Situation in Ethiopia (per 10 August)

  • The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have pushed the Fano militia out of Bahir Dar, Gondar, Debre Markos, Debre Berhan, Lalibela and Shewa Robit. Residents appear to confirm this.
  • ENDF is reported to have used drones in their Amhara operations.
  • A Bahir Dar resident states that it is quiet in Bahir Dar today and that the ENDF is doing door-to-door checks.
  • Ethiopian Airlines announced it is ending the suspension of flights to the Amhara region.
  • Residents of Lalibela warn that the ENDF has set up artillery on mount olive, very close to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela which are on the World Heritage List. Residents are afraid that especially the churches named bete Emanuel, bete Merkorious and bete Abba Libanos could face damage.
  • All regional states of Ethiopia except Tigray have expressed support to ENDF in the fighting against Fano. They described Fano as “extremists”. Tigray has not issued any statement in favour or against the war in Amhara.
  • The Ethiopian Parliament will hold an emergency meeting next Monday August 14.
  • Tagesse Chaffo, the speaker, called members back from recess yesterday to approve the state of emergency declared in the Amhara region last week. The state of emergency needs to be approved by parliament within two weeks to remain in place.
  • The World Food Programme (WFP) has started testing small-scale distribution of food aid in some areas in Ethiopia, after stopping it entirely almost 5 months ago due to large-scale aid diversion. USAID has not yet resumed aid distribution.
  • WFP has started delivering wheat to around 100.000 people in the Tigray region. Humanitarian organisations warn that hundreds continue to die due to hunger in the Tigray region.
  • New measures include digital registration of beneficiaries, marking food aid, a feedback hotline system and training of aid partners.
  • The resumption should not be interpreted as a resumption of food aid, but a resumption of the safety net programme, which involves an obligation of individuals participating in public work activities, states Gebrehiwot Gebregzabher, Commissioner of the Disaster Risk Management Commission of Tigray.
  • WFP acknowledges that the Ethiopian government, one of the parties accused of participating in the diversion, still plays a role in the distribution of aid.

Situation in Sudan (per 10 August)

  • Heavy bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces were reported in battles to take a bridge from Omdurman to Bahri and Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) control.
  • Heavy battles have been taking place in the streets of Omdurman, with the Al-Nau hospital reporting an influx of wounded civilians. An unknown number of civilians have been killed; a hospital official stated that at least 33 people were killed from Monday to Tuesday.
  • The fighting is reported to take place mostly in the old neighbourhoods of Omdurman, with civilians trying to flee to the suburbs for cover.
  • Aid workers say that thousands of bodies are left on the streets as the morgues in Khartoum have reached a breaking point. The morgues are also coping with a lack of electricity for refrigeration.
  • Ugandan officials found weapons and ammunition on a flight from the United Arab Emirates on 2 June 2023, states the WSJ. The shipment was allowed to continue to Chad. Officials state that the UAE is supplying the weapons to RSF in Sudan via Chad.
  • The flight documents falsely stated that the plane was carrying humanitarian aid sent by the UAE to Sudan. Ugandan officials were told by their superiors to stop inspecting flights from passing through from the UAE, and dozens more have since passed uninspected.

Situation in Eritrea (per 10 August)

  • Special Rapporteur on Eritrea Mohamed Babiker circulated a report following outbreaks of violence and protests at Eritrean festivals in Sweden and other locations, stating that most Eritreans flee due to the compulsory and indefinite national service in Eritrea.
  • Babiker states he has received numerous credible reports of grave human rights violations in the context of the national service, and that Eritrea has refused calls to abide by legal limits on the duration of the national service.
  • Draft evaders and their families face severe punishment. Babiker states he received reports that family members of draft evaders in seven villages were “tortured, evicted from their homes and had their farming equipment, livestock, grain and vegetables confiscated” in August 2022.
  • Young Eritreans are desperate to fight back against the Eritrean authorities organising dinners and festivals due to the suffering that they and their families have gone through for decades, explained an Eritrean woman to Canadian news.

Regional Situation (per 10 August)

  • At least six people were killed and 12 injured in a roadside explosion of a minibus in Southern Somalia.

International Situation (per 10 August)

  • The UN Security Council (UNSC) met to discuss Sudan and South Sudan yesterday on request of the UK.
  • Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan Volker Perthes was set to brief the UNSC, but was replaced by the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa as Sudan threatened to expel the UN mission to Sudan, UNITAMS, if Perthes spoke.
  • US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield referred to the threat as “unacceptable”.
  • The UNSC was briefed about conflict-related sexual violence “on a sickening scale”, and ongoing fighting in Bahri, Khartoum, Omdurman and Darfur, with neither side making significant gains.
  • UN speakers urged for international and regional coordination on a renewed mediation effort and for full funding of the humanitarian response plan.
  • Sudan’s neighbouring countries which met in Chad on 6 and 7 August call for open humanitarian channels into Sudan.

Links of interest

Ethiopia’s restive Amhara ‘calm’ after govt claims militia retreat

The World Food Program slowly resumes food aid to Ethiopia after months of suspension and criticism
News: Authorities in Tigray region dispute reports of resumption of food aid by WFP

13 dead in Sudan’s heaviest fighting since start of war
Fierce clashes engulf Omdurman as Sudanese Army and RSF collide
‘Thousands of bodies’ left to decompose in Sudan’s capital as morgues reach ‘breaking point’
UN investigator says Eritreans experienced torture and sexual violence during national service
ATV: ካብ ብርጌድ ንሓመዱ ካናዳ ዋዕሮ ኤርትራዊት ኣለም ንኣረሜናዊ ጭፍራ ኢሳያስ ኣብ ማዕከናት ዜና ካናዳ ብቐጥታ፡ LIVE ሕርሕራይ ጌራ ተቃልዕ
Roadside Explosion Kills at Least Six in Somalia   
Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Briefing on Sudan

Sudan is now one of the worst countries in the world for humanitarian access: UK statement at the Security Council
Continued Military Hostilities, Sexual Violence, Attacks against Citizens Pushing Sudan into ‘Catastrophic’ Humanitarian Crisis, Speakers Warn Security Council
Sudanese suffer sexual violence on ‘sickening scale,’ UN says

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