Day: September 10, 2022

A US mediator in negotiations for the demarcation of maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel announced “progress” on Friday.

“Optimistic about reaching an agreement” on the demarcation of the border “soon,” Amos Hochstein said at a press conference following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Beirut.

“It was an excellent meeting, and I believe that we have made good progress in this field,” Hochstein said, adding that he would continue his talks with officials.

According to the official Lebanese news agency, the US mediator “presented the results of the contacts he made with the Israeli side and some points related to the negotiations.”

Lebanon and Israel are engaged in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles), according to maps sent by both counties to the UN in 2011.

The area is rich in natural gas and oil. Five sessions of indirect negotiations have been held between Lebanon and Israel on the issue under UN sponsorship and US mediation.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ethiopia is a nation at war with itself, at least in the eyes of non-Ethiopians who look at what is happening and what led to the current state of affairs at face value.

Ethiopia is a complex multi-ethnic nation. A nation whose formation goes back at least 3,000 years cannot be said to have a linear track in history, demography and political economy.

Those who want to understand the genesis of the current conflict may benefit if they consider milestones in the past three decades, at least.

And as Ethiopia welcomes a new year Sept. 11, it is good to look back at some of those milestones that have a bearing on the current military goings-on.

1991

A watershed moment in Ethiopian history. That year witnessed the northern guerillas from Eritrea and Tigray — note that Eritrea was one of the provinces of Ethiopia — coming to victory. By that time the Eritrean war for independence was 30 years old, while the Tigray insurgency was in its 17th year of resistance against a brutally suppressive militaristic and Marxist regime called the Derg, with Col. Mengistu Hailemariam, now in exile in Zimbabwe, at the helm.

On May 28, the civil war ended. The guerillas entered the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. A four-party coalition of left-wing groups was introduced, of which the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was the commanding partner. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was dissolved paving the way for a TPLF-led Transitional Government of Ethiopia.

It was not long after the formation of the transitional government that the TPLF proved itself to be equally brutally suppressive when it forcefully subdued the Oromo Liberation Front, after its leaders briefly joined hands with the TPLF (EPRDF) and helped design the federal Constitution, one still in effect.

While many credit the TPLF for enabling Ethiopia with achieving rapid economic growth, many argue that the growth has benefited few elites with little or no trickle down. The majority of Ethiopians speak with one voice in condemning the TPLF for ruling with “blood and iron.”

1993

Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia, rendering the most populous Horn of Africa nation, the second most populous in Africa, a landlocked country.

1998 – 2000

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody war where an estimated 70,000 people perished. That war, which many said was caused by the whims of ruling elites in both countries with Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Isaias Afeworki in Eritrea in the leadership positions, is still fresh in the minds of Ethiopians. After the war, an international boundary commission ruled the immediate cause of the conflict, which is a small patch of land on the border between the two countries, and give it to Eritrea. Demarcation never happened but the two countries normalized relations after two decades of a no-peace, no-war situation.

2005

That is a landmark year as Ethiopians said no to the then TPLF-led government. It was the third parliamentary election and the ruling party lost big at the polls. Post-voting was violent and hundreds were killed as security forces fired at demonstrators. Thousands were jailed across the country and an equal amount exiled. Among prisoners were big opposition figures including Berhanu Nega, Bertukan Mideqsa, professor Merera Gudina and others. The hopes of the country for a peaceful, democratic transition were dashed.

2018 – 2020

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed comes to power.

2019

This is the most important milestone. In August, Ethiopia and Eritrea officially put an end to two decades of hostilities and embarked on the path of a new diplomatic thaw and social, economic and political cooperation. That, in addition to Abiy’s regional roles of peace and cooperation in the Horn of Africa, earned the young leader the enviable Nobel Peace Prize.

In December, a new ruling party was formed in place of the predecessor Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Three of the four-party coalition dissolved and joined the new Prosperity Party (PP) while the mover and shaker in the coalition, the TPLF, refused to dissolve; rather it retained its status as a ruling party in the Tigray regional state, Ethiopia’s northernmost region.

2020

In early September, the Tigray region, ruled by TPLF, conducted an election in defiance of the federal government. By that time, the sixth parliamentary election was postponed in a declaration made by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

On Nov. 23, forces of the TPLF attacked federal army bases stationed across Tigray, including in the regional capital, Mekele. On Nov. 24, the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared what it described as “Law Enforcement” against Tigray rebels. In initial fighting, the TPLF lost several prominent figures while others were captured and taken to Addis Ababa.

2021

In June, the TPLF resurged and the Ethiopian army left Tigray. From then on, the TPLF invaded the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission issued a report of their joint investigation in early November. The report said federal forces and TPLF rebels committed rights violations.

2022

In March, the Ethiopian government declared a unilateral humanitarian truce. The truce made it possible for the transportation of bulks of food, medicine and fuel into the Tigray regional state while it allowed the African Union Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to be shuttled between Addis Ababa and Mekele in what appeared to be a preparatory move before official mediation talks began.

Ethiopia said it would talks with the rebels without any preconditions but the Tigray rebels rejected the African Union’s mediation and said they would prefer the outgoing Kenyan president to lead an international mediation group that includes the US, EU and the UN.

Fighting resumed between Ethiopian forces and Tigray rebels Aug. 2, on many fronts. The two sides traded blame for the flare-up of deadly fighting. The war continues but reports from the frontlines show that the rebels are suffering major losses as the army is advancing on Tigray. Meanwhile, the rebels alleged that the army colluded with Eritrea to launch “massive offensives” against them.

Shocking news was reported Aug. 25 that the TPLF looted 570,000 liters of fuel from the World Food Program’s Mekele Depot intended for humanitarian operations.

Source: Anadolu Agency

More than 400 Boko Haram and Daesh/ISIS in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists have been killed by Nigeria forces in operations in northeast Borno State, an army commander said Friday.

“Our ground troops have killed at least 420 Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in many of our operations in Borno State within August,” said Maj. Gen Christopher Musa, commander of the Counter-terrorism Joint Task Force Northeast.

He said the air force conducted airstrikes on terrorist locations, leading to the deaths of dozens and the military received an order from the president to stop terrorism in the region before the end of 2023.

Nigeria has faced 13 years of terrorism activities by Boko Haram and its affiliate, ISWAP, in the northern region.

The country shares borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger — three nations that have experienced similar terror attacks for more than a decade.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Africa’s second 10-year plan will focus on expansion of infrastructure development across the continent, increase agriculture outputs and clean energy transition, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission said Friday.

“It will revolve around three main objectives: to ensure greater physical connectivity of the continent through the construction of roads and other communication infrastructures, to establish the conditions for sufficient domestic agricultural production to reduce imports of foodstuffs and build the technical capacities to make the energy transition a success,” Mahamat said in a statement.

“Mobilizing all intellectual, financial and material resources, to attain this triple objective, is a collective challenge that calls upon everyone to be creative, inventive and above all bold,” he added.

His remarks were made in connection with the commemoration of Sept. 9, 1999, when African heads of state and government met in Libya and decided to transform the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU).

In July 2002, in South Africa, that decision came to life when African leaders, in an extraordinary summit, launched the AU.

The OAU was established in 1963 in Ethiopia by Africa’s pan-African leaders to mainly achieve political independence on the continent.

Analysts agree that Africa’s dependence on food imports has never been exposed more nakedly than during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Senegalese President Macky Sall in his capacity as the 2022 Chair of the AU, accompanied by Mahamat, went to Russia and Ukraine to get their leaders to give safe passage to African-bound cargo ships.

Ankara, along with the UN, Moscow and Kyiv, agreed July 22 to facilitate the release of food and fertilizers shipments stuck in Ukraine because of the war, leading to a rise in prices.

“Africa’s food import bill has more than tripled, reaching about $35 billion a year. Much of this imported food could be produced locally, creating much needed jobs and incomes for nations’ youth and smallholder farmers,” according to the World Bank.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ukraine’s president on Friday said his country had retaken over 30 settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv region from Russian forces.

In a statement on Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian army’s intelligence and security services were active in several operational areas.

Zelenskyy said his country’s measures were ongoing to control and secure the territory in some of the region’s villages.

“We are gradually taking control of new settlements,” he added.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian army said it had taken back over 20 settlements from Russian forces.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The UK began 10 days of mourning after the announcement from Buckingham Palace that Queen Elizabeth II had died.

The UK parliament paid tribute to the late queen with Prime Minister Liz Truss saying: “Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. The United Kingdom is the great country it is today because of her.”

Celebrities, actors and prominent public figures around the world are mourning the death of the queen, Britain’s longest-serving monarch who died at the age of 96 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Royal mourning for the queen will be observed from “now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral,” Buckingham Palace announced.

A South African opposition party refused to mourn Queen Elizabeth II because of Britain’s colonial past.

Britain’s new King Charles III will formally be proclaimed at the Accession Council early Saturday, according to Buckingham Palace.

The new king held his first audience with his prime minister at Buckingham Palace.

The Bank of England delayed the next meeting of its monetary policy committee for one week due to “the period of national mourning” after the death of the queen.

This weekend’s all football fixtures in England have been postponed as the UK is mourning the death of the queen.

The EU fully suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia.

Russia is considering the possibility of introducing a visa regime for Ukrainian citizens, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.

Türkiye’s Aegean province of Izmir held a victory march to celebrate the centennial of the city’s liberation from occupation.

Türkiye will send grain and relevant products to African countries in need if Russian exports are allowed through the Black Sea, according to the Turkish president.

Russian news outlets widely covered recent remarks by Türkiye’s president, who said Ukrainian grain was being exported to wealthy countries, not to those in need.

The North Korean parliament passed a law allowing the army to launch an automatic and immediate nuclear strike in the event of an attack by any nuclear country or the origin of a provocation, state-run media reported.

The death toll from Pakistan’s catastrophic floods rose to nearly 1,400, with 36 new casualties, including 15 children reported in the last 24 hours, official statistics show.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Amid unconfirmed reports that Germany is seeking to reduce business with China, Beijing on Friday urged Berlin to adopt a “rational and practical policy” to “help build an open world economy, instead of shooting itself in the foot.”

“We hope that Germany will adopt a rational and practical policy toward China and support greater two-way opening-up to inject positive energy into the high-level mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry.

She was responding to reports that Germany is “considering ways to make business with China less attractive in a bid to reduce dependency” on Asia’s economic powerhouse.

“If what was reported is true, then I have to say the measures to be taken by Germany are simply illogical and make no sense,” Mao said, according to a transcript of the ministry’s daily press briefing in Beijing.

“They (measures) would not bring any good to Germany’s own economy or practical cooperation with China,” she added.

According to the reports, Germany is planning to “cut or scrap investment and export guarantees for China” and no longer promote trade fairs and manager training there.

China is Germany’s biggest trading partner.

Mao said that over the past 50 years, China and Germany have “advanced economic and trade cooperation in accordance with the principle of mutual benefit.”

“Bilateral trade and investment continued to grow in the first seven months this year against the odds. Such close economic links came into shape as a result of both the law of the market and the choices of businesses. They also epitomize economic globalization,” the Chinese official added.

Despite changes in the international landscape, Mao said, China “will not change its determination to pursue high-level opening-up, share development opportunities with the world, and contribute to an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.”

“I also believe that China will become an even more attractive market for foreign investment,” she said.

Source: Anadolu Agency