Politics

Ethiopia/Tigray crises: Thousands dead, millions displaced as UN sets up enquiry

Published

3 years ago

March 5, 2022

Allegations of human rights violations against the Ethiopian government in its war against Tigrayan rebel forces has hit new heights with appointment of Former International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to head the UN commission of enquiry into alleged violations.

Report out of Geneva says the President of the Human Rights Council, Federico Villegas of Argentina, announced the appointment of the Gambian, as well as two other experts – Kaari Betty Murungi, a lawyer at the High Court of Kenya, and American Steven Ratner, a law professor – who will join the newly created commission.

Forces under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed — the Ethiopian military, ethnic militias and troops from neighboring Eritrea — are fighting to oust the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or T.P.L.F., from its stronghold in the northern region of Tigray.

The conflict in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, has left thousands dead, forced more than two million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine.

The Tigray Region is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama people. Formerly known as Region 1, its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fifth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 11 regional states in Ethiopia. 96 per cent of Tigrayans are Orthodox Christian.

Since its outbreak in November 2020, the war, which began in Tigray (northern Ethiopia) and then spread to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar, has been marked by numerous allegations of abuses on both sides.

In November 2021, a joint report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission documented possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict.

Following the investigation, by December 2021, the United Nations at held a special session on “the grave human rights situation in Ethiopia”, hearing the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights warn that increasing hatred, violence and discrimination could escalate into generalised violence, and urge all parties to reassess the damage being done to the nation, and to pull back from a posture of war.

The Commission will be required to provide an oral update on its work during the fiftieth session of the Human Rights Council in June 2022 and a written report at the following session in September.

Related Topics:Ethiopia Featured Tigray United Nations

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Politics

Ivory Coast: Ex-minister challenges ex-Credit Suisse boss Thiam for presidency

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Jean-Louis Billon, the former commerce minister of Ivory Coast, announced on Friday that he would challenge party head and former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, for the opposition PDCI party’s candidacy in the country’s 2025 presidential election.

The PDCI party, which dominated Ivory Coast from independence until the late 1990s but has had difficulty regaining power because of internal strife, may become even more divided due to Billon’s choice to run.

Thiam just won the PDCI leadership contest and returned to the country that produces the most cocoa worldwide.

His triumph stoked rumours that he may challenge or succeed President Alassane Ouattara. Neither man has made an official announcement about his plans.

Historically, the PDCI’s presidential candidate has been the organization’s leader.

The 59-year-old Billon was Ouattara’s trade minister and the former head of SIFCA, Ivory Coast’s leading agro-industrial organisation. In order to fairly choose the party’s presidential candidate, he demanded that a PDCI convention be held.

“I hope that this convention will be democratic, honest, and transparent, with no tricks or favouritism, no violence, and free from any tribal bias,” Billon said in a statement

Politics

Sources suggest Sahel jihadis finding safety in Ghana

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to seven sources cited by Reuters, Islamist militants in Burkina Faso are covertly utilising Ghana’s north as a medical and logistical rear camp to maintain their insurgency. This could allow them to increase their presence in West Africa.

According to the sources, which include regional diplomats and Ghanaian security officials, Ghanaian authorities seem to be largely ignoring the insurgents who are crossing over from neighbouring Burkina Faso to obtain food, fuel, and even explosives, as well as to receive medical attention for wounded fighters.

However, they said that strategy runs the risk of enabling terrorists to establish themselves in Ghana and recruit in some marginalised local areas, even though it has so far spared the country from the kind of devastating Islamist attacks that have afflicted its neighbours.

Ghana and Burkina Faso, which is at the centre of an insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and, according to some experts, made the Sahel region the epicentre of global terrorism as groups loyal to al Qaeda and Islamic State increase their presence, share a 600-kilometre (372-mile) border.

With the rise of JNIM, a pro-al Qaeda organisation, Burkina Faso has lost control of more than half of its territory. This week, a JNIM senior told French station RFI that the organization’s goal was to expand into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has not experienced a significant attack.

Ghana’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Boniface Gambila Adagbila, told Reuters that the militants were exploiting Ghana’s open borders and viewed the country as a “haven.”

However, he refuted claims that the government had inadvertently reached a non-aggression pact with the jihadists.

According to him, Ghana and Burkina Faso were collaborating to “flush them out”.

Since the beginning of October, attacks on companies have resulted in at least three fatalities and four injuries, according to an official.