Statement by the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) on talks with the Ethiopian Government (13.05.2018)

South Sudan: IGAD High Level Revitalization Forum – Summary of Consultation (12.05.2018)

Somalia: Somali National Armed Forces Letter of Agreement to Red Four Security Group (26.04.2018)

ONLF: The Lynching of 24 years old Ms Taysir Omar Food- the Beginning of the END of TPLF regime and its killing squads in the Somali Territory (12.05.2018)

On the Morning of May 10, 2018 the killing squads created by TPLF in the Somali Territory code named Liyu-police in order to terrorise them as special police abducted Ms Taysir Omar Food, a twenty four year old unmarried girl and Lynched her at the Qabridaharre police station in Ogaden. After two ours they called the relatives of the extra-judicially killed girl and asked them to sign a disclosure claiming that she killed herself. The relatives who immediately took the picture of the girl with marks of the wire used for lynching and nail scratch during her struggle, refused to sign the paper and run crying to the town centre.

After hearing what happened the town’s folk took to the streets and started an impromptu demonstration. The Ethiopian army and security forces tried to frighten the demonstrators firing life bullets. Later the head of security and army in Qabridaharre called the elders and asked them to calm the people but the elders refused. Hundreds of people were detained and the town was put under Curfew.

The Ethiopian Army and Liyu-police has been committing massive violations of human rights in the Somali territory under Ethiopia for the last twenty five years and has made the Somali territory(Ogaden) hell on Earth. Although the Somali people resisted and paid a heavy price for struggle for their right to self-determination, the new upheavals that started in other parts of Ethiopia has brought a measure of hope that at least the new Prime Minister will take action against the TPLF right hand henchman in Ogaden, who was the main instrument of TPLF pogrom in Ogaden, Abdi Ilay. However, after the status quo in Ogaden was kept as before, despite changes in the Ethiopia, the Somali people started agitating peacefully for their rights. Activists in Europe and America intensified their propagation of the crimes committed in Ogaden and demonstrations started in Siti (Shinile)Region, then spread to Fafan(Jigjiga) and parts of Degahbur, Godey and in the Whole of the Ogaden where the people started expressing the need for change and lifting of the undeclared marshall law in Ogaden that was imposed since 1994, when ONLF was banned and the territory put under undeclared military administration, using the Somali regional administration as proxy.

The Killing of Taysir by lynching is reminiscent of the lynching of Ms Ridwan by the Ethiopian army in 2007, is a new catalyst for the insurrection of Somali people to get rid of TPLF special rule that is based on war economy, using the Ogaden as cash cow to rebuilt Tigray region.

ONLF Categorically condemns the Ethiopian regime that allows the criminals in Ogaden to terrorise a whole nation and commit such heinous crimes as befell Taysir to continue and calls the Somali people to unite and stand together in order to liberate the Somali people from this criminal regime and achieve genuine self-determination.

ONLF calls upon the international community to pressure the Ethiopian government to stop the crimes it is coming against the Somali people using such people as Abdi Ilay and allow the Somali people to exercise their right to self-determination.

ONLF supports and stands by the Somali people in their struggle against occupation and tyranny.

Unity, Perseverance, Self-reliance and Victory to the People

United Nations Officials condemn targeted and widespread sexual violence in South Sudan and call for the immediate cessation of the attacks against civilians (11.05.2018)

Sexual violence as a widespread and systematic tactic of war continues in South Sudan, reportedly to punish civilians who are perceived to be associated with a particular political or ethnic group.

The United Nations has received reports of attackers demanding money, alcohol and cattle through threats of violence and intimidation, including sexual violence. Testimonies indicate that women and girls of all ages have been subjected to rape, including pregnant women, lactating mothers, and girls as young as four years old. Information collected over the past week indicates that at least 66 women and girls have been raped since attacks began on 21 April, with the total number of cases likely to be much higher. In addition, dozens of women and girls are believed to have been abducted, with some having been released after enduring days in captivity.

In former Unity state, young armed soldiers, reportedly affiliated to the SPLA, allegedly attacked the island of Meer, where a number of civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were reportedly killed and injured, while others, including children, drowned as they tried to escape. Instances of abductions and sexual violence against women and girls, were also reported.

The three United Nations Officials call on all parties in South Sudan to immediately end the use of sexual violence, cease the commission of atrocities, and hold the perpetrators of these heinous acts accountable as a matter of priority. The three Officials urge the parties to the conflict to honor the commitments they have made to address conflict-related sexual violence and to protect the civilian population, and further call on the Government of South Sudan to abide by the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access they signed in 2017. In 2014, the Government of South Sudan signed a Joint Communiqué to end sexual violence and recommitted to an Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children and all other grave violations against children. In 2015, the SPLM-IO signed an Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use, as well as the killing and maiming, of children and in 2014 issued a Unilateral Communiqué on conflict-related sexual-violence. “The United Nations stands ready to support national efforts to end, prevent and address conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan and to improve the protection of civilians, including children”, the three Officials stated.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Youth League – Uganda Chapter: “Youth League decries USA’s Diplomatic Overtones on Peace Process” (09.05.2018)

SPLM-IO: “Statement from the Press Statement on the Civil War in South Sudan” (10.05.2018)

South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA): The Regime in Juba is tireless working to undermine the prospect of success of the High Level Revitalization Forum (09.05.2018)

South Sudan: Response to the US Government Press Statement on the Conflict in South Sudan (09.05.2018)

More than half a million Somalis affected by floods and heavy rain (09.05.2018)

World Health Organisation (WHO) calls for redoubled efforts to assist Somali communities in need.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2018 – Flash and river floods, caused by heavy rainfall, in Somalia have affected more than 695 000 people, and displaced nearly 215 000 of these, in the last few days.

Most flooding occurred in the regions of Bakool, Banadir, Bay, Hiraan, Lower Juba, Middle Juba and Middle Shabelle. One of the worst-hit areas includes Belet Weyne, Hiraan, in the Hirshabelle State, where more than 120 000 people — some of whom have already been displaced from their original homes — were forced to flee riverine villages after the Shabelle River burst its banks, destroying houses and crops.

As part of an immediate response, WHO, in close collaboration with the Federal Government’s Ministry of Health, airlifted and prepositioned 30.1 tonnes of emergency medical supplies to Belet Weyne, Baidoa and Kismayo to treat illnesses commonly spread during emergencies. These provisions include basic, essential, medical drugs, oral rehydration supplies (ORS), water-testing kits and cholera treatment supplies. Similar medical supplies will soon be sent to the South West and Jubaland States.

However, WHO estimates an additional US$ 2 million will be required to purchase and distribute emergency supplies to other flood-affected areas. These resources would also fund staff needed to deliver services; monitoring and response to disease outbreaks; and the coordination of all these efforts.

“Once heavy rains pour into the river basins of Ethiopia and Somalia, this spells danger for communities living along the Shabelle and Jubba rivers. The flooding has taken a toll on people living in Gedo, Hiraan, Lower Shabelle, Lower Jubba and Middle Shabelle,” said HE Excellency Dr Fawziya Abikar, Minister of Health, Federal Government of Somalia.

At the onset of the floods, His Excellency Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, briefed international development and humanitarian partners on the heavy flooding and its impact, and requested for emergency assistance to the flood-affected population.

However, the needs are outrunning the support available. “Urgent action is needed to respond to this emergency,” warned Dr Ghulam Popal, WHO Representative for Somalia. “A well-coordinated response by authorities, and local and international organizations averted a cholera epidemic last year. We need a similar response again, now, to save livelihoods and prevent the spread of diseases among an already vulnerable society.”

The Somali Health Cluster, a group of international and national agencies working jointly to improve health in the country, also called for national and regional partners to convene coordination meetings to discuss ongoing response activities and gaps, as well as to scale up the provision of lifesaving health and nutrition services to the people in need.

Flooding can trigger the transmission of water-borne and vector-borne diseases, such as cholera, malaria and dengue fever, and contaminate water sources. To respond to and manage any resulting disease outbreaks in a timely manner, health authorities and WHO have alerted the Early Warning System in Somalia and WHO’s communicable disease surveillance officers to look out for the emergence of any waterborne or vector-borne diseases. Senior Ministry of Health and WHO officials have conducted joint missions to Belet Weyne and Baidoa to meet state and local health authorities, and gather crucial information on the situation.

Urgent needs of the afflicted communities include shelter, food, health, nutritional supplies, access to water and sanitation, latrines, mosquito nets and tents.

Short-term forecasts made by the UN Food and Agriculture-managed Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) suggest river levels inside Somalia are expected to continue rising in the coming days with more cases of flooding along the Juba and Shabelle rivers.

Somalis have suffered from natural calamities and civil strife over the years and endured drought, disease outbreaks, and insecurity among other challenges. This has resulted in malnutrition, poor access to health, and prevalent poverty all across the country.