Tag: ethiopian civil war
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Eritrea’s Unanswered Question: 34 Years of Isaias Afwerki’s Rule
Eritrea’s Unanswered Question: What 34 Years of Isaias Afwerki’s Rule Reveal About Sovereignty and Survival In the beginning was the question—etched into the soul of the nation itself: Can Eritrea survive—and thrive—as a truly sovereign, independent state? For decades, global powers insisted we could not. Italy once tried to sell Eritrea to Belgium, citing economic
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The Horn of Africa States Ethiopia’s Undiplomatic Faux Pas
It was always clear that Ethiopia’s false historical narrative would one day catch up with it. The country that was Abyssinia adopted Africa’s historical Greek name, Ethiopia, in 1932. It currently proves every sunrise and every sunset that it cannot hold the many nations it had held together by force in the past. The war
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Re-aligned with the PFDJ but disappointed
After the downfall of the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the liberation of Eritrea in 1991, the Sudanese government curtailed the movement of Eritrean opposition organizations on its soil. Denied the opportunity to operate from Sudan, most moved to Ethiopia and stayed there until Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. Several Eritrean opposition organizations
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The Bloody African Horn Region
This week, both Eid and Fasiga came a few days apart; on this occasion, I wish Christians and Muslims who finished Lent and Ramadan, Happy Holidays time. Hopefully, the fasting cleared some bad air and you will have spiritually fulfilling days ahead. For Eritreans, when Christian and Muslim feasts coincide, they become optimistic believing it
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Katanga and Welkait Wars
A few days ago, I read an article by Ahmed Suleiman (Chatham House) in which he examined the Sesame supply chain around the Welkait region. It reminded me of Welkait that I knew about since childhood, and I decided to write and talk about it. In 1960 the region of Katanga under the leadership of
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Eritrea’s Mendelai (መንደላይ), Manhood & Cobra
Author and singer Melake Abraham’s song entitled Mendelay, with close to 3 million views on YouTube, popularized the word Mendelay. Mendelai ending in “ai” will be used throughout this article for reasons the reader will understand. Based on the lyrics, and an interview of the video producer Daniel Teame, Mendelai was used in its Tigrigna
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Horn of Africa’s Never-Ending Tragedy
On March 2, 2023, Gedab News reported that four people lost their lives when Ethiopia celebrated the 127th 1896 anniversary of the victory of Adwa, a battle fought against the Italian colonial army. However, like many atrocities before the death of four people, including a student and as teacher were killed, no one was held
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Finale of an Eritrean Struggle
In the previous two phases, we talked about things that must be done at the individual level. An individual must decide whether they want to support the Eritrean regime, oppose it, or be indifferent to it. If they decide to resist its injustices at the individual level, they decide their degree of resistance. Is it
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Imitating The Eritrean Ruling Party!
Usually, when PFDJ supporters return appalled by what they witnessed while in a visit to Eritrea, they recount their experiences with bitterness to the extent one would think they have joined the opposition to the regime. But soon they meet like-minded friends and enter the echo chambers where they are overwhelmed by the feel-good sentiments.
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AU Team Expected In Mekele Soon
The AU appointed observer team is expected to arrive in Mekele to monitor the situation in Tigray.. It comprises of nine generals from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. An expert whose speciality is not confirmed yet will lead the team. The arrival of the team was delayed due to technical issues including the presence of
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Searches, Arrests, and Tension in Eritrea
The repercussions from the interference of Eritrean forces in the Ethiopian civil war is being felt in Eritrea. Activities of rounding up citizens who can join the war efforts has started a few months ago. Reports indicate rounding up of youth is continuing. Families whose children didn’t report to the authorities to join the military
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Negarit 199: Perfecting the Resistance
In English and Arabic, opposition (معارضة) and resistance (مقاومة) are different, but in Tigrigna the word for both is (ተቃውሞ). Conceptually the terms are similar in usage though different essence. Generally, opposition describes a political party operating in a system of government based on democratic competition through elections. In Eritrea organizing outside the ruling party
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The Land Surveying Engineer
I hold that the problems of our region are mainly cultural, and it can only be ameliorated by fighting illiteracy and adopting proper social policies. Sedentary communities’ land demarcation(m’Terar) is or region’s popular hobby, more nuanced within the PFDJ cult. In recent years the hobby went to the extreme, down to demarcating clan, religious, and
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Abiy and Isaias, Radwan in the Middle.
Ser’e is something forbidden by tradition be it mentioning or consuming. For instance, traditional women do not mention the name of their husbands and must refer to them as “father of so-and so”. Ser’e also forbids the consumption of certain foods and additives, like goat meat or salt. Likewise, partisans have Ser’e not to appreciate
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Time To Clean Your Own Courtyard
Hopefully, the guns will stop. Hopefully those drunk with lust for blood will sober up. Hopefully, those who have nothing to sell but hate, destruction and bloodletting will reevaluate their position. Hopefully the poor victims of this war will breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully the farmers will go to their farms, the shepherds will
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War-Caused Friction Among Eritreans
A government employee said, “In addition to the house-to-house search, uncles and aunts are forced to spy on their own children; spying and snitching on relatives, friends, and neighbors is tearing the Eritrean society apart.”
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Presence of Ethiopian Forces In Eritrea
Can wars end? What are signs that wars will end? What was the result of past “wars to end wars”? Is our region hastening Armageddon? Will the war in our region ever end? Who are the actors in the war apart from what we see? What is sovereignty when foreign forces are stationed in a
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Mighty Eritrea and Great Tigray
I have been reading some books and trying to see the difference between the traditional Tigray and Amhara perspectives of ending Eritrean independence and swallowing it. Things never change in the South, the historical inter-Habesha rivalry rages on, since 1270–the ascension to power of the so-called Solomonic dynasty. The region still suffers from the millennia-old
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Ethiopians Still Talking About Talking
Since Abiy Ahmed took office as Ethiopia’s prime minister in 2018, the region is entangled in a civil war. So far, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, the economy sustained heavy damages, and ethnic conflicts are spreading to every corner of the already unstable region. Preaching hate and violence has become the daily
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Abiy Threatens Eritrean Sovereignty
Last month the Ethiopian Federal Forces transported low-bed trucks loaded with tens of tanks heading towards the direction of Djibouti. The tanks were finally offloaded in Bure, a town on the Eritrean-Ethiopian border. Some sources claimed the tanks were transported from Djibouti to Assab by sea and from there, overland through Eritrean territories to Bure,