November.

UN officials and agencies expressed deep concern at the time over credible reports of serious human rights violations, including the use of rape and gang rape of women and girls, employed to disperse protesters.

As of 29 December, the security situation had been restored, according to State authorities.

Ms. N’diaye thanked the local authorities for preventing the situation from worsening but called upon the Government to step up efforts to protect and safeguard humanitarian premises and assets.

Ethiopia: Joint Press Release by Tigray Nationalist Parties (27.12.2021)

Sudan: Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) – Statement on the armed militias threaten the security of defenseless civilians in North Darfur (30.12.2021)

Northern Darfur state and its Fashher capital have witnessed widespread violence and looting in the past few days, armed militias have carried out the so-called rapid support and some armed movements signed the Guba agreement on December 10 2020 by attacking a building of the Unamide Mission in Fashher and looted Mohat And then these scenario armed militias repeated one day 12 December 2020 With the attack and the systematic looting of buildings and stores of the World Food Program, these militias belonging to the coalition of the Military Council of the Revolutionary Council and its civil cover are seeking to spread the rumour of security outflows and to destroy all the means of providing food and health services to the citizens of the state and the victims of the War of the Abad In the camps of the displaced.
Exercises and struggles of armed militias for rapid support and Guba agreement movements aim to dry out displaced camps and migrate their residents, without providing the appropriate environment, basic needs and security for the displaced to return to their villages and regions. It also comes in the context of the armed attacks on villages in the mineral-rich areas and armored lands of Darfur by the same militias, in order to migrate citizens to isolate and control their lands, ensuring the continuation of the war of genocide, migration and demographic change The rescue system and its squared hospitality are at the top of power now.
We strongly condemn these armed militias and their criminal and disgraceful practices, and we hold full responsibility for the current military power and militias leaders and civilians who try to take over our people by gun force. We also emphasize that the situation of violence, looting and security breaches that these paid militias represent a new indicator of the failure of the Bulletin Agreement and the distribution of positions so-called falsely in peace in the agreement of peace in Goba, emphasizing the urgent necessity to overthrow corrupt revolutionaries and establishing national authority in cities A complete support on revolutionary legality, which enables our people to achieve fair and fair peace Sustainable by addressing the roots of the comprehensive Sudan crisis and the victory for war-affected victims and displaced people from their villages and lands.
30 December 2021