Ethiopia’s construction of a massive dam on a tributary of the Nile River, which the UN Security Council meets about on Thursday, is raising regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the Nile for 97 percent of its water supply. – Ten countries – At 6,695 kilometres (4,160 miles), the Nile is one of […]
Ethiopia
UN draft resolution calls on Ethiopia to cease filling mega-dam
Tunisia has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling on Ethiopia to cease filling the reservoir of its controversial mega-dam on the Nile River, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The huge dam, set to be Africa’s largest hydroelectric project when completed, has sparked an almost decade-long diplomatic stand-off between Addis Ababa and downstream […]
Ethiopia begins second stage of filling mega-dam, angering Egypt
Ethiopia says it has started the next phase of filling a controversial mega-dam on the Nile River, Egyptian authorities said Monday, raising tensions ahead of an upcoming UN Security Council on the issue. Egypt said the move was “a violation of international laws and norms that regulate projects built on the shared basins of international […]
400,000 people facing famine in war-torn Tigray: UN
Over 400,000 people have “crossed the threshold into famine” in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region, a senior UN official said Friday, appealing for urgent humanitarian action to help the millions affected by the brutal eight-month long conflict. Fighting between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was reignited last month when the rebels […]
UN urges Tigray rebels to ‘immediately’ endorse ceasefire
The UN on Friday urged the rebel Tigray Defense Forces group to “immediately and completely” endorse the ceasefire that the Ethiopian government has announced in the war-hit region. “We urge the TDF to endorse the ceasefire immediately and completely,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. “A ceasefire observed by all parties […]
Tigray ceasefire ‘needs two to tango’, Ethiopia warns
Ethiopia called Thursday on rebel forces in the war-hit Tigray region to adhere to a unilateral ceasefire it declared earlier this week, amid doubts about whether fighting would actually stop. “The cessation of hostilities was taken unilaterally from our side. However, to implement this ceasefire fully, it needs two to tango,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina […]
Ethiopian troops destroy UNICEF equipment in Tigray
Ethiopian soldiers destroyed UNICEF satellite equipment in war-torn Tigray on Monday, the UN agency said in a statement condemning the attack. “Members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces entered our office in Mekele, Tigray, Ethiopia today and dismantled our VSAT equipment,” the United Nations Children’s Fund said in a statement, referring to satellite machinery. […]
Ethiopia declares Tigray ceasefire as rebels enter regional capital
Ethiopia’s federal government on Monday declared a “unilateral ceasefire” in its war-torn Tigray region, state media reported, as rebel fighters entered the regional capital Mekele, sparking celebrations in the streets. The dramatic reversal for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s forces signalled a turning point in the nearly eight-month-old conflict in Tigray, which the UN says has […]
US, Ireland, UK request UN Security Council meeting on Tigray: diplomats
The United States, Ireland and Britain have called for an emergency UN Security Council public meeting concerning Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray, where rebel fighters were able to enter the regional capital of Mekele on Monday, diplomatic sources said. The meeting could be held Friday, the same sources added, although it is up to France, which holds […]
Three MSF aid workers killed in Ethiopia’s Tigray
One Spanish and two Ethiopian employees of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have been “brutally murdered” in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region, the organisation said Friday. The trio “were travelling yesterday afternoon when we lost contact with them. This morning, their vehicle was found empty and a few metres away, their lifeless bodies,” […]