EEPA SITUATION REPORT – HORN OF AFRICA – No.242, 15 July 2022

Situation in Tigray (per 15)

Spanish missionary, Ángel Olaran, wrote a letter that was published online that criticised international organisations (UN, EU, AU…) for the indifference to the suffering of Tigray. The letter was sent from Tigray, Wukro.
It says that the restrictions that Ethiopia has put on bank and money transfers to the region mean that aid organisations and churches are unable to access the funds to provide necessary help to those that need it. He adds that 16 EU officials were shocked at the conditions when they visited a hospital in Mekelle.
He also accuses EU, UN, AU, and other foreign diplomats of inaction, doing nothing to force the Ethiopian to lift the restrictions on Tigray. He adds that suicides and mental disorders are rising due to an inability to obtain food.
He also says that teachers, professors, medical personnel, engineers are carrying out a survey of human rights violations and war crimes that have been carried out in Tigray following UN technical guidelines.
The Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau’s press release on July 14 stated that the Tigray government has an unwavering dedication to the peace dialogue with the Prosperity Party.
The press release also accuses the government of restricting fuel, and of continuing to arrest Tigrayans across the country. It says that these deliberate actions endanger the peace process.

The Addis Standard reported that the Gambella Regional Government Communications Office announced a curfew imposed in the Gambella region following fighting between government forces and Oromo rebel groups on 14 July.
Ethiopia announced that it is cooperating with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to bring 12,000 Ethiopians back to Ethiopia from countries in Africa and the Middle East. 102.000 people have returned from Saudi Arabia since March 2022.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ambassador Meles Alem says that the 12,000 Ethiopians are “in dire conditions” in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Sudan, Yemen and Oman.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced the deployment of the Election Observer Mission (EOM) to Kenya to observe the upcoming elections scheduled for 9 August. The former President of Ethiopia Dr Mulatu Teshome will lead the mission.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar have agreed to pass a bill recognizing the unified forces in the country. They are complying with the peace agreement renegotiated in September 2018.
Sudanese opposition groups rejected the proposal by the military for a three-stage roadmap towards defining the role of the military and the government. Opposition groups argue that this would provide a role for the military in a civilian government, something that they reject.
One opposition official said that “Any initiative that does not end the ongoing coup, nullify its decisions and restore the civilian-led transition will have no value”.