Category: Gedab News
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Two Eritrean Brigadier Generals, A Financial Manager Dead
Brigadier General Amanuel Haile (aka “Hanjema”), Brigadier General Mebrahtu Tekleab (aka “Vaynak”), and Mr. Desu Tesfatsion were killed yesterday in a car accident on the road to Mahmimet. The three were en route to participate in the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Eritrean People Liberation Front’s (EPLF) victory over the Ethiopian “Wukaw Command”
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Eritrea: Chiefs and Ambassadors
Chiefs of Staff The Eritrean regime has announced that it has appointed Major General Philipos Woldeyohannes, one of its zone commanders, as Chief of Staff. He succeeds Major General Gerzgheir “Wuchu” Andemariam, who passed away on March 4th. One of Eritrea’s zone commanders, Wuchu had been sick (illness not disclosed) for some time and he
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Port Sudan: Body of Organ Harvesting Victim Found
On a news item it carried on March 7, 2014, the Sudanese website alrakoba.net stated that “Sudanese police announced that it found a body of a mentally sick young person [identified by some people] at the Thewra neighborhood of Port Sudan.” Several organs were harvested from the body before it was discarded on the street.
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Gulf States v Qatar: Isaias In the Middle
General Sisi’s overthrow of Mohammed Mursi’s government in Egypt has re-aligned Arab politics with many Gulf States in support of Sisi, while Qatar is fiercely opposed. Consequently, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Bahrain have withdrawn their ambassadors from Doha, Qatar. In the middle, manipulating or being manipulated, is Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.
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Isaias Resumes Pilgrimage To Qatar
After his last trip to Qatar in April 2013, the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, arrived today in Doha, Qatar. Since his visit last year, a follow up trip had been postponed three times by the Qataris. Unlike other heads of states, Isaias was not received at the airport by the Emir of Qatar but by
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The Eritrean Opposition & Its Upcoming Congress
The Eritrean opposition organizations including the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), which has been shedding member organizations since 2011, have agreed to come under one umbrella. Since August 2013, the opposition groups were engaged in discussion in a dialogue forum created for the purpose. On January 29, 2014 the EDA issued an initiative calling for an
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Sudanese Source: Isaias Seeking Reconciliation With Ethiopia
Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir, is the closest and, probably, the only friend that the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, has. The leaders of the neighboring states, both shunned by regional and international governments, find solace in each other’s company. Now, according to our diplomatic sources in Sudan, Al-Bashir’s long-standing proposal to normalize relations between Eritrea and
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Eritreans Demonstrate In Front of Israeli Embassies
Eritreans in major cities around the world demonstrated today in front of Israeli embassies and consulates on behalf of all African refugees and asylum seekers. According to one of the organizers, “the demonstration was a grassroots movement that began with an idea to bring awareness of the plight of our people in Tel Aviv.” She
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Eritreans Stranded in Indonesia
Eritrean refugees en route to Australia are stranded in Indonesia after their smugglers abandoned them when they learned Australian coast guard had intensified patrol of the seas. The Eritreans, who originated from Ethiopia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia, are mostly youth escaping “National Service”, the mandatory military service which was originally designed as an 18-month service
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National Security Team Discusses TPDM Role in Roundup
In the late afternoon of November 5, Brigadier General Tekle Kifle “Manjus” presided over a meeting to discuss, among other things, the fallout from the youth round-up that was conducted on the weekend of October 26th where, for the first time, it was disclosed that an Ethiopian opposition group based in Eritrea, the Ethiopian People’s
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A Mercenary Army: Isaias Afwerki’s Last Stand
The Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM, known by its Tigrinya accornym De.M.H.T.) is one of half a dozen Ethiopian opposition groups stationed in Eritrea whose mission statement appears to have changed from bringing change to Ethiopia to fighting change in Eritrea by being President Isaias Afwerki’s last enforcement unit. Over the weekend, TPDM was dispatched
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Special Rapporteur, Eritreans Address Root Cause of Their Exodus
Eritrea is a country riddled with extra-judicial killing; disappearance; incommunicado detention; denial of fundamental human rights and indefinite military conscription which is tearing the very fabric of the society, according to Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuth, the UN Special Rapporteur to Eritrea. Her report was made on Thursday to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (Third
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Lampedusa: Rage, Grief, Indignation Grips Eritrean Diaspora
On Thursday, October 3, nearly 500 immigrants crowded on a 60-foot long boat originating in Libya were shipwrecked in Lampedusa, Italy when, due to mechanical problems–and the subsequent actions taken by passengers to draw the attention of rescuers–the boat was set on fire. Despite the efforts of Italy’s Coast Guard, hundreds are presumed dead. The
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The Conditions of Eritrean Refugees and POWs In Djibouti
Last week, Eritrean journalist Mohammed Taha Tewekel was in Djibouti to press Djiboutian authorities to improve the living conditions of Eritrean detainees, prisoners of war (POWs) and refugees. Djiboutian authorities declared that they have dealt with more than 500 Eritreans who were members of the Eritrean military. Out of those, 235 have already been settled
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UNSC: Eritrean Regime “Threat to International Peace and Security”
Following the report of the Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), the United Nations Security Council passed resolution (2111) on 24 July to relax the arms embargo on Somalia and Eritrea, to extend SEMG’s mandate until November 25, 2014, to “underline” the importance of Eritrea granting access to the SEMG. The UN bases its authority to impose
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UN Monitoring Group Recommends “Gold-for-Food” In Eritrea
On July 13, 2013, the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (SEMG), which is mandated by the UN to observe and report on sanctions violations by Somalia and Eritrea, submitted its annual report to the Security Council. Even though the 500-page report on Somalia was released, a shorter 80-page report on Eritrea, recommending a “gold
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Archdiocese of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church Appeals to the UN
The Archdiocese of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Diaspora sent a letter of appeal on May 24 to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for “the immediate release of His Holiness Patriarch Antonios from prison” and that he be provided “with the necessary medical care.” The news was first reported by www.tewahdo.org, a US-based website.
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MP Adam Bandt Presents Eritreans Peitition to Australian House
On May 15, Mr. Adam Bandt, an Australian Member of Parliament (MP), addressed a petition that was presented to the Australian house of representatives by the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC.) By addressing the petition, the MP brought to the attention of the Australian House “the human rights violations, including forced labour, arbitrary
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Eritrea and Syria: Doha Pulls On Isaias Afwerki’s Leash
The League of Arab States, which has officially offered the Syrian seat to the opposition coalition (“National Coalition”), held a ceremony at the Syrian embassy in Doha, Qatar to mark the event and participating in the ceremonies was Eritrean Ambassador to Qatar, Ali Ibrahim Al-Uqud. Eritrea is not a member of the Arab League, nor
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Under Pressure, Sudan Admits Its Human Trafficking Problem
Last month, Sudan’s Minister of State, Mebrouk Selim Mubarek, declared that human traffickers are active in Eastern Sudan and they number in the hundreds. That was the first time a Sudanese official openly acknowledged that it has become a hub for human traffickers. Mebrouk, who owes his position to Eritrean strongman Isaias Afwerki, is himself