Peace negotiations (per 25 January)
- Eritrean forces are blocking humanitarian support from reaching Tahway Adiabo district, reports Dimtsi Woyane today.
- The district is located in the northwestern zone of Tigray and reportedly controlled by these troops.
- Despite the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which provides for humanitarian access, people of Adiabo district have not received food and medical supplies yet, added DW.
- The Washington Post has verified photos and videos taken over the past two weeks in Aksum, showing Eritrean forces in their characteristic uniforms and sandals.
- Eyewitnesses also noted Eritrean forces in Adigrat and other cities.
- Eyewitnesses told The Post that as of 24 January, Eritrean troops were still present in Aksum, Sheraro and Adwa.
- Doctors in the three cities also note that women continue to report rapes by Eritrean soldiers. Continued reports of looting of food, animals and equipment, including phones, also reached The Post.
- The Post notes that videos shared of Eritrean convoys apparently withdrawing were shared, but that it is unclear whether the Eritrean troops are indeed pulling out, or simply repositioning.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 25 January)
- Yesterday (24 January), Ethiopian Parliament approved the appointments of three ministers proposed by PM Abiy Ahmed, reports the Ethiopian Herald.
- The newly appointed ministers are Dr Alemu Sime for Transport and Logistics, Dr Girma Amente for Agriculture, and Engineer Habtamu Tegegn for Mines.
- The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) yesterday (24 January) reportedly attacked Ataye town in North Shoa Zone of Ethiopia’s Amhara Regional State, allegedly killing an unknown number of civilians including children, reports Amharic news outlet Mereja.com referring to eyewitnesses.
- Thousands of residents have reportedly fled the town as the militants “burned and robbed” hundreds of houses, added Mereja.com.
- Former Ethiopian communication minister Bereket Simon was reportedly released from prison after four years in detention in Amhara region, says Addis Zeybe.
- He was arrested after PM Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.
- Bereket Simon is one of the key policy makers of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front and a long term ally of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
- The Ethiopia Peace Observatory (EPA) reported that between 14 and 20 January 2023, clashes continued between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Oromia regional special forces – and what it refers to as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
- Clashes in Oromia were reported in Gamo Waliso and Bada Gora kebeles in Liban Jawi woreda and Seyo area in Dano woreda in the West Shewa zone and were said to have lasted until 15 January.
- EPA noted that some violence in Oromia targeted civilians, naming three events where the ENDF, Oromia regional special forces, kebele militiamen, and Fano militia members targeted civilians.
- This included targeting civilian houses, killing five prisoners in Bofa, and Fano militia shooting and killing an unknown number of civilians in Serar Kulla, accusing them of cooperating with the OLF.
- Reena Ghelani, United Nations Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, visited the Somali region of Ethiopia. She describes that due to the drought, women in Birlays wait for the daily rations of water, so that they can boil and grind wheat until it is soft enough for small children to digest.
Regional Situation (per 25 January)
- A large crowd of Sudanese protesters reportedly tried to march on the presidential Palace in Khartoum yesterday (24 January) but security forces dispersed them using tear gas, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
- Another crowd of protestors marching on the parliament in Omdurman was dispersed, reportedly with excessive force.
- Resistance committees in Sudan are said to have called for people to protest the deteriorating economic conditions, as well as calling for an end to military rule.
- Axios summarises forecasts for the coming rainy season in the Horn of Africa region. They warn that the sixth rainy season in a row may be poor, while the last five rainy seasons failed.
- It notes that the drought is a combination of human-induced global warming effects and La Niña conditions.
International Situation (per 25 January)
- International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric has arrived in Addis Ababa for a two-day visit. She will discuss the humanitarian situation and the impact of conflict with Ethiopian officials and AU leaders, says ICRC.
- The US’s Biden Administration should avoid going back to business as usual in its relations with Ethiopia, warns Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Michelle Gavins.
- “Standing firm in support of accountability is an essential element of any lasting peace even though it will undoubtedly complicate the U.S.-Ethiopian relationship,” states Gavin.
- Gavin also warns that the “United States will need to assess the degree to which Ethiopia has become an instrument of Eritrea’s agenda in the region, which is fundamentally at odds with U.S. interests in a stronger, freer, and more stable Horn of Africa.”
Links of interest
ኣረመኔያዊ ሰራዊት ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሳያስ ወሪሩ ኣብ ዝሓዞ ወረዳ ታሕታይ ኣድያቦ ህፁፅ ሰብኣዊ ሓገዝን ኣፋውስን ንከይበፅሕ ከልኪሉ ።
Peace deal ending Ethiopia’s Tigray war yet to dispel fear of more atrocities
Lawmakers approve three ministerial appointments
OLA militants attack Ataye town, kill undisclosed number of civilians
Controversial former Ethiopia gov’t official Bereket Simon released from prison: Report
EPO Weekly: 14-20 January 2023
Sudan Security Forces Clash with Protesters in Khartoum
Horn of Africa may see record sixth straight failed rainy season
Ethiopia After the War: How America’s Approach to the Country Should Change
Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.
Martin Plaut 
The Holy bible says ” so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”1Cor 12:25
We all , majority of the laity of Ethiopian Orthdox Tewahedo church( EOTC), want to see a unifed church led by one Patriarch , & one Syond , as long as the ecclesiastical leaders who supported and sponsored the genocide inTigray repented and requested forgiveness both from the leaders and laity of the EOTC living in all parts of the country.
However, the present day leaders of the EOTC are still siding with single tribe and shedding their tears only for the death of christians and internal displacement of those who come from among their most preffered tribe-ethnolinguistic group.
They are not happy to entertain the question raised by religious leaders of Oromia and their people.They simply want to monopolize highest-paying dioceses and parish churches and don’t want to let others(only to leaders coming from a single tribe) occupy positions in such districts or dioceses.
Imagine the impacts of all those restrictions and anathemas are imposed on religious leaders, newly consecrated 26 bishops and 3 Bishops who consecrated them, who devoted themselves to serve their own people with their own language in their own nativeland, fatherland.
To put a long story short, these bishops of Oromia never violated the dogma ,fundemental tenets of the church (EOTC), didn’t set up new synod, and never apppointed a patriarch as opposed to the fabricated stories piled upon these fathers in order to make the defamation effective and raise the christian community against them. All is about power and territorial expansion and authorise a single leader to occupy a vast majority of parish churches to collect tithes and gifts( religious taxes) every month and during every religious feasts.
Gone are those days when leaders coming from a single tribe occupy vast majority of districts and gone are those days to brainwash people to accept only one language as delude them to believe as the only sacred language to use in the church service.
Our advice to these church leaders would to fullfill all the questions raised by these newly consecrated bishops and authorize them to use their revered language, Afaan Oromo, must allow them to serve their own people as they wish including the permission to translate and produce more religious writings in their own language. This has nothing to do with destruction and heresy at all. All questions are sacred and biblical. The group of people like socalled mahibrekidusan and others who amass wealth , abandunace and held key positions of the EOTC are leading the campaign against the newly elected bishops who don’t violate the biblical teachings and dogma of the EOTC.
We now are made to forget the suffering of our people and children and lederly people are dying lacking medicine and Eritrean and Amhara forces are not fully withdrawn. Our brothers and fathers who were serving as members of ENDF are still under severe torture and subjected to brutal murder.
Lastly , TPLF should not allow people coming from PP to lead Tigray and we want to leade Dr Debretsion as opposed to genocider coming from prosperityb party.