Peace negotiations (per 31 January)

  • Amhara troops continue to occupy many parts of Tigray, reports a Tigray source.
  • Amhara troops are reportedly present in Adi Goshu, Ketema Nigus, Embagala, and the entire western zone of Tigray.
  • They are also said to be occupying parts of northwestern zone of Tigray including Emba Madre, May Tsebri, Tsaeda Kerni, Adi Woseney, May Dagusha, May Teklit, Serako, Sekota Silassie, May Lomin, Michara, Babeko, Bar Geza, Fiyel Wuha, among others, adds the source.
  • Amhara troops are reportedly still present in Alamata and areas around Korem.
  • Amhara forces were expected to leave Tigray concurrently with the handover of heavy weapons of Tigray Defense Forces to Ethiopian Defense Forces, which was verified by the AU monitoring body.

Situation in Tigray (per 31 January)

  • The director of EthioTelecom for the northern region stated that the ongoing presence of Eritrean forces makes it impossible to resume full communication services in several areas of Tigray.
  • Lack of fuel also contributes to the difficulties, stated the director in an interview for Tigrai TV.
  • Footage from Tigray shows the extent to which the war has destroyed health care infrastructure and disrupted public health services in most areas of the regions, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is calling for urgent humanitarian support.
  • The Ethiopian Red Cross Society had over 250 ambulances operating in Tigray before the conflict started, many of which were reportedly “looted, vandalised and destroyed”, adds ICRC. Only 82 ambulances remain, many of which are not operational.
  • Three months after the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) Agreement, aid has not been distributed to IDPs in some accessible areas of the region, like Wukro city, according to the Irob Anina Civil Society (IACS).
  • Around 50 Civil Society Organizations, out of a registered 82, resumed their operations with minimal capacity in Tigray, reports The Reporter.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 31 January)

  • Turkish Deputy Minister of Justice Yaqoob Mughal and Ethiopian Attorney General Dr Gedion Timotius discussed bilateral cooperation on justice, reports Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC).
  • They reportedly deliberated on the exchange of criminals, forensic investigation and capacity building.
  • Nine Chinese citizens were attacked and one was killed in an armed attack yesterday night (30 January) in the city of Gebre Guracha in the  north of the Oromia region.
  • The Chinese Embassy added that “Recently, armed attacks, kidnappings, robberies and other high risk incidents around the borders of Oromia state and other states have become more frequent” causing “a large number of casualties and extreme security risk”.
  • The three Archbishops and 25 Bishops that broke with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church “should do more, and we shouldn’t back down”, stated Hailemichael Tadesse, spokesperson for the breakaway group.
  • He stated that two nominee bishops that were dispatched over the weekend received “overwhelming” public support.
  • Ethiopia’s ministry of industry and the EU Business Forum signed an agreement to strengthen policies, strategies and activities of business in the country, says EBC.
  • During the signing event, Ethiopian Industry State Minister Hassen Mohammed said the manufacturing industry is one of the priority business areas in Ethiopia.
  • The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states aid partners continue to deliver food and non-food aid to war-affected people in Ethiopian regions Afar, Amhara, and Tigray using all delivery options including air transport.
  • OCHA announced that it provided food and non-food humanitarian aid to 138,000 people in Afar region, 149,000 in Amhara, and more than 2,300 people in Tigray region in the previous week. It is possible that the number of 2,300 in Tigray is a reporting error, as it is very low.

Regional Situation (per 31 January)

  • New aid of $41 million to assist the response to the famine crisis in Somalia has been announced by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations
  • The aid will be delivered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to 860,000 people in need across Somalia.

International Situation (per 31 January)

  • Alex de Waal warns that Ethiopia is in a “pattern of survival politics” as the result of a policy vacuum.
  • He states that the US and other donors that are “bailing out” Ethiopia should ensure that justice is pursued and that this is not left up to PM Abiy or the TPLF.
  • The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo yesterday. They discussed among others the situation in Sudan. The US reiterated its support for the Framework Political Agreement.
  • Sudanese leader al-Burhan stated “Everyone should not wait for solutions that come from outside the country and work to solve our problems by ourselves to build Sudan.”

Links of interest

Twitter: presence of Non ENDF forces in Tigray

Ethio-telecom Regional office couldn’t reach parts of the Tigrai due to presence of Eritrean Army

Ethiopia: New footage from Tigray shows widespread destruction of health facilities

Twitter: Irob Anina Civil Society (IACS)

Almost half of CSOs in Tigray remain inactive

በቱርክ ምክትል የፍትሕ ሚኒስትር የተመራ የሀገሪቱ የልዑካን ቡድን በኢትዮጵያ የስራ ጉብኝት አደረገ

የኢንዱስትሪ ሚኒስቴርና የአውሮፓ ህብረት የቢዝነስ ፎረም በጋራ መስራት የሚያስችላቸውን ስምምነት ተፈራረሙ

One confirmed dead among the nine Chinese attacked in Ethiopia: Chinese Embassy

News: Breakaway Archbishops’ synod says “overwhelming” public reception as it dispatches episcopate to Western Oromia

Twitter: UN OCHA Ethiopia

United States Provides More Than $41 Million in Additional Assistance to Respond to the Near-Famine Crisis in Somalia

Ethiopia is dangerously adrift after Tigray war

Burhan calls for internal solution for political crisis in Sudan

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