Situation in Tigray (per 10 October)

  • A statement by the Central Command of Tigray says that Eritrean and Ethiopian forces have launched another full-scale offensive in the direction of northeastern Tigray.
  • The Command said the offensive is taking place in the fronts of Zalambessa, Rama and Tserona.
  • The statement added that “indiscriminate artillery bombardments” were launched against the towns of Adigrat, Rama and other areas bordering Eritrea.
  • Sources report Eritrea has launched heavy artillery attacks on Rama this weekend, severely damaging the city. Heavy fighting is reported in Zalambessa.
  • Tigray spokesperson Getachew Reda says the Eritrean and Ethiopian armies deployed “tens of thousands of forces and mechanised units in Rama, Tserona & Zalambessa fronts”.
  • According to regional media Tigrai Television a drone strike has killed six and injured over 80 people in the town of Dongolat, 30km from the capital Mekelle.
  • A strike on the town of Shire was incorrectly reported as a drone attack instead of a rocket attack. This means Eritrean and Ethiopian troops are within artillery range of Shire, after taking over Tzada Medri, Adi Nebreid and Adi Daero.
  • The Tigray External Affairs Office accuses the Government of Eritrea of allegedly attempting to exterminate the Kunama people, who live on both sides of the Ethiopian/Eritrean border.
  • The World Food Programme (WFP) Ethiopia said it has sent the first humanitarian passenger flight into Tigray since the war resumed on 24 August to take 34 aid workers out of the region.
  • The flight was only tasked to rotate staff in and out of the capital Mekelle. Dr Kibrom Gebreselassie, Chief of Ayder Hospital, said: “It would have been human, if that humanitarian flight brought even a single vial of insulin. It came empty and went back with UN staff. Sad.”
  • A surgeon at Ayder Hospital in Mekelle, Dr Fasika Amdeslasie, told the BBC that many patients in the hospital are dying due lack of basic drugs and medical interventions.
  • Chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom said his organisation urgently needs safe and sustained access to deliver essential medicines and medical equipment to Tigray.
  • The WHO announced that they distributed their last trauma care and essential care packs to the Shire area in the proximity of Adi Daero following the recent air strikes.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 10 October)

  • The Guardian reports that Tigray forces allegedly killed dozens of civilians during their occupation of Kobo in the Amhara region between 13 and 15 September.

Regional Situation (per 10 October)

  • Seven soldiers were killed in an attack on the Djibouti army at Garabistan between 6 and 7 October by an armed group. The Djibouti military blamed the attack on FRUD-Armé.
  • In 2017, the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea stated that Eritrea continued its support of FRUD-Armé.
  • Djibouti military has reportedly followed the fleeing armed group into Ethiopia after the attack.
  • Arbi Harnet Eritrea reports Ethiopian Field Marshal Berhanu Jula is in Teseney, Eritrea, to meet Eritrean General Filipos.
  • According to the United Nations Population Fund, more than 5 million people are currently in need of assistance following gender based violence in the Horn region.
  • 180 Eritrean refugees in Uganda are threatened with deportation to Eritrea.
  • A collective of organisations condemns the Egyptian government for arbitrarily detaining and repatriating Eritrean asylum seekers, and violating their rights.
  • Refugee Platform in Egypt (RPE) states it has documented the forcible return of at least 70 Eritrean asylum seekers, including women and children, since October 2021.

International Situation (per 10 October)

  • Ethiopia will be on the agenda of the 17 October European Foreign Affairs Council.
  • High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell stated that the EU welcomes the renewal of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE).
  • New York Times journalist Declan Walsh details failed US-led hidden diplomacy attempts to stop the war in Ethiopia.
  • In an open letter to the African Union’s Commission, Tigray’s opposition parties question the ability of the AU to lead the peace negotiations, in light of the recent organisational events in South Africa.
  • They call for actors such as the European Union, the United States and the United Nations to be involved in the mediation process.

Links of interest

Twitter: Statement from the central command of Tigray

Twitter: Tigrai Television says 6 people killed in a drone attack

Ethiopia civil war: My patients are doomed to die in Tigray blockade

Twitter: World Health Organization remaining trauma care and essential health supplies to Shire area

Twitter: Ethiopia Map ENDF+EDF troops continue their advance towards Shire

Twitter: Getachew K Reda: tens of thousands of forces #Rama, #Tserona; #Zalambessa fronts

Twitter: World Health Organization (WHO) Chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom

Twitter: Dr Kibrom Gebreselassie, Chief of Ayder Hospital

Arbi Harnet Facebook

Twitter: Tigray External Affairs Office Eritrean Regime’s Genocidal Assault against the Kunama People.

Tigray rebels tortured and killed civilians in renewed fighting, survivors claim

The Situation of GBV in Ethiopia_GBV AoR [Full Briefing Note]_September 2022

Joint statement: End arbitrary detention and forcible deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers

Foreign Affairs Council – Consilium (europa.eu)

Twitter: Tigrai Television Tigrai Opposition Parties wrote to #AU Letter

After Secret U.S. Talks Fail, a Hidden War in Africa Rapidly Escalates

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