ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፤

ርሑስ ልደት ይግበረልና እናበለ፣ እዚ ንመላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ንህዝቢ ዓለምን ዘሻቐለ፡  ንህይወት እማእታት ኣሽሓት  ዝቐዘፈ  ተላባዒ ሕማም ኮቪድ-19 ዝሰዓረሉ በዓላት ልደትን ሓድሽ ዓመትን ክኾነልና ይምነ።

እዚ ቀዛፊ  ሕማም’ዚ መለለይ ናይ ዓመት 2020 ኰይኑ፡ ንኹሉ ምንቅስቓሳት ህይወት ዝደረተ ኣብ ርእሲ ምዃኑ፡ ንወዲሰብ ኣብ ኣተሓሳስባን መነባብሮን መሰረታዊ ለውጢ ክገብር ገዲዱ፡  ናብ ሓድሽ ስልቲ መነባብሮ ክሰጋገር ዝገበረ እዩ። ብፍላይ ኣብዚ መወዳእታ ክልተ ኣዋርሕ ከኣ፡ በዚ ተላባዒ ሕማም ጥራይ ዘይኰነስ፡ ብባዕላዊ ምርጫን ፖሊቲካዊ ምኽንያትን ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝተወልዐ ኣዕናዊ ኲናት፡ ንከባቢና ኣብ ወጥሪ ኣእትዩ፡ ሓድሽ ህልቂት፡ ስደትን ምክልባትን ኣስዒቡ እዩ። መዋጽኦ ክርከብ ድሌትን ጻዕርን ሰዲህኤ ምስ ኩሎም ደለይቲ ሰላም ይስራዕ።

ኣብዚ ዓበይቲ ተረኽቦታት ናይ 2020 ምልካዊ ስርዓት ኤርትራ፡ ብዘይሓላፍነታዊ መንገዲ ኣብ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ጣልቃ ብምእታዉ፡ ንመላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናብ ሓደጋታት ዘሳጥሕ፣ ንናጽነትን ልዑላውነትን ኤርትራ ከኣ ናብ ዋጋ-ዕዳጋ ዘእቱ ስጉምትታት ካብ ምውሳድ ኣይተቖጠበን።  ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ነዚ ጣልቃ ኣታውነት ይኹንንን፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ተቓውሞኡ ከበርኽ ይጽውዕን።

ብካልእ መዳይ ኣብ 2020 ንዝተርጋገጸ ስምምዓት ዓቢ ሚዛን ብምሃብ፡ ነቲ ብሓይልታት ተቓውሞ ዝተበጽሐ ምውህሃዳዊ ስምምዕ ኣዕዚዙ ይጥምቶ። ናብ ዝበረኸ ብምስግጋሩን ኩሎም ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ዝሰርሑሉ ሓባራዊ መድረኽ ቃልሲ ብምስንዳእን፡ ነዚ ሓደገኛ ምልካዊ ስርዓት ሓንሳብን ንሓዋሩን ክንስዕሮ ከኣ፡ ቅሩብነቱ እናገለጸ እዋናዊ ጸዋዒቱ የቕርብ።

መላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ምልኪ ብምዕዋት፡  ሰላም፡ ራህዋን ቅሳነትን ዝመልኦ  ሓድሽ ዓመት 2021 ይምጽኣና።

ክንዲ/ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ

ተስፋይ ወልደሚካኤል ደጊጋ

ኣቦ መንበር   

ታሕሳስ 25, 2020 

Thursday, 24 December 2020 23:48

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Hassel 24.12.2020

Written by

“The United States is also deeply concerned for the safety and security of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.  The United States joins calls by the UN for the Ethiopian government to uphold its obligations under international law and to take appropriate measures to ensure the protection and safety of all refugees in Ethiopia.  Those responsible for egregious abuses or violations against civilians must be held accountable.”

The United States is providing more than $18 million in assistance to respond to the growing humanitarian needs caused by conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.  This assistance will help our international humanitarian organization partners respond to the needs of more than 52,000 new refugees in Sudan, refugees and displaced persons in Ethiopia, and possible needs in Djibouti, in addition others displaced by conflict in the Horn of Africa region already being assisted by USG partners.  These resources will help provide access to critical humanitarian protection, shelter, essential health care and nutrition, emergency food aid, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene services for refugees, internally displaced people, and vulnerable host communities.

We remain gravely concerned by the humanitarian impact of the conflict in Tigray.  We call on the government to allow immediate, full, safe, and unhindered access so humanitarian organizations can provide timely, needs-based assistance to those affected by the conflict.  We stand with the international community in condemning the intimidation and killings of humanitarian aid workers in Tigray as well as the looting of relief supplies and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.  All parties must respect international humanitarian law.

The United States is also deeply concerned for the safety and security of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.  The United States joins calls by the UN for the Ethiopian government to uphold its obligations under international law and to take appropriate measures to ensure the protection and safety of all refugees in Ethiopia.  Those responsible for egregious abuses or violations against civilians must be held accountable.

More than a month of conflict has compounded the preexisting humanitarian crises in the region.  The COVID-19 pandemic, historic levels of flooding, and desert locust swarms have increased economic hardship and threatened food security and the basic needs of refugees and civilians in Tigray.

In addition to providing life-saving assistance, the United States, along with our international partners, remains ready and willing to assist in dialogue and reconciliation and to stand with the people of the region to bring a complete end to the fighting and to build a brighter, more hopeful future. We welcome the contributions already provided by current donors and call on others to support the international response to help meet the immediate humanitarian needs in Sudan and Ethiopia.


Image may contain: one or more people, people standing and outdoorSudanTribune December 23, 2020 (GADAREF) - The Sudanese army came under a new attack from Ethiopian army and Amhara militias near the border strip, military sources told the Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the joint political committee between the two countries wrapped up meetings in Khartoum without tangible results on the border issue.

"A Sudanese army force in Jabal Abu Teyyour was heavily shelled by the army and militiamen, which from the other side of the border area," said the source who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"The Sudanese forces deterred the attack," he further said.

Also, a second clash occurred in the east of the "Wad Koli" area where a Sudanese military patrol clashed with a mobile Ethiopian reconnaissance force.

For his part, the visiting Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonen returned to Addis Ababa without making any progress in the talks on the border issue.

Mekonen demanded that the Sudanese army evacuate cultivated by Ethiopian farmers inside Sudan and compensate them for any damage caused during the clashes with the Ethiopian troops.

The senior official who is from the Amhara region also refused to discuss the border demarcation before to settle the farmers� plight.

The Sudanese government spokesman on Tuesday said that his government wants Ethiopia to accept border demarcation before any further discussions.

The Ethiopian army forces from the Amhara region and Fano militiamen continue to play a significant role in the armed conflict with the TPLF fighter in Tigray as they also have land claims in their region.

A committee of Sudanese affected by the attacks of Ethiopian forces in Fashaga area called on the Sudanese government to suspend any talks with the Ethiopian side before to fully retake every parcel of the national territory.


"We are the ones who know well the policy of procrastination and unfulfilled promises pursued by the Ethiopian over the past years," said Rasheed Abdel Gadir the head of the committee.


(ST)
https://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article70260

Thursday, 24 December 2020 12:14

Sudan army reports victories on Ethiopian border

Written by

DECEMBER 23, 2020  ETHIOPIANEWS

To understand this news it is useful to read this story posted a few days ago.

Sudan army reports victories on Ethiopian border

Source: Dabanga

December 23 – 2020 EL FASHAGA

Ethiopian soldiers (Wikipedia)

Ethiopian soldiers (Wikipedia)

The Sudanese armed forces report that they recaptured areas and camps in the Salam Bir and Mahaj areas in El Gedaref from the Ethiopian army and armed militia.

In video clips, soldiers from the armed forces said that they would continue their operations until all the occupied areas have been recaptured. At the same time, Ethiopian troops and militias launched a series of new attacks in which a local shepherd was injured.

Last week, the Sudanese army stated that Ethiopian forces ambushed Sudanese troops, killing four and wounding 27.

Earlier this month, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) regained control of the area of Khor Yabis in El Fashaga locality in eastern El Gedaref after the area had been occupied by Ethiopian farmers and gunmen (called shifta in the region) for over 25 years.

The 1,600 kilometre border between Sudan and Ethiopia was drawn in colonial times. No clear demarcation of the border has been made since Sudan became independent in 1956. The lack of clear border markers has made it easy for Ethiopian militants to occupy fertile farmlands in eastern El Gedaref.

Ethiopian farmers have been cultivating crops for decades along the border. These lands are protected by Ethiopian gunmen. Farmers in El Fashaga, backed by the El Gedaref governor, demanded in July that these lands be returned to them.

Border demarcation talks

A delegation headed by the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen arrived in Khartoum yesterday for border demarcation talks that will last for two days. The Security Affairs Adviser of the Ethiopian Prime Minister is part of the delegation.

During his address at the opening session of the meeting, Omar Manis, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and head of the Sudanese delegation, affirmed that there is “a strong political will” on both sides to demarcate the border between the two countries.

Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen stressed that the current border tensions should not disturb the deep-rooted relations between the two countries. He also warned that any escalation “could damage these relations and disrupt the daily activities of Sudanese and Ethiopian people”.

Mekonen added all border issues will be discussed through existing frameworks and mechanism, on the basis of previously signed documents. He also proposed that a date would be set to begin the border demarcation field work.

እንእምሞን እንሓስቦን መደባት እንተዘይተግቢርናዮ ፋይዳ የብሉን። እቲ እነተግብሮ ኣብ ጽጹይ እማመ ዝተመስረተ እንተኮይኑ ውጽኢቱ ኣድማዒ ኣይከውንን። እንእምሞ መደባት ዘይትግበር እንተኮይኑ እውን ከምኡ። ስለዚ ኣድቂቕካ ሓሲብካ ምእማምን ዝኣመምካዮ ብብቕዓት ምትግባርን ፈላሊኻ ዘይረኣዩ ናይ ሓደ ቅርሺ ክልተ ገጻት እዮም። ኮታ ከምቲ ንሃገር ካብ ህዝቢ ንህዝቢ ከኣ ካብ ሃገር ፈላሊኻ ምርኣይ ትርጉም ዘየብሉ ማለት እዩ። ስለዚ  በቲ ንሓስቦ ዘይኮነ፡ በቲ እነተግብሮ ኢና እንዕወት።

እንእምሞ ምእንቲ ዕዉት ክኸውን፡ ኣብ ግምት ክኣትዉ ዝግበኦም ቅድመ-ኩነታት ብዙሓት እዮም። ብሓጺሩ ንምጥቃስ እንእምሞ መደባት ኩለ-መደያዊ ናይ ምትግባር ዓቕምና ኣብ ግምት ዘእተወ ክኸውን ይግበኦ። ናይ ምትግባር ዓቕምና ብወድዓውን በዓል ቤታውን መልክዕ ዝግለጽ ኮይኑ፡ ሰብኣዊ ክብቕዓትናን ነገራዊ ዓቕምናን ቀንዲ ተጠቀስቲ ረቛሕታት እዮም። ደጋዊ ከባብያዊ ኩነታትና እውን ናቱ እጃም ዘየብሉ ኣይኮነን። ነዚታትን ካልእን ኣብ ግምት ከየእተኻ ዝእመምን ዝትለምን መደባት ግና ኣብ ምትግባሩ ጸገም ስለ ዘጋጥሞ ሕልሚ ኮይኑ፡ መኺኑ እዩ ዝበንን።

ብፍላይ ኣብዚ ሕገ-መንግስታዊት፡ ብዙሕነታዊት፡ ህዝባዊትን፡ ዲሞክራስያዊትን ኤርትራ ንምህናጽ ኣንጻር ወጻዒ ኣተሓሳስባ ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ንቃለሰሉ ዘለና ወሳኒ እዋን፡ ናትና ሓያልን ድኹምን ጐድንታት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ናይቲ ንህዝብና ደም ዘንብዖ ዘሎ ጉጅለ ሓያልን ድኹም ጐኒ ክንርዳእ ናይ ግድን እዩ። መደባትና ክንእምም እንከለና ከኣ፡ ድኹም ጐድኒ ናይቲ ኣንጻሩ ንቃለስ ስለ ዘለና፡ ጉጅለ ንምምዝማዝ ዘኽእለና ክኸውን ይግበኦ። ንኣብነት ሓያል ጐድኒ ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ኣብ ቅድሚ ህዝቢ ቀሪብካ ብግብሪ ኣርኢኻ ተቐባልነት ምርካብ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ ንህዝቢ ኣገዲድካ፡ ጓዕጺጽካን ክሉ መሰላቱ ነፊግካን ምግዛእ ዝተመርኮሰ እዩ። ስለዚ ንሕና ክንእምም እንከለና፡ ነቲ እቲ ጉጅለ ዘይክኣሎ ብዘኽእል መንገዲ ክኸውን ናይ ግድን እዩ። በቲ ንሱ ዝኽእሎ ንህዝቢ ከይንቀሳቐስ ኢደ-እግሩ ኣሲርካ፡ ከይዛረብ ኣፉ ለጒምካ ናብ ሓይልን ጐነጽን  ዝያዳ ዝዘንበለ ሸነኹ ክኸውን ኣይግበኦን። ካለኦት ኣብ ግዜ ምእማም መደባት እንምርኮሰሎም ረቛሕታት እውን ኣለዉ። ንኣብነት ብሓፈሻ ናይ ህዝብና ብፍላይ ከኣ ናይ መንእሰያትና ናይ ምትግባር ዓቕምን ቅሩብነትን ኣብ ግምት ምእታው ኣገዳሲ እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ዝኾነ ሰልፊ ይኹን ውድብ ዝእምሞ ብዘይተሳትፎ ህዝቢ ክዕወት ስለ ዘይክእል።

ከምቲ “ተመኩሮ መምህር እዩ” ዝበሃል፡ ክንእምም እንከለና፡ ዝሓለፍናዮ ተመክሮ ምድህሳስን ካብኡ ትምህርቲ ምውሳድን ኣገዳስነቱ ልዑል እዩ። ካብቲ ናይ ዝሐለፈ ተመኩሮና ዳህሳስ ኣውንታን ኣሉታን ክንረክብ ናይ ግድን እዩ። ስለዚ እቲ እንእምሞ ነቲ ኣውንታ ዝያዳ ዘሕይል፡ ነቲ ኣሉታ ከኣ ክድገም ዕድል ዘይህብ ክኸውን ይግበኦ። ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ፡ ምኡዘ-ጥበባት ዲያቆን ዳንኤል ክብረት ዝተባህሉ ሓደ ካብቶም ትሻዕተ ቀወምቲ ኣማኸርቲ ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ዶ/ር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ዓሊ ንኣገዳስነት ካብ ተመኩሮኻ ምምሃር ብዝምልከት ዝጠቐስዋ ሓጻር ዛንታ ከምዚ ትብል። “ሓደ እዋን ኣንበሳ ብዘለዎ ሓይሊ ተጠቒሙ፡ እንስሳ ዘግዳም ኣውዲቑ ይሕልዎ ነበረ። ነዚ ዝተዓዘበ ተኹላ ብጉያ መጺኡ ከየፍቀደ ካብቲ ኣንበሳ ዘውደቖ ኣራዊት ክበልዕ ጀመረ። ኣንበሳ ሆየ ከኣ እቲ ድፍረቱ ስለ ዘየሕጐሶ፡ ነቲ ተኹላ ክሳዱ ቀንጢሱ ደርበዮ። ነዚ ኩነታት ብማዕዶ ትዕዘብ ዝነበረት ወኻርያ መጺኣ፡ ካብቲ ዝወደቐ እንስሳ ዘዝጸበቐ ስጋ እንዳቖረጸት ነቲ ኣንበሳ ኣቕረበትሉ። ነዚ ተግባራታ ዝተዕዘበ ኣንበሳ፡ እዚ ትሕትናዚ ካበይ ኢኺ ተማሂርክዮ? ኢሉ ሓተታ። ንሳ ከኣ ካብቲ ክሳዱ ዝቐንጠስካዮ ተኹላ” በለቶ።

ኣብዚ ቃልስና ወርትግ ካብ እንእምሞም፡ ምውጋድ ጉጅለ ህግዲፍን ነዚ ዘብቅዕ ሓድነት ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታት ኤርትራ ምውሓስን ካብቶም ቅድሚት ዝስርዑ ዛዕባታትና እዮም። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣብ ዙርያ “ኤርትራ ድሕሪ ህግዲፍ ከመይ ትመሓደር” ዝብል እውን ናይ መሰጋገርን ድሕሪኡን ናይ ነዊሕ ግዜ እማመታት ኣለዉና። ኣብዞም ዝተጠቕሱ ዛዕባታት ካብ እንእምም ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። እንተኾነ ጋና ኣብቶም ንእምሞም ዘድምዕ ውጽኢት ኣየመዝገብናን። ዘድምዕ ውጽኢት ናይ ዘይምምዝጋብና ምስጢር ብዙሕ ናይ ድኽመታት ዝርዝር ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ ብጥርኑፍ ግና ነቲ እንትልሞ ዘተግብር ተመጣጣኒ ዓቕምን ኩነታትን ክንፈጥር ዘይምብቃዕና እዩ። ኣብ ጽላል ምሕዝነት ሃገራዊ ሓይልታት ኤርትራ፡ ኤርትራዊ ዲሞክራስያዊ ኪዳን፡ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጥን ብዙሓት ግንባራትን ጽላላትን ብሓባር ክንሰርሕ ኣንቂድና። እንተኾነ ውጽኢቱ ከምቲ ዝኣመምናዮ ኣይኮነልናን። ኣብዚ መዳይዚ ናይ ዘይምድማዕና ምኽንያት ከኣ ካብ ተመኩሮና ተማሂርና ከነወግዶ ዝግበኣና ድኽመት ዘይምውጋድና እዩ። እዚ ተመኩሮዚ ዘርእየና ከኣ ኣብ መንጎቲ እንእምሞን ነቲ እማመ ንምትግባር ዘለና ኩለመዳያዊ ዓቕምን ዘይመጣጠን ምዃኑ እዩ። ስለዚ ክሳብ ሕጂ ካብ ተመኩሮና ዘይምምሃርና ሓደ ጉዳይ ኮይኑ፡ ከምቲ “ዝሓለፈስ ሓለፈ፡ ኣይትድገመኒ ኣብ ዝተረፈ” ዝበሃል፡ ንተመኩሮና ንመጻኢ ክንመሃረሉ ይግበኣና።

DECEMBER 23, 2020  ETHIOPIANEWS

Source: Reuters

UN rights chief describes weeks-old conflict as one of many ‘appalling’ human rights abuses that could amount to war crimes.22 Dec 2020

The United Nations is striving to get a team on the ground to investigate alleged human rights violations, including a mass killing in Ethiopia’s Tigray, described by the UN rights chief as one of many “appalling” human rights abuses that could amount to war crimes.

Ethiopia’s army has been fighting rebellious forces in the northern Tigray region for more than six weeks in a conflict that has displaced close to 950,000 people.

Access for humanitarian workers has until recent days been impossible and rights workers are now seeking access on the ground to verify reports.

“If civilians were deliberately killed by a party or parties to the conflict, these killings would amount to war crimes and there needs to be, as I have stressed previously, independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigations to establish accountability and ensure justice,” UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday, describing incidents there as “heartbreaking” and “appalling”.

Mai Kadra killings

One of the events she mentioned was the alleged killing of several hundred people, mainly Amharans, in the northwest town of Mai Kadra on November 9.

She also described other incidents including artillery attacks on populated areas, the deliberate targeting of civilians, extrajudicial killings and widespread looting.

UN rights office (OHCHR) spokeswoman Liz Throssell later told a Geneva virtual briefing that her office had been holding talks with the Ethiopian government and was aiming to prepare a team to verify rights abuses as soon as possible.

She said some of the incidents of individual killings of civilians were blamed on the “Fano” militia from the province of Amhara, thought to be aligned with the government.

The Reuters news agency also received similar reports from displaced Tigrayans.

However, information obtained by the UN consistently pointed to violations by all parties to the conflict, she added.

Until now, the UN has been monitoring the situation remotely and has obtained some of its information from refugees among the tens of thousands who have fled to neighbouring Sudan.

Both sides deny their forces have committed atrocities, and blame other forces for the killing of civilians.

Accounts on all sides are difficult to verify because telecommunications links were down for most of the conflict and the government tightly controls access to the region.

DECEMBER 22, 2020  ETHIOPIANEWS

Source: VRT News

[Note article was originally in Dutch and this is a computer translation. The videos show Eritrean tanks laden with looted goods from Shire. They also interview Eritrean refugees who fled from Tigray in Addis Ababa and Gondar, Amhara militia and staff at a Shire hospital. Interviews in Amharic, Tigrinya and English.]

To view the videos in this report see the original report above]

VRT NWS first in north Tigray in Ethiopia: “This is a developing humanitarian disaster”

In recent weeks, Ethiopia’s army has waged a bloody offensive against local forces in Tigray province.

There was no internet and no one was allowed to enter the area. Now some areas controlled by the government army are admitting aid workers and journalists.

Our VRT NWS team was the first to go to the area where no one had come before. He spoke to refugees and identified an acute shortage of humanitarian aid.

Tigray was completely closed in recent weeks. It was impossible for outsiders to visualize what was really going on at the front.

Aid workers were also not allowed in, despite the fact that there were also hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in relief camps in Tigray. 1 million Tigreans would have fled their home.

Now that the army has taken large parts of the area, the government is slowly letting in foreigners. Our colleague Stijn Vercruysse and his team first went to the southwest of Tigray, in the area of ​​Gondar. “In the meantime help has been allowed there and the army is present.”

View here the report from “Het Journaal” by our reporter Stijn Vercruysse from Gondar, on the border with Tigray.

“A bit further, we passed ghost villages”, says journalist Stijn Vercruysse in “The morning” on Radio 1. “That’s what we feared. There were corpses on the road and we saw burnt-out tanks, but also buses with bullet holes in them. The people who stayed behind say they have no food, no water, and no medicine. ”

Watch a report from “Het Journaal” in which Stijn Vercruysse speaks with refugees (read more below the video):

The team also encountered Eritrean refugees on the way, who were staying in camps in Tigray. They say they have been chased away. Now that aid organizations cannot reach those camps, there would also be a serious shortage of food and medicine.

In the meantime, fighting continues in various places. But even in places where the fighting seems to be over, people do not dare to return to their homes because they are afraid of Eritrean soldiers who loot houses and harass people.

“We have been able to establish that everything indicates that Eritrean soldiers have crossed the border wearing Ethiopian uniforms”, says Stijn Vercruysse. “It appears that they participated in the fighting and that they are at least helping to secure the region. But instead of securing, they would plunder the Tigreans’ homes.”

Watch the conversation with Stijn Vercruysse from Addis Abeba in “Het Journaal” about the Eritrean soldiers in Tigray below.

Last week, the European Union postponed financial aid to Ethiopia because of the war in Tigray. It concerns 88.5 million euros. One of the conditions for paying the amount is the restoration of the communication lines in the Tigray region. At the moment, communication with people in the region is still very difficult.

Stijn Vercruysse spoke with Tigreans in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, who had been out of contact with their relatives in the region for weeks. Watch the report from “Het Journaal” here.

Now that Stijn Vercruysse was one of the first journalists to enter the region for VRT NWS, it appears that the situation in Tigray is, as feared, very precarious: “Now, above all, more access is needed for humanitarian organizations, because we have seen that a humanitarian disaster is developing. ”

View an extensive report from “Terzake” (21/12/2020) by our reporter on site, Stijn Vercruysse:

DECEMBER 22, 2020  ETHIOPIANEWS

“We are aware of credible reports of Eritrean military involvement in Tigray and view this as a grave development,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA. “We urge that any such troops be withdrawn immediately. We are also aware of reports of human rights violations and abuses in the region. All parties must respect human rights and international humanitarian law.

Source: VOA

Eritrean refugee children walk within Mai-Aini refugee camp near the Eritrean boarder in the Tigrai region in Ethiopia February…
FILE – Eritrean refugee children are seen at Mai-Aini refugee camp near the Eritrean border, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Feb. 10, 2016.

Humanitarian organizations are sounding the alarm on the safety of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as reports of attacks and forced deportations emerge. 

Approximately 96,000 Eritrean refugees lived in four camps in Tigray prior to the conflict which erupted in November. Many fled the violence to Sudan or to other parts of the country including the capital Addis Ababa.

According to Refugees International, an independent advocacy group, Eritreans are being rounded up and returned to war-torn Tigray or are being deported to their homeland.

“There’s a lot of concern that Eritreans are being forced back to places where they would be in danger,” said Sarah Miller, a senior fellow with Refugees International. “Whether that’s inside Ethiopia, including an active conflict zone in Tigray, or even back into Eritrea where they’ve fled, and that would be a huge violation of international law.”

Miller told VOA the reports are coming in from refugees, family members and NGOs that are active in Ethiopia.

Stijn Vercruysse, a reporter with Belgium’s VRT NWS, spoke to Eritrean refugees on the road to Shiraro after fleeing Shimelba Refugee Camp in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

Vercruysse told VOA that refugees said some people in the camps were being forcibly returned to Eritrea. Vercruysse said one refugee said he witnessed armed men forcing people into vehicles.

Chris Melzer, UNHCR’s emergency response team in Ethiopia, told VOA via email that his organization has not yet been granted access to return to the four refugee camps in Tigray but food distribution has resumed at two of the camps. He too is concerned about alleged violence against refugees.

“We are aware of many stories about killings and abductions from the camps,” he said. “If confirmed, these actions would constitute a major violation of international law. But we are not in the position that we can confirm these reports now.”

The issue has garnered the attention of U.S. officials. In a joint statement, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) demanded that all parties in the conflict protect civilians as is required under international law and allow those fleeing violence to do so.

“We are deeply concerned by reports of Eritrean refugees in Tigray being killed, abducted and forcibly returned to Eritrea by Eritrean forces, as well as disturbing reports that some trying to reach safer areas are being prevented from leaving,” the senators said in a statement.

Recent reports suggest that Eritrean soldiers have been involved in the Tigray region conflict. Five diplomats pointed to evidence of soldiers on the ground citing satellite images, intercepted communications and anecdotal reports from Tigray region, according to Reuters.

“We are aware of credible reports of Eritrean military involvement in Tigray and view this as a grave development,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA. “We urge that any such troops be withdrawn immediately. We are also aware of reports of human rights violations and abuses in the region. All parties must respect human rights and international humanitarian law.

“We and other international partners continue to urge an independent investigation of the reports and accountability for those found responsible,” the spokesman said. “We continue to urge all parties to restore peace, protect civilians — including refugees — and allow unhindered humanitarian access in Tigray.”

But the Eritrean minister of information, Yemane Gebremeskel, said the United Nations is responsible for the difficulties of Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region.

“For almost two decades now, the UNHCR abused its institutional mandate and networks to become the principal conduit for a malicious policy of ‘strategic depopulation’ against Eritrea,” Yemane tweeted earlier this month. “The UNHCR seems bent on ramping up its irresponsible acts to indulge in incessant smear campaigns.”

Redwan Hussien, a spokesman for the Ethiopian government’s task force in Tigray, said that no one is allowed to have unfettered access to the region without the government’s permission after a U.N. team was fired on by federal forces.

“They were told in some areas they were not supposed to move,” he told reporters during a press conference in early December. “But they indulged themselves in a kind of adventurous expedition.”

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Refugee International’s Miller said the conditions in refugee camps in Tigray have become dire and there are shortages of necessities.

“The U.N. has been reporting very low, low supply of food, medical supplies, fuel, all of the concerns that we’ve had,” she said. “There’s very little resources that refugees would have to survive which is why we’re seeing so many starting to leave the camps.”

Miller said those fleeing on foot should be allowed to do so safely.

“There is a right to flee for your life no matter where you are and the concern is that they are being pushed back, forced back into those camps into an active conflict zone or as I said back into Eritrea which would be worrisome,” she said.