Dear friends,
This newsletter focuses on sexual violence in the Tigray war and the upcoming famine (section 1), as well as never-ending massacres (2). We also point to local initiatives organising humanitarian assistance to Tigray (3). There is additional news from Tigray’s universities (4), with Dr. Fana Hagos as new president for Mekelle University, and the restart of universities in dire conditions. The digest also contains some links to relevant opinion pieces (5) and media articles (6).
Dr. Abadi Girmay, the new Head of Tigray’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tigray interim administration, appointed by PM Abiy Ahmed, was interviewed by Fana, a government TV: “Unprecedented migration, death, and famine unseen in this nation are coming to Tigray”. TGHAT has translated the interview to English.
(To be contrasted with this one: Fana BC, 16 April 2021: No one dies from hunger in Tigray: Commission)
- The Economist, 22 April: Daily chart – Tigray is edging closer to famine
- CARE, 19 April: Worries rise for Tigray residents’ longer-term safety
- Byline Times, 22 April: Under the Thumb of the Military – Mass Starvation Returns to Ethiopia
CBS News has interviewed AP journalist Cara Anna on sexual violence in Tigray, the communication black-out and the reactions from the international community.
See also her latest article: ‘Look after my babies’: In Ethiopia, a Tigray family’s quest (23 April)
- Al Jazeera, 21 April: ‘A Tigrayan womb should never give birth’: Rape in Tigray
- Reuters, 16 April: Health official alleges ‘sexual slavery’ in Tigray
- Al Jazeera, 15 April: Top Ethiopia health official alleges ‘sexual slavery’ in Tigray
- AFP, 22 April: Red Cross condemns ‘horrific’ sexual violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray
News came through that in the village of Awulo (Tabiya Mika’el Abiy, southeast of Hagere Selam) a massacre took place on 1 February 2021. Awulo is a remote village, but we know it quite well as we have been involved in several projects with the local community, particularly the development of ecosystem services in the Chelaqo exclosure that is located along the escarpment below Awulo. Also in the Selam Seret school, located in this village, the School WatSani project had constructed an ecological toilet building (“Ecosan”) and gave related training and sensibilisation. This was just our small contribution to the wider Tigray and Tembien dynamism that existed before the war. The news of the Awulo massacre trickled out very slowly, because until now, there is telephone blackout in most of Tembien.
On February 1, the Eritrean army came to Awulo, which is located at the end of a rural access road. The soldiers could drive up to the school and started searching for the TPLF leaders and/or TDF fighters, while engaging in the difficult terrain downslope from the village. There are many limestone cliffs and other slopes of over 50% steep, and the bushlands are full of thorny shrubs such as ቆንጠፍጠፎ(qontaftafo – Pterolobium stellatum) with recurved thorns in which one may get trapped. When the Eritrean soldiers finally came back to the village, without finding the people they were looking for, they started a killing spree in the village. Twenty-four people were shot dead and numerous others were wounded. A witness said: “as they couldn’t find the TDF fighters in the በረኻ [berekha, wildlands], they had to kill civilians as a revenge for their tiredness”. Most of the victims are mentioned with their names on the inventory held by TGHAT (https://www.tghat.com/victim-list/).
More on massacres in Tigray:
- AFP, 13 April: Eritrean Troops Injure 19 In Tigray Shooting: Doctors, Witnesses
- Amnesty International, 14 April: Ethiopia: Three killed, 19 injured in Tigray as Eritrean troops open fire on civilians
- Reuters, 14 April: Eritrean soldiers kill nine civilians in Tigray, Ethiopian regional official says
- Associated Press, 15 April: Amnesty: Eritrean troops still killing in Ethiopia’s Tigray
- Corriere Nazionale, 21 April: Etiopia: identificate quasi 2mila vittime nel Tigray[in Italian]
- NPO Radio 1, 22 April: Hulporganisaties luiden noodklok over oorlog in Tigray [in Dutch]
Yet, after so many “concerns” over Tigray, expressed by international organisations and diplomats, this shocking news comes in right today: Ethiopia signs $907 mln financing pact with World Bank…
Earlier on, this newsletter mentioned the initiatives taken by Caritas International. Many other international organisations and local NGOs also are working to the best of their capacity, but here we would like to highlight some citizen initiatives who have demonstrated their capacity to deliver aid to the most needy, including those in remote rural places:
- Food support for Degamba: https://degambaschool.wixsite.com/degamba/reisen-bilder [in German]
- Belgo-Ethiopian EthioTrees v.z.w. organises direct financial support for the poorest of the poor in Tembien (Tigray): https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-for-farmers-in-tembien [in English]
- The Nuremberg-based non-profit Hawelti e.V. organises direct financial support for those in need in the Aksum area: www.hawelti.de [in German]
- Association Tesfay in Liège (Belgium): food aid and support to vulnerable families in Mekelle and Eastern Tigray: www.tesfay.be [in French, Dutch and English]
- The Tigrayan diaspora is also collecting and sending money
Mekelle University
Dr Fana Hagos has become the new president of Mekelle University, in replacement of interim president Prof. Fetien Abay and the former president Prof. Kindeya Gebrehiwot.
Prof. Haftu Berhe and Dr. Fana were nominated for the position, and Dr. Fana has beenappointed. Dr. Fana belongs to MU’s Department of Law. She was the President of the Higher Court of Tigray. Last September, she made headlines, when swearing in Tigray’s elected president DebretsionGebremichael: https://youtu.be/YA_PWCdewC8?t=3001
See also:
- Addis Standard, 15 April: Fana Hagos, former President of Tigray Supreme Court appointed as President of Mekelle University
Mekelle University is now preparing to receive first year’s students. According to official data, there will be a high number of students from other parts of Ethiopia. These students may fill gaps left by Tigrayan students and may simply not be aware of the severity of the war conditions in Tigray.
Aksum and Adigrat Universities
Aksum and Adigrat Universities have registered all but the first year’s students. Bothuniversities had to prioritise on buying mattresses for the students’ dormitories, as those largely had been largely looted by the Eritrean soldiers. In addition to this, there are no computers, books, printers, LCD projectors, or any other facilities. Adigrat University has purchased some basic materials such as stationary. Reportedly, the campuses “look like refugee camps”. A faculty dean of one of the universities mentions that “we are not ready at all, but the Ethiopian government wants us toshow that things are going back to normal. Many Tigrayan students are absent while students from other parts of Ethiopia travel here and seem to be convinced or convince themselves that Tigray is peaceful again”. According to this faculty dean, about 90% of the absent students are Tigrayans. They particularly fear for the conditions along the roads in Tigray: young men are randomly killed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, while women are at risk of being raped and abducted.
- Tewodros Tsegaye: Bait and switch diplomacy: Abiy and Isaias’s two-act drama
- Kjetil Tronvoll: Why peace will be elusive in Ethiopia’s civil war in Tigray
- Fassil Hailu: Reasons the international community is unable to end the war in Tigray
- Zitto Kabwe: What Ethiopia needs is a UN probe into genocide in Tigray
- Alex De Waal: Switch Tigray’s Internet Back On
- Mesfin Hagos: The Tale of Eritrean Withdrawal from Tigray: But Where is the Border?
- Al Jazeera: William Davison on Eritrea’s withdrawal announcement
- Reuters, 23 April: U.N. Security Council, for first time, declares concern about Ethiopia’s Tigray
- VoA, 22 April: UN Security Council Calls for More Aid Access to Ethiopia’s Tigray
- ABC News, 20 April: US raising alarm over ‘deteriorating’ humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region
- Médiapart, 7 April: «La responsabilité de la France est engagée dans des crimes de guerre» [in French – à partir de la 27ème minute, cela concerne le Tigray]
- The New York Times, 15 April 2021: Eritrean Troops Continue to Commit Atrocities in Tigray, U.N. Says
- Africa Confidential, 15 April 2021: Eritrea entrenches in Tigray
- The Economist, 15 April 2021: Blowing in the wind – The war in Tigray is taking a frightful human toll – It is also rattling Ethiopia’s economy
- Reuters, 16 April 2021: Eritrea Admits Presence in Ethiopia’s Tigray, Tells UN It Is Withdrawing
- Euractiv, 20 April: EU set to send election observers to Ethiopia despite Tigray conflict
- EUobserver, 21 April: Interview Pekka Haavisto – ‘Dire’ suffering continues in Ethiopia war, EU envoy says
- Washington Post, 15 April: UN: Tigray’s humanitarian crisis worsens, no Eritrean exit
- NPR, 20 April: Updates On The Conflict In Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
- Overt Defense, 21 April: Tigray Rebels Down Government Helicopter in Embattled Ethiopian Province
- Elsewhere in Ethiopia
- Addis Standard, 20 April: Protests happening in multiple cities in Amhara region denouncing reports of targeted attacks against Amhara community
- Reuters, 20 April: Eighteen killed in clashes between Ethiopia’s Oromo, Amhara groups
- Sudan Tribune, 20 April: Sudan refers GERD issue to UN Security Council
- RFI, 21 April: Un nouveau front en Éthiopie entre Amharas et Oromos [in French]
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Jan Nyssen
Professor of Physical Geography
Department of Geography
Ghent University
Belgium
(0032) 9 264 46 23
http://geoweb.ugent.be/staff/802000198480
My 5-min Q&A interview on The World radio: Counting the victims in Tigray (2 April 2021)
