Peace negotiations (per 17 November)

  • Internal sources from Mekelle have reported that the government of Tigray is briefing the civilian administration and TDF leadership at all levels on the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and Nairobi declaration of modalities of its implementation.
  • Based on the Nairobi agreement between senior commanders of ENDF and TDF, the orientation has to be completed in five days and will be followed by the disengagement of the fighting forces, the sources added.

Situation in Tigray (per 17 November)

  • Sources state there are no indications that Eritrean forces nor Amharic forces are leaving Tigray.
  • Sources state that no further aid has arrived to Tigray government-controlled areas of Tigray after the arrival of three trucks this week.
  • Dr Kibrom Gebreselassie, Executive Director of Mekelle Ayder hospital, said that, as of 16 November, no medical supplies have reached the hospital.
  • Dimsti Weyane reported that Amhara Fano militants are ‘plundering’ the religious and cultural heritages in and around Shire, Axum, Adwa and other areas they control; the militants are allegedly killing indiscriminately as well as mass raping in these areas.
  • Dimsti Weyane warned that the ancient church museum and the rumoured arch of covenant in the ancient and world heritage city of Axum are at risk.
  • A source from Tigray reports that Eritrean forces are still killing and kidnapping Tigrayans in Shire, and that they took more than 30 people from a part of the subcity of Shire city, 04 Kebele (unverified).
  • Since the war started in November 2020, Amhara special forces and Fano militias in collaboration with Eritrean and Ethiopian forces have displaced up to 730,000 Tigrayans from Western Tigray and killed an unknown number of civilians, says Ethiopia insight.
  • Ethiopia Insight added these forces try to justify “the expulsions and killings” of the people of western Tigray, by stating that they have “Amhara character”’ and should be part of the Amhara regional state.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 17 November)

  • Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed established a national committee against corruption. The national committee is constituted of 7 members including the National Security head and Attorney General.
  • Addressing parliament, he said ‘’when corrupt authorities, greedy brokers and investors come together having large numbers of citizens lined up behind them, corruption becomes an epidemic to a country”.
  • The Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, announced in a press briefing that Ethiopia has reinitiated the partial privatisation of its telecom. He expressed his government’s readiness to engage with potential bidders and privatise 40% of the share of the Ethiopian telecom.

Regional Situation (per 17 November)

  • Forces for Freedom and Change’s Central Council announced Sudan’s military administration and political opponents agreed on a preliminary US-backed deal seeking to resolve the leadership crisis that emerged following last year’s coup. The agreement is not yet signed.
  • The parties agreed on a “new constitutional declaration” and deals regarding transitional justice, and reforms of the military and security apparatus will be coming.
  • Inter-communal clashes caused the death of 48 people in the Darfur region of Sudan, reports ABC news; the violence, triggered by an armed robbery, erupted between the Misseriya and the Rezeigat tribesmen near the village of Juguma.
  • The violence has reportedly internally displaced thousands of people, mostly women and children, to a neighbouring village of Tuktuka.
  • Shabelle Media Network reports on the conditions befalling children in the worsening humanitarian and food situation in Somalia, as half of the 16 million inhabitants face extreme hunger.
  • The article links the ongoing crisis to climate change and how vulnerable Somalia is to it.
  • Tigray Media House reported that a sudden accidental fire burned a refugee camp at Arma Kuba in Sudan where Tigrayan  migrants were staying.
  • The fire destroyed the properties and livelihoods of the migrants in the camp, TMH reported.

International Situation (per 17 November)

  • The UNSC is expected to vote later today (17 November) on renewal of the Somalia sanctions regime, after what the Security Council Report said were difficult negotiations on the draft resolution.
  • Invitations have been sent to African heads of state for the US Biden Administration’s Africa Leaders Summit taking place between 13 and 15 December; the list includes Abiy Ahmed and Salva Kiir.
  • Just Security, a US online forum for the analysis of national security, foreign policy, and rights, states that this invitation legitimises these regimes accused of human rights violations, showing US prioritisation of security.
  • According to Volker Kürt, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sudan is at a “decisive fork in the road”. He urges those in power to take into account the interests of the people in the ongoing negotiations around the transition framework and urges that human rights be used as a “driving force” for the future of the country.

Links of interest

News: Premier establishes National Committee to lead anti-corruption campaign

partial privatisation of Ethiopian telecommunications

Focus on Africa – People in Tigray in need of humanitarian aid

Amhara nationalist claims over Western Tigray are a smokescreen for ethnic cleansing

Amhara Fano dispatched to Shire, Adwa and Axum

US-Led Deal Agreed to Tackle Sudan’s Post-Coup Leadership Crisis

Sudanese official says 48 killed in tribal clashes in Darfur

Children in Somalia are dying of hunger amid a severe drought

ኣብ ሱዳን መዕቆቢ ስደተኛታት ኣምራኩባ ብዝተኸሰተ ሓደጋ ባርዕ 49 መፅለሊ ስደተኛታት ሙሉእ ንሙሉእ ተቃፂሉ።

Somalia: Vote to Renew the Sanctions Regime

Sudan: Human rights must ‘be at the core’ of democratic transition, urges Türk

For Biden’s Africa Strategy to Succeed, Prioritize Human Rights

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