Tag: UAE
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Abiy’s Errand to Abu Dhabi
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Iska Warran, Somalis; Tread Carefully!
Drawing from Eritrea’s historical experience, the essay analyzes Somalia’s collapse, Somaliland’s resilience, Ethiopia’s controversial push for sea access, and the broader militarization of the Horn of Africa. It warns against foreign interference, empty nationalism, and elite-driven politics, advocating instead for people-centered dialogue and pragmatic, incremental solutions.
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The UAE and the Horn of Africa – A Swirl of Interests and Alliances
Last time I said I would cover the UAE… Here it is. Now, this isn’t a comprehensive history. It’s a sketch—basic pointers you can expand on. But it’s important to know where you stand and what circles surround you. People are born into families that grow into clans, tribes, regions, and nations. Let’s focus on
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Will they make peace?
Culturally, Abyssinia still clings to its archaic, arguably primitive, mindset. Attempts at modernization have not yielded the needed results. From early on, the developed West has portrayed the nation as a Christian island amidst a Muslim sea. But the unlimited support and goodwill the developed West provided didn’t help much. Since the Middle Ages, the
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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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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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One Kicked Out, Two To Go
In 2018, when Abiy Ahmed made his overly promoted visit to Eritrea and “signed a peace agreement” with Isaias Afwerki, half the world media and the political tribes behaved like a child taken to a circus for the first time and watched sheepishly as wool was passed over their eyes. But the second half (and
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Eritrea: A Conveyer Belt Supplying Mercenaries
Eritrea has been a training ground for Sudanese opposition groups that finally made peace with Khartoum and were absorbed in the system in what was known as the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement in 2006. Still, recent reports indicate that new Sudanese groups are being trained there. In April 2020, Gedab News reported that “UAE airplanes
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Ethnic Profiling of Tigrayans in Ethiopia
Ethiopian security forces are carrying out an extensive ethnic profiling and arresting Tigrayans, particularly in Addis Ababa and other major cities. The arrested also include Eritreans. Tigrayans and Eritreans are known as Tigre, a term that means those who hail from Semen, the Northern part from central Ethiopia. Eritreans are caught in the ethnic battles because of the compass
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UAE-Eritrea: Strained Relationship
Last June, a small ship arrived from the UAE carrying relief aid for Eritreans in Dankalia. However, the Assab port authorities denied the ship entry to the port and it couldn’t berth at the Assab docks. Its captain decided to stay offshore where the ship threw its anchor and waited for few days until the UAE
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Jawar, Flipos, Isaias, Our Sources
Jawar Mohammed :I have a friend whose views about Jawar so many times I concluded he lacks clarity– I ruled him out as a reference on Jawar, the activist turned a political leader. First, his adversaries branded him a terrorist, but after he returned from exile to Ethiopia, he became a wise politician. But shortly
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David Copperfield, Isaias, and Dahlan
For more than two weeks, Eritrean activists guessed and speculated about the whereabouts of Isaias Afwerki. The unelected ruler of Eritrea was not seen in public for a long time. But a few days ago, curiosity seemed to have come to an end when Isaias made a four-minute appearance in a recorded video. In the early
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Gloomy Clouds Over the Horn of Africa
Abdella Hamdouk: Last year, the Sudanese Sovereignty Council appointed Abdella Hamdouk as a prime minister. He was sworn in on 21 August 2019. Roughly seven months later, on Monday, March 9, 2020, Hamdouk survived an assassination attempt when an explosion in Khartoum went off and damaged his car as he drove to his office. The
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Quo Vadis? – ክዎ ቫዲስ? – إلى أينَ من هنا؟
Jesus was born in Nazareth*, Galilee, when the Roman emperor Herod ruled Palestine. He was a Roman citizen. Our character of today, Nero the notorious Roman emperor, was born in AD 37, four years after the ascension of Jesus Christ. Nero was only 16 years old when he became emperor and ruled for 13 years.
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The UAE and the Horn of Africa Threesome
Since Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s prime minister in the spring of 2018, he has met with Isaias Afwerki at least a dozen times. On Sunday, Abiy Ahmed arrived in Eritrea once more. This time, he is accompanied by Lemma Megersa, the Ethiopian defense minister. Also, after his first visit to Eritrea in July, 2019, the Somali
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Abu Dhabi to Khartoum Line Through Asmara
Four days after returning from Abu Dhabi where he met Mohammed Bin Zaid of the UAE, on Monday, September 9, Isaias Afwerki traveled to Sudan for a two-day visit where he met General Al Burhan and other officials. In a statement issued after the visit, the Sudanese foreign minister said the two countries agreed to
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Horn of Africa: Port-Politics Taken to New Levels
Yesterday, the Djiboutian President Ismael Guelleh concluded a two-day visit to Mogadishu where he met the Somali president Abdullahi Formaggio and gave a speech at the parliament. During his stay, Guelleh reopened the old Djiboutian embassy in Mogadishu and discussed several bilateral agreements with his counterpart. As Guelleh concluded his visit to Somalia, Osman Saleh,
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Hastily Prepared Tripartite Meeting Wrapped Up
Objections by EPRDF bigwigs has delayed the long-planned visit by Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea to the Amara region of Ethiopia, which was announced over a month ago. Isaias visit also triggered criticism by Mohammed Jawar, the director of Oromo Media Network and a popular mobilizer among the Ethiopian youth. On November 7, Jawar tweeted the
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Saudi Dissident Journalist Allegedly Murdered in Turkey
On a March 29,2018 editorial we speculated that if the Saudi heir apparent Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS, so baptized by Thomas Friedman), succeeds in disbanding the religious police, curtailing the power of the religious authority, and allowing women to drive, it would be a welcome change. However, we expressed skepticism that “ the top to
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Berhane Becomes the First Casualty of the Jeddah Agreement
This morning, former minister Berhane Abrehe, who authored two books and publicly challenged Isaias Afwerki, warning him to avoid signing any national agreements before consulting the Eritrean parliament, was arrested in Asmara. His wife has been in jail for almost a year. The arrest was expected since many observers thought it was imminent. His arrest