Horn of Africa Blog

Intense fighting in Ethiopia as key road is blocked, U.S. warns citizens

2017-08-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

The United States embassy in Ethiopia has reported of intense gunfire between two cities leaving a main road linking the capital and another town blocked.
A statement released by the embassy read: “The U.S. Embassy is aware of reports that the main road from Addis Ababa to Jijiga has been blocked by security forces between the cities of Babile and Harar due to intense fighting including gunfire.”
They added that even though Ethiopian Defense Force troops were arriving in the area, the road in question was not passable. The cause of the clashes is not yet known.

The U.S. Embassy is aware of reports that the main road from Addis Ababa to Jijiga has been blocked by security forces between the cities of Babile and Harar due to intense fighting including gunfire.

They further cautioned citizens on travel to the above mentioned areas. “Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security.”
The US remains one of the few countries that have maintained their travel advisory for Ethiopia despite the lifting of a 10-month state of emergency imposed last October.
The U.S. State Department on December 6, 2016 warned its citizens “of the risks of travel to Ethiopia due to the potential for civil unrest related to sporadic and unpredictable anti-government protests that began in November 2015.” It also spoke about how curfew rules had hampered its activities.

Ethiopia state of emergency affecting work of US embassy

Between December and the latest security message, the US embassy has issued four alerts to its citizens.

5th January: Alert with respect to explosions in Bahir Dar, capital of Oromia region – one of the epicenters of anti-government protests.

11th January: Report of an explosion on January 10, 2017 in the Gondaon Intasole Hotel located in Gondar in Amhara State.

13th April: Alert during the easter festivities, “U.S. citizens to be aware of their surroundings around the upcoming Easter holiday,” the alert said.

27th April: Alert on reports of a series of grenade explosions in the city of Gondar.

One of the towns where the clashes have been reported, Babille, is in eastern Ethiopia. It is believed to have been named after one of the 12 major clans of the Oromo people, it is located in the Oromia Region, 30 kilometers east of Harar.
Harar, also located in eastern Ethiopia is known as the ‘Mecca of Africa’. It’s surrounded by a centuries-old defensive wall that has several large gates. The city is known for its mazelike alleys and traditional houses decorated inside with flat hanging baskets. A holy Islamic city, Harar has many mosques, including the Grand Jami Mosque with its tall white minarets. source http://www.africanews.com/2017/08/10/intense-fighting-in-ethiopia-as-key-road-is-blocked-us-warns-citizens/

‘Africans will be biggest losers after letting foreign military into their continent’

2017-08-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Africa has become a staging ground where foreign countries can show off their military capabilities against one another away from their country of origin at the expense of Africans, says African affairs expert Ayo Johnson.

Turkey is gearing to open its largest overseas military base in Somalia.
The United Arab Emirates are building a military base at the port of Berbera, in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland.
Africa is an attraction to foreign militaries: China opened its first overseas military base on August,1 in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. Djibouti is also currently housing Americans, Japanese and French troops. readmore

The Rise of Aksum

2017-08-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

The Rise of Aksum

History of Africa Episode 5 of 9

Zeinab Badawi travels to the little-visited country of Eritrea and neighbouring Ethiopia, to chart the rise of the Kingdom of Aksum. Described as one of the four greatest civilisations of the ancient world, Zeinab examines archaeological remains - in both countries - dating from many hundreds of years before Christ. She explains how the Kings of Aksum grew rich and powerful from their control of the Red Sea trade and how they were one of the first civilisations that officially embraced Christianity in the 4th century. Zeinab also discovers why the Queen of Sheba and the Sacred Ark of the Covenant are so critical to the story of Aksum.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct3gqs

frica and the Gulf crisis: the peril of picking sides

2017-06-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

As the Gulf crisis enters its third week, the decision to cut or downgrade diplomatic ties with Qatar by eight African countries could have a long-term impact on the nationals of those countries, analysts warned.
"This is not good for Africa. This is rush decision-making and taking sides in a crisis that the leaders have no clear grasp of is dangerous and will scare investors away," Adama Gaye, a Senegalese foreign policy expert told Al Jazeera.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced that they were cutting ties with Qatar and imposing land, sea and air blockades.
The Arab countries accuse Doha of supporting "terrorism" and "extremist groups" - charges which Qatar strongly denies.

Soon after the announcement, some Gulf envoys and ministers started shuttle diplomacy, travelling between countries trying to convince allies to cut ties with Qatar. readmore

Djibouti accuses Eritrea of occupying disputed area Official says Eritrean soldiers occupied moved contested border territory, days after Qatar pulled its peacekeepers out.

2017-06-21T11:37:00.002-07:00

Djibouti's foreign minister has accused neighbouring Eritrea of occupying a disputed territory along their border shortly after Qatar peacekeepers left the location this week.
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said on Friday that Djibouti's military was "on alert" and that it has lodged complaints to the United Nations and the African Union.
"Qatari peacekeepers withdrew on June 12 and 13. On the same day, there were Eritrean military movements on the mountain," Ali Youssouf told the Reuters news agency.
"They are now in full control of Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island. This is in breach of the UN Security Council resolution," he added, referring to areas that the neighbours dispute.
Authorities in Eritrea were not immediately available for comment.
Qatar announced that it was pulling its contingent out on June 14, days after the two East African countries sided with Saudi Arabia and its allies in a major diplomatic standoff with Doha.
Qatar's foreign ministry did not give a reason for the move.

On June 5, a Saudi-led bloc of countries announced they were cutting ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting "terrorists" - allegations Doha strongly denies. readmore

The Petrodollar Is in Trouble

2017-06-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Petrodollar Is in Trouble

As Saudi Arabia continues to liquidate more of its foreign exchange reserves, it means serious trouble for the petrodollar system

Steve St. Angelo

Sun, Jun 18, 2017 | 8297 182

The birth of the petrodollar

The U.S. PetroDollar system is in serious trouble as the Middle East’s largest oil producer continues to suffer as the low oil price devastates its financial bottom line. Saudi Arabia, the key player in the PetroDollar system, continues to liquidate its foreign exchange reserves as the current price of oil is not covering the cost to produce oil as well as finance its readmore

Africa: Qatar's Conflict With Its Neighbours Can Easily Set the Horn of Africa Alight

2017-06-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

It began as a squabble between Arab allies, but the standoff between Qatar and its neighbours is threatening to engulf the Horn of Africa. When Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives declared at the beginning of June that they were severing diplomatic relations with Qatar it appeared to be of interest mainly to the Arabian Peninsula - and the Gulf in particular.

The Saudis and their allies accused Qatar of backing international terrorism. The US, which has the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, looked askance, but did little more than use its good offices to try to ensure that the war of words did not flare into an open conflict.

But the countries just across the Red Sea have found themselves dragged into the dispute. After prevaricating for some time, Eritrea, which had hitherto good relations with Qatar, fell into line with the Saudis and broke ties with Qatar. readmore

With Qatari forces gone, tension rises between Djibouti and Eritrea

2017-06-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

The African Union is calling for calm as border tensions between Djibouti and Eritrea intensify. The rising threat of unrest is further fallout from the diplomatic crisis embroiling Qatar.

A decades-long border dispute in the Doumeira region that, on occasion, had turned violent, was dampened in 2010 when the two sides agreed to let Qatar mediate. Since then, 450 Qatari forces have been maintaining a buffer zone between the two sides – until they up and left last week.
Qatar offered no explanation for the move, though it comes amid a diplomatic dispute with other Arab nations, most notably the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which have cut diplomatic ties and are now trying to isolate Qatar from the rest of the world. Saudi Arabia and its allies allege that Qatar supports Islamist extremists, a charge the small gulf nation denies.
Both Djibouti and Eritrea have good relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and have taken their side in the Gulf row.
Djibouti says that, in the absence of Qatari soldiers, Eritrea has once again occupied the disputed territory, and hints that military clashes are not out of the question.
Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf warned that Djibouti's military were "on alert" and said the nation has lodged complaints to the UN and the African Union (AU). The AU urged restraint and said it would send a fact-finding mission to the disputed border.
It’s possible that the disputed Doumeira region won’t be the only place where the troubles with Qatar will be felt.

"The Qataris are involved in a number of fields outside their immediate region,” H.A. Hellyer, senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, told FRANCE 24. “Many of those pressuring Qatar via these various measures are as well – and many times, they interact. There are probably very many arenas like the Djibouti-Eritrea scenario, and if this crisis in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) continues we may see many more such abrupt disruptions." readmore

Ending Sudan's identity crisis Amir Ahmad

2017-06-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

Friday 10 June 2011 15.30 BST First published on Friday 10 June 2011 15.30 BSTSince a year before its independence in 1956, Sudan has witnessed terrible violence and bloodshed, which continues to this day. The reasons for this are numerous and complex, but one key culprit has always been our Afro-Arab identity crisis, which doesn't seem to have any near end in sight. read more

Contrary to what many northern Sudanese may like to believe, the secession and independence of the south is not going to end the identity crisis, and it's certainly not going to magically turn the country into a genuinely Arab Islamic nation-state despite what Omar al-Bashir may want.
It won't happen, not even by force, due to the simple fact that Sudan always has been and always will be a multi-ethnic, multi-religious melting pot. Multi-ethnic given its minorities and various dominant Arab, Afro-Arab and African tribes, and multi-religious given its diverse population of Muslims, Christians and animists.
The question is: will we eventually have a democratic government that actually recognises and respects our diversity? Or will we continue to have an Islamist Afro-Arab regime, largely in denial of its "Africanness", which forcefully seeks to impose its self-serving interpretation of Islamic law and confused Arab identity on the rest of us?
It's hard to say what the future holds for Sudan, especially in light of the Arab spring, worsening economic conditions, recent northern takeover of Abyei, and the precedence of Sudan's 1964 and 1985 uprisings that succeeded in overthrowing repressive dictatorships.
What ultimately happens remains to be seen. Meanwhile, one of the things we northern Sudanese need to do is to address our identity crisis as a people. It's a crisis the southern Sudanese don't have to deal with because they are ethnically and culturally African.
However, generally speaking, we northern Sudanese are not. With the exception of a few tribes like the Rashaida, who are ethnically and culturally Arab, and some tribes in Darfur and near the south, who are ethnically and culturally African, the majority of northern Sudanese are Afro-Arab.
We're Afro-Arab in three main ways, simplified as follows.:
1. Ethnically as well as culturally Afro-Arab
2. Ethnically Afro-Arab but culturally predominantly Arab (the majority)
3. Ethnically African but culturally predominantly Arab and hence "Arabised"
Nevertheless, our attitudes don't really honour this reality. Yes, there are many of us who value our combined Afro-Arab heritage and self-identify, either as Afro-Arabs or just as Sudanese. There are also many who identify primarily as Arab or African for valid reasons that depend on which side of their cultural and ethnic heritage weighs more heavily. However, there are too many who reject their "Africanness" or "Arabness", with a few in both camps condescendingly and outspokenly showing disrespect for that aspect of themselves which they reject.
Then there are those who don't reject, but rather gently distance themselves from their "Africanness" or "Arabness" – consciously or subconsciously.
From my experience and observations, this act of distancing tends to be dynamic and evolving. It can happen for a variety of personal, social and political reasons in Sudan and within the Afro-Arab Sudanese diaspora.
For instance, many religious Sudanese Afro-Arabs I've spoken to prefer to primarily identify themselves as Arabs, because Arabs were the first Muslims and the people who spread Islam to the world. They see a certain prestige in being associated with that, and their religiosity colours their world view. (Islamic culture and Arab culture are intertwined in many ways in Sudan, and sometimes difficult to tell apart.)
Another example is how the explosion of hip-hop and rap music's popularity in the late 1990s throughout the Arab world made it "cool" for many young urban Sudanese Afro-Arabs to self-identify primarily as black rather than Arab.
And if a conversation I had in 2006 with an Afro-Arab Sudanese-American friend in Chicago is any indication, in a post-9/11 America, many like him prefer to identify as African over Arab.
I can't help but wonder how the Arab spring, which shattered global stereotypes and reaffirmed Arab dignity, might impact on them now.
Different Sudanese Afro-Arabs are obviously going to self-identify in different ways for different reasons, and they're free to be who they want to be – but confusion should not be the outcome. A nation with a confused or, worse, conflicted identity is likely to face difficulties as it tries to move forward, especially if it lacks confidence, self-esteem and a vision for its future.
Socially, the problem can be remedied through better education about our rich history and through more cultural and artistic endeavours that celebrate our pluralistic heritage. While we're at it, let's also tackle internal racism and our sometimes twisted conceptions of beauty in relation to skin colour.
Politically, the solution should be a civil multicultural democracy that recognises and respects our diversity and provides the framework within which we can negotiate our identity as individuals and as a people.
But make no mistake. This democracy will need to nurture our identity as first and foremost Sudanese citizens, which in turn will need to be based on an inclusive "Sudanism" that we'll have to negotiate. Otherwise, we risk remaining a country suffering from a terrible identity crisis – which will be a shame, given our huge potential.

Ethiopia: Action Needed to Safeguard Ethiopia's Climate-Threatened Coffee Industry

2017-06-21T11:14:00.004-07:00

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and collaborators in Ethiopia have today published an innovative new study on the impact of climate change on coffee farming in Ethiopia. The research, conducted over a three-year period, investigated the potential for building a climate resilient coffee economy for Ethiopia.

The paper, published today in Nature Plants, is called 'Resilience potential of the Ethiopian coffee sector under climate change'.

Ethiopia is the world's fifth largest coffee producer and Africa's main exporter. In 2015/16, 180,000 metric tonnes of coffee at a value of US$800m was exported from the country, generating a quarter of the country's export earnings and providing livelihoods for around 15 million Ethiopians.

Against a backdrop of rapidly increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall, there was an urgent need to understand how climate change is influencing coffee production and what the options for the future are. READMORE

http://allafrica.com/stories/201706191110.html

What’s going on with Qatar?

2017-06-13T12:37:00.002-07:00

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

June 1, 2017 at 5:00 AM

Watch more!

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain released separate statements on June 5 saying they would cut air, sea and land links with Qatar. (Reuters)

Tensions have resurfaced in a sustained media onslaught that has again cast Qatar as a threat to stability and security in the Persian Gulf. At the heart of the latest argument among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are incendiary comments attributed to Qatar’s Emir Tamim at a military graduation ceremony May 23.

A report published on the Qatar News Agency (QNA) website later that day alleged that the emir stated that Qatar had a tense relationship with President Trump’s administration, described Hamas as “the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” and called Iran “a big power in the stabilization of the region.” Qatar TV later reported the emir’s alleged speech on its evening news program before the government communications office claimed — belatedly, on May 24 — that the QNA website had been hacked and false statements posted on it.

Campaign to discredit Doha

Regardless of whether they were made or fabricated — and people present at the military graduation insist that the emir made no speech whatsoever — Tamim’s remarks caused immediate uproar in regional media, much of it based in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Both countries blocked Al Jazeera and other Qatar-based media outlets in the aftermath of the allegations, and new articles have been published daily in the week since. Almost without exception, each article has taken the emir’s speech as fact and proceeded, on that basis, to accuse Qatar of being the weak link in the threat to regional stability from Iran and terrorism — and to demand that Qatar choose sides between the GCC and Iran.

The ferocity and the sheer scale of the “Qatar-bashing” articles suggest that an orchestrated campaign is underway to discredit Doha regionally but also — crucially — in the eyes of the Trump administration.

This comes three years after a nine-month standoff between Qatar and three of its neighbors — Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain — rocked the six-member GCC. In the time since, Tamim and Abu Dhabi’s influential crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, exchanged frequent visits, and Qatar’s decision to deploy 1,000 soldiers to Yemen in September 2015 seemed to indicate that the 2014 upheaval was a thing of the past. What, then, has changed, and why has a seemingly dormant dispute suddenly flared up again and in such a visceral manner?

Arab leaders pose for a group photo during the 28th Ordinary Summit of the Arab League at the Dead Sea, Jordan, on March 29, 2017. (Mohammad Hamed/Reuters)

The Trump factor

A convergence of factors appears to have shifted the geopolitical landscape in the Persian Gulf. The Trump administration signaled that it intends to follow a set of regional policies that are aligned far closer to those of Abu Dhabi and Riyadh than Doha. Both Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were high-profile visitors to Washington in the run-up to the Riyadh summit with Arab and Islamic leaders.

Further, the policy inexperience of many within Trump’s inner circle has presented an opportunity for both the Saudis and the Emiratis to shape the administration’s thinking on critical regional issues such as Iran and Islamism, both of which were evident during the Riyadh visit.

Whereas the Obama administration sought to enhance U.S. engagement with the GCC as a bloc, Trump focused instead on Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the twin pillars of its regional approach. Strong bonds reportedly have formed between Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia as well as Yusuf al-Otaiba, the influential UAE ambassador in Washington.

Key principals within the Trump administration, such as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, hold views on Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood that are virtually indistinguishable from those in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are emerging as the two spearheads around which U.S. regional policies are realigning, including a set of hawkish defense and security interests; the joint raid conducted by U.S. and UAE Special Forces in Yemen in January may well be only the first of numerous joint initiatives across regional conflict zones in the months and years ahead. READMOREREADMORE

The Persian Gulf crisis over Qatar, explained

2017-06-13T12:35:00.002-07:00

The Persian Gulf crisis over Qatar, explained

By Ishaan Tharoor June 6

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Play Video 2:28

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said they would cut air, sea and land links with Qatar. (The Washington Post)

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are in the grip of an unprecedented regional crisis. In Monday's early hours, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt released coordinated statements, announcing a diplomatic break with the tiny-yet-wealthy peninsular nation of Qatar. They cut air, sea and land links and ordered Qatari officials and nationals stationed in their countries to return home. read more

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir lays down several steps for restoration of ties with Arab allies.

2017-06-13T12:34:00.001-07:00

WATCH: Qatar faces embargoes as biggest regional diplomatic crisis in years escalates (3:08)

"We want to see Qatar implement the promises it made a few years back with regard to its support of extremist groups, to its hostile media and interference in affairs of other countries," Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris.
"Nobody wants to hurt Qatar. It has to choose whether it must move in one direction or another direction. We took this step with great pain so that it understands that these policies are not sustainable and must change."
Jubeir added that Qatar was undermining the Palestinian Authority and Egypt in its support of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We don't think this is good. Qatar has to stop these policies so that it can contribute to stability in the Middle East," he said.
Jubeir declined to say exactly what he wanted Qatar to do immediately, but said the measures taken by Arab states, including a sea, land and air blockade would have a considerable cost on the country.
"We believe that common sense and logic will convince Qatar to take the right steps. The decisions that were made were very strong and will have a fairly large cost on Qatar and we do not believe that Qataris want to sustain those costs," he said. READMORE

ጥርዚ ቅልውላው ማእከላይ ምብራቕ

2017-06-13T12:32:00.002-07:00

ኣብ ሃገራት ኣዕራብ ዘይርጉእነት ትፈጥር፡ ግብረ ሽበራ ትድግፍ ብምባል ልዕሊ ሓሙሽተ ሀገራት ጋልፍ፡ ንቐጠር ኣግሊለን ዝምድናኤን በቲኸን ኣለዋ። ቀጠር ግና ነዚ ክሲ ብትሪ ትቃወሞ ኣላ።ሱዕዲ ዓረብ፡ ግብጺን ካልኦት ሰለስተ ሃገራት ዓረብ፡ ቐጠር ንኸም በዓል ዳዒሽ ብምድጋፍ ነቲ ዞባ ትሕምሶ ኣላ ኢለን እየን ዝኸሰኣ።እዚ ተፈጢሩ ዘሎ ኩነታት ጠርዚ ናይቲ ዝጸንሐ ፍሕፍሕን ጽልዋ ናይቲ ኣብዚ ቅሩብ ምብጻሕ ዝገበረ ናይ ኣመሪካ ፕረሲደንት ዶናልድ ትራምፕ እዩ ዝበሃል። ነዚ ዝምልከት ትንታነ ይስዕብ፡
READMORE

Qatar and Eritrea to strengthen ties

2017-06-13T12:30:00.002-07:00

me Eritrea News Qatar Qatar and Eritrea to strengthen ties

Qatar and Eritrea to strengthen ties

Admin year ago Eritrea, News, Qatar

H.E. President Isaias Afwerki with HE Minister of Environment Ahmed bin Amer Al Humaidi

By Eritrea Embassy Media

Steps taken by Qatar and Eritrea to strengthen their ties in every aspect serve as a solid example of this success. Doha has shown an interest in expanding cooperation, maintain relations in a number of fields, notably health care, education, construction, energy, tourism, exploring investment opportunities in Eritrea.

Qatar is a high income economy backed by the world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. The country has the highest per capita income in the world, and has the second highest standard of living in the Middle East and the seventh highest in Asia.

Qatar’s diplomatic incursions into the Horn of Africa

2017-06-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Qatar’s diplomatic incursions into the Horn of Africa

3 March 2017
Joburg Post
Africa
0 Comments

Summary
Although it is a small country in a dangerous neighbourhood, Qatar has regional ambitions. It punches above its weight diplomatically
by acting as a mediator in conflicts in the Horn of Africa. The results have been mixed, with negotiations hampered by the centralisation
of foreign policy in the person of the emir, who does not seek advice from his foreign affairs ministry. However, Qatar’s successes have been impressive and among the underpinnings of its efforts are wealth, shared with its citizens – from huge natural gas deposits, security guarantees from the United States and a strong alliance with Turkey – and Qatar’s position as the home of the media giant, Al Jazeera.

AT JUST UNDER 12 000 square kilometres, Qatar is the third smallest country in the Middle East, after Kuwait and Bahrain. Only 250 000 of its total population of two million are Qatari nationals. Thus nationals, who live mostly in and around the capital, Doha, constitute a minority, although a wealthy one – Qatar’s average GDP per capita income is US$140 000.
Because it has too few recruitable nationals, Qatar’s small military force mainly consists of foreigners, including numerous Pakistanis and Yemenis.
The country, which attained its independence in 1971, operates in a geopolitically rough and economically competitive region. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia and Iran, both of which are historically significant, more populous, geographically bigger, politically hostile, diplomatically influential and militarily stronger countries.
Nonetheless, Qatar possesses the third largest reserves of natural gas in the world, after Russia and Iran, and its reserves are projected to last for decades to come.

Since 2006, it has emerged as the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which generates the bulk of its total export revenues.
It is also endowed with a relatively young political leadership, which wants to ‘play a greater role and mould regional politics according to [Qatar’s best] interests’.
This leadership chose not to pursue the softer and passive foreign policy of Kuwait and Bahrain, the Middle East’s other small, wealthy countries. Instead, it purposefully took a different route and pursued a distinctively energetic and self-determined foreign policy. Consequently, Qatar has ended up, in less than two decades, attaining an international significance considerably at odds with its youthful statehood, small physical size, small population of Qatari citizens, limited military capability and unfavourable geopolitical situation.

Qatar has ended up, in less than two decades, attaining an international significance considerably at odds with its youthful statehood

Qatar has begun to play an influential role in the Horn of Africa in security and diplomacy. It previously established close relations with Sudan and Eritrea, recently repaired its troubled bilateral relations with Ethiopia and provides financial assistance to the current government of Somalia. It successfully mediated conflicts between Eritrea and Sudan and Eritrea and Djibouti. Additionally, Qatar rather clumsily mediated Sudan’s Darfur conflict.
This case study of Qatari engagement in the Horn of Africa highlights the evolution of its international role, bearing in mind its diplomatic rivalry with Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as the added value and limits of Qatar’s mediation in the Horn of Africa’s many intractable conflicts. And it underlines the gap between the decisions of a small country punching above its weight and the uninstitutionalised implementation of its broadest objectives.
The report is divided into three parts. The first part provides insights into the nature and operation of Qatar’s foreign policy decision-making. The second part explicates the two main objectives of the country’s foreign policy. It
also outlines the three preferred instruments used by Qatar to achieve these objectives. The third part examines the relations of Qatar with countries of the Horn of Africa.

A foreign policy centred on the emir
Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family, currently headed by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, is one of the largest ruling families in the Middle East. This extended family has had a long history of intense infighting, mainly over foreign alliances and for top political positions. The family is the centre of the country’s politics and in a position of uncontested power, with absolute control over all existing institutions. Thus appointments to the highest government offices are usually based on personal loyalty to the incumbent emir, whose primary concern is the ongoing centralisation and retention of power. The ability of potential rivals in the Al Thani family to oppose both domestic and foreign policies and to compete for political power has been effectively curtailed.

Hiba Khodr, assistant professor of public policy and public management at the American University of Beirut, contends that, even if it is tricky to discern how policies are exactly formulated in Qatar, the political leadership, including the omnipresent emir and his restricted inner circle, ‘has considerable autonomy and dominates the policy-making process’.14 He argues that ‘this elite group attempts to understand citizens’ needs, articulates a national vision, sets the near-term political agenda and oversees policy implementation and evaluation’.15 Yet,
he notes, there are ‘limited institutionalised channels of communication between citizens and the government, and, as a result, public officials do not appear to possess formal means of detecting the national mood or policy preferences of their citizens’.16
From 1995 when he captured power through a bloodless coup until 2013 when he unexpectedly abdicated, 64-year-old Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani had, without much political and bureaucratic turmoil, ‘centralised power in his own hands’.17 Indeed, ‘all domestic policies, like their foreign counterparts, are top-down decisions made primarily by the emir [Hamad] … [And, there was a visible] lack of public consultation on domestic and foreign policy [and a] lack of access to information on public affairs’.
During Hamad’s rule, four like-minded individuals played a vital role in Qatar’s decision-making.19 Apart from the emir himself, there was his second and favourite wife, Sheikha Mowza bint Nasser. She is portrayed by one interviewee as ‘having politics in her blood, [as] being often unofficially involved in policy deliberations and
key decisions and [as] the glue which holds the elite group together’.
There was also Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim Al Thani, a distant cousin of Hamad, who served as prime minister between 2007 and 2013 and as minister of foreign affairs between 1992 and 2013. Jasim was a trusted aide whose opinions carried some weight. He was a forcefully supportive foreign policy second-in-command to

Hamad,21 who greatly relied upon his hard work, tactical acumen and extensive personal networks in power circles around the world.22 Sir Graham Boyce, a former UK ambassador to Qatar, writes that Jasim had ‘remarkable access to the leaders in every Western capital’.
The current emir, the 36-year-old Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, is the son of previous emir Hamad and his second wife, Sheikha Mowza. Like his father, Tamim went to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He was appointed crown prince in 2003, gradually promoted to a leadership position and gained experience in international dealings.
Tamim inherited and retained the weak and underutilised institutions that were characteristic of his father’s long rule.25 Foreign policy decision-making and diplomacy have remained the emir’s prerogative and institutions ‘hardly seem to matter’.
In a slight departure from previous practice, in 2013 Tamim appointed deputy minister of foreign affairs Khalid Al Attiya, who is not a member of the Al Thani family, as minister of foreign affairs, a post he held until 2016.27
An interviewee felt that Khalid ‘did not challenge the decisions of his political master and kept his personal opinions in check’.28 He was replaced by 36-year-old Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, another discreet loyalist but a distant cousin of the new emir. readmore

Drought struck Ethiopia last year too

2017-06-13T12:09:00.001-07:00

Ethiopia has denied suggestions by UN officials that it will run out of emergency food aid for millions of people by the end of this month.

The UN's World Food Programme said 7.8 million people affected by drought would be left without food assistance.
But Ethiopian officials put the number of those affected at 1.7 million and said they would receive new help either from donors or the government.
Ethiopia has been struggling following successive failed rains.
Famine has been declared in South Sudan, and there have been warnings of famine in north-east Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia.
Ethiopia's commissioner for disaster risk management Mitiku Kassa said: "It's true that in some areas food will run out by the end of the month but this will only affect around 1.7 million people.
"We expect the donor community to step in to fill that gap and we are hopeful. But if they fail to do that, we will have to use some of our development budget to provide emergency assistance to our people."

Can Ethiopia cope with worst drought in decades?

Earlier reports suggested that the Ethiopian government did not have the funds to cope by itself, although analysts have acknowledged it has got better at coping with droughts than in previous years.
The government allocated $381m (£300m) extra over the last two years, but aid experts have questioned whether this can be sustained for a third year.
Ethiopia is in a "dire situation", according to John Aylieff of the World Food Programme.
"We've got food running out nationally at the end of June," he told reporters on Friday.
"That means the 7.8 million people who are in need of humanitarian food assistance in Ethiopia will see that distribution cut abruptly at the end of June."
His words were echoed by John Graham, of Save the Children
He told AFP news agency: "After [the food runs out], we don't know what is going to happen. And without that basic food then you will have problem falling into severe malnutrition because people are not getting any food.

"These children become severely malnourished and that's where you have a very dangerous situation." readmore

Qatar Crisis: Will Eritrea and Ethiopia take sides?

2017-06-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

messengerafrica June 10, 2017 Analysis, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Interviews, Somalia, Sudan

Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on a visit in April 2015 (Saudi Press Agency)

As battle lines are drawn in the diplomatic standoff between Qatar and Saudi Arabia that began last Monday, Horn of Africa nations including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan face pressures from the Saudi-led coalition to sever ties with Qatar.
Saudi Arabia has mustered a coalition with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt and other powers, seeking to isolate Qatar diplomatically and economically over its support for Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other militant groups. Qatar says the campaign aims to subvert its sovereign right to enact its own foreign policy.
Several Arab and Turkish news agencies on Friday cited a statement in Arabic by Asmara’s foreign ministry declining a request by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. The purported statement said that Qatar “rejected” the demand to cut ties “with brother Doha,” adding, Eritrea has “strong ties with the brother people of Qatar,” and it was “impossible to cut ties.”
But the country’s information minister took to Twitter soon thereafter to disavow the statement and described it as “forged” on foreign ministry letterhead. But he did not elaborate further on the actual state of relations with Qatar or Saudi Arabia.
Eritrea hosts a military base belonging to Qatar’s Gulf rival UAE. But the country also has significant ties with Doha. Speaking with The Messenger on Wednesday, Professor Harry Verhoeven explained that Eritrea is a country with few international allies and that Qatar is one friend that has proven itself “reliable.”
Meanwhile, Eritrea’s neighbor and rival Ethiopia is likely to be cautious about getting drawn into the diplomatic row, even though its sympathies probably lie more with the other side, according to Professor Verhoeven, who has written extensively on international relations in the Horn of Africa.
Verhoeven points to ties between Ethiopia and Israel as a relevant factor, saying the Israelis are opposed to the Qatari position. He also cites ongoing talks between Ethiopia and the UAE over the refurbishment of the Red Sea port of Berbera. “It’s complex for Ethiopia because Ethiopia suffers from a lack fo deep ties to any of these players and in many ways actually a lack of understanding of how they operate. So I think it’s difficult for Ethiopia to decide in the near future on a particular course. But there’s no question Ethiopia will look for an opportunity,” he says.
“It’s interesting that at the very time this is happening (Prime Minister) Hailemariam has been visiting Israel. And Israel, of course, officially is not in the picture but is very closely aligned with the Emirati and Saudi position. Also if you look at some of the Saudi and Emirati demands of the Qataris — these could be Israel’s demands — demands about Hamas, about Hezbollah, about the Al Jazeera coverage, about potential ties with Iran.”
However, Verhoeven does not describe the relationship between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia and its ally UAE as unequivocally strong. He says the Ethiopians have been sceptical of Saudi and Emirati influence in the Horn of Africa even as they’ve seen their bilateral relationships grow. The Ethiopians are “trying to at least adjust themselves to the Emiratis and the Saudis on the one hand as a potentially credible partner, and on the other hand, trying to say, well, don’t pull too closely to Somaliland and particularly also to Eritrea.”

‘Ethiopia would probably calculate that it has more to lose from pulling closer to Qatar.’

Verhoeven sees Ethiopia as likely to ‘inch closer’ to the Saudi camp. “Ethiopia is largely in reactive mode. It’s difficult for them to shape these events. And so they’ll certainly look for an opportunity as everybody else does, but I would expect a relatively high degree of caution when it comes to this dispute, even though, as I said, most of their sympathies — I think their strategic instinct — will point in the direction of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi,” he says.
What’s unusual about this potential alignment is that it would put Ethiopia in the same camp as Egypt, which has sided strongly with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, even though the relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia is quite tense right now.
“Ethiopia would probably calculate that it has more to lose from, say, pulling closer to Qatar or the Iranians, which would also be compromising of the relationship with the United States, particularly under this administration, so that’s why I would think that they would inch closer to that camp rather than to the other side.” readmore
source https://messengerafrica.com/2017/06/10/qatar-crisis-eritrea-stands-with-brother-doha-but-whither-ethiopia/

Somalia turns down $80m to cut ties with Qatar

2017-06-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

June 12, 2017 at 2:35 pm | Published in: Africa, Middle East, News, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, UAE

Image of Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on 8 February 2017 [AMISOM Public Information/Flickr]

June 12, 2017 at 2:35 pm

Somali President, Mohammed Abdullah Farmajo, has been offered $80 million in exchange for his agreement to sever diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar, the New Khalij news outlet reported a prominent journalist has revealed.

“After two hours of enticement, Farmajo rejected the tempting offer,” journalist Jaber Al-Harimi said.

Yesterday, the newspaper Somalia Today quoted unnamed sources saying “there was pressure put on the Somali government by Saudi Arabia to reverse Somalia’s decision to stay neutral in the siege imposed by some Arab governments on the State of Qatar.”

Read: Trump chooses multibillion-dollar Saudi deal over security cooperation with Qatar

The sources confirmed that Saudi Arabia threatened to withdraw financial aid to the Somali government unless Somalia change its neutral stand in which it has called for an end to the political dispute between Qatar and the other Arab nations through dialogue via Islamic organisations like the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

The sources added that “ministers of the Somali government returned from Saudi Arabia after meetings with their counterpart were unexpectedly postponed.” It is understood that the rulers of the UAE, with the knowledge of Saudi Arabia, have already sought to persuade Farmajo, who won the presidency despite opposition from the UAE, to change his position.

Sources close to Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, explained to the New Khalij that the rulers of the UAE, in particular the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed, would have preferred the former president, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, to remain in power, especially because of the concessions that the UAE were given by Mahmoud, including contracts for the unfettered access and management of a number of Somali ports that would have provided the UAE with an important strategic position in trading across the world. The new Somali President, Farmajo, has vowed to reverse a number of agreements, some of which have been described as “illegal”.

Also arriving yesterday in the Somali capital were a Qatari delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sultan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, to hold talks between the Gulf States and officials of the Somali Federal government. According to sources, the Qatari delegation met with the Somali Prime Minister, Hasan Ali Khairi, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are also expected to meet Farmajo.

The Qatari delegation praised the non-aligned stance taken by government towards the Gulf countries and encouraged Somali leaders to maintain their stance against the embargo on Qatar at any cost.

Somalia allowed Qatar the use of its airspace to break the no fly restriction imposed by the Arab countries. “At least 15 Qatari planes flew through Somali Airspace on the first day of the blockade on Qatar,” the Associated Press quoted an official with the aviation authority as saying. source https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170612-somalia-turns-down-80m-to-cut-ties-with-qatar/

Eritrea Sides with Gulf Nations Against Qatar Eritrea Sides with Gulf Nations Against Qatar

2017-06-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

www.arabnews.com | June 12, 2017

DOHA, Qatar: Eritrea has expressed support for Saudi Arabia and its allies after they cut ties with Qatar.

The Eritrean Information Ministry’s statement of support on Monday came despite its previously close ties with energy-rich Qatar.

The statement said the initiative by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates “is not confined to Qatar alone as the potential of Qatar is very limited,” but is “one initiative among many in the right direction that envisages full realization of regional security and stability.”

The three countries along with Bahrain cut ties to Qatar last week over alleged Qatari support for Islamic extremists. Along with Bahrain, they have moved to block air, land and sea routes to the energy-rich Gulf nation.

Both Saudi and Qatari officials appear to be seeking support from Ethiopia.

Qatari officials met Monday with Ethiopia’s prime minister and Saudi officials visited the Ethiopian capital over the weekend.

Qatar has remained defiant as the dispute worsened, Its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, is welcoming diplomatic efforts to calm the standoff, but insists that no one can dictate its foreign policy.

Al Thani said Monday that Qatar is in contact with international aviation authorities and legal organizations as it tries to fight back against moves by Saudi Arabia and its allies to cut off its land, air and sea access.

Speaking after diplomatic meetings in Paris, Al Thani said Qatar is ready to negotiate anything “related to the collective security of the Gulf countries” but insisted that Qatari foreign policy is not open to debate.

He also said “no one has the right” to pressure Qatar to silence TV network Al Jazeera, which is based in Doha.

Al Thani has visited multiple European countries in recent days seeking diplomatic support.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1113951/middle-east

Gulf plunged into diplomatic crisis as countries cut ties with Qatar

2017-06-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Qatari diplomats ejected and land, air and sea traffic routes cut off in row over terror and regional stability

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

The Gulf has been hit by its biggest diplomatic crisis in years after Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region with its support for Islamist groups.
The countries said they would halt all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, eject its diplomats and order Qatari citizens to leave the Gulf states within 14 days. Shoppers in the Qatari capital, Doha, meanwhile packed supermarkets amid fears the country, which relies on imports from its neighbours, would face food shortages after Saudi Arabia closed its sole land border.
Social media reports from Doha showed supermarket shelves empty as nervous consumers began to worry that stocks of food and water would run out. As much as 40% of Qatar’s food comes over the Saudi border.
The small but very wealthy nation, the richest in the world per capita, was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. read morereadmore

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar’s support of Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and its perceived tolerance of Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival, Iran. The dispute is the worst to hit the Gulf since the formation of the Gulf Co-operation Council in 1981. Qatar’s foreign affairs ministry said the measures were unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions. As the Qatari stock market tumbled and oil prices rose, it accused its fellow Gulf states of violating its sovereignty.
“The state of Qatar has been subjected to a campaign of lies that have reached the point of complete fabrication,” a statement said. “It reveals a hidden plan to undermine the state of Qatar.”
Saudi Arabia said it took the decision to cut diplomatic ties owing to Qatar’s “embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region”, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Islamic State and groups supported by Iran in Saudi Arabia’s restive eastern province of Qatif.

ቀጠር፣ ንመስርሕ ሰላምን ዕርቂን ኤርትራን ጅቡትን ብወግዒ ደው ኣቢላ

2017-06-13T11:54:00.002-07:00

ንግስነት ቀጠር፣ ነቲ ካብ ሰነ 2008 ኣትሒዙ ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ጅቡትንን ዝተጎሃሃረ ዶባዊ ግጭት ብሰለማዊ መንገዲ ንምፍትሑ ዝጀመሮ መስርሕ ሰላምን ዕርቂን ብወግዒ ደው ከምዘበለት ዲፕሎማስያውን ምንጭታት ኣረጋጊጾም።

ሚኒስትሪ ጉዳያት ወጻኢ ቀጠር ናብ መንግስታት ጅቡትን ኤርትራን ኣብ ዝልኣኾ ወግዓዊ ደብዳቤ፣ ንግስነት ቀጠር፣ ነቲ ንኣስታት ሸሞንተ ዓመታት ከካይዶ ዝጸንሀ ጻዕሪ ከምዘቋረጾ ብምምልካት፣ ኣብ ናይ መወዳእታ መዓልብኡ ዘይበጽሐ መስርሕ ሰላም ክልቲኤን ሃገራት ናብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ክሰጋገር ዝብል እማመ ኣቕሪቡ።

እቲ ሚኒስተሪ ኣብ መግለጺኡ፣ ኣብቲ ንኤርትራን ጅቡትን ዘሰሓሓበ ከባቢታት ሙሳ ዓሊ ተዋፊሩ ዝጸንሐ ተዓዛቢ ሰራዊት ቀጠር ከምዝሰሓበ ኣነጺሩ።

ንግስነት ቀጠር ነዚ ስጉምቲ'ዚ ዝወሰደ፣ ድሕሪ'ቲ ኤርትራን ጅቡትን ንመርገጺ ስዑዲ ዓረብን ሕቡራት ኢማራትን ብምድጋፍ ዝምድንአን ከዛሕትላ ምውሳነን'ዩ።

ብመንጎኝነት ቀጠር ኣብ ዝተኻየደ መስርሕ ሰላምን ዕርቂን፣ ኤርትራ ሒዛቶም ዝነበረት ኣርባዕተ ምሩኳት ኵናት ጅቡቲ ከተረክብ እንከላ፣ ናብ ኤርትራ ክምለሱ ድሌት ከምዘይብሎም ዘረጋገጹ ኣብ ጅቡቲ ተታሒዞም ዝነበሩ 19 ምሩዅት ኵናት ኤርትራ ናብ ትካል ስደተኛታት ሕቡራት ሃገራት ከምዝተሰጋገሩ ኣይርሳዕን።

ይኹን'ምበር እቲ ኣውራ ዘሰሓሓበ ጉዳያት ዶብ ናይ መወዳእታ ሕጋዊ መዕለቢ ከምዘይተገብረሉ ይፍለጥ።

ኣሰር ስዑዲ ዓረብን ሕቡራት ኢማራትን እናሰዓበ ምስ ናይ ቀደም መሻርኽቱ ዝኾና ሃገራት ዝጸንሖ ዝምድና ከሻሕክር ዝጸንሐ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ፣ ኣብ 12 ሰነ ኣብ ዘአጽኦ መግለጺ፣ ኣንጻር ቀጠር መርገጺ ከምዝወሰደ ኣነጺሩ።

እቲ መንግስቲ ኣንጻር ቀጠር ዝቀንዐ መርገጺ ዝወስድ ዘሎ፣ ግብር መልሲ ናይቲ ቀጠር ብጉዳይ ጅቡቲ ምስ ኤርትራ ዝነበራ ዝምድና ምዝሕታላን ንዕኡ ተኸቲሉ ዝመጸ ምቁራጽ በረራታት መንገዲ ኣየር ቀጠር ናብ ኤርትራን ምዃኑ ሬድዮ ኤረና ዝተወከሰቶም ተንተንቲ ፖለቲካ ይገልጹ።

ኣብ ርእሲ'ዚ'ውን ስዑዲ ዓረብን ሕቡራት ኢማራትን ብጉዳይ የመን ተተሓሒዙ ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ድሕሪ ዝጀመርኡ ሽርክና፣ ኣምሳያ ናይቲ ኣብ ወደብ ዓሰብ ዝህበን ዘሎ ወትሃደራዊ ኣገልግሎታት፣ ሚልዮናት ዶላራት ሓገዝ የብርክታሉ ምህላወን ዝሓበሩ እቶም ተንተንቲ፣ ምስታ ሓደ እዋን ዝቐረበ ዝምድና ዝነበሮ ቀጠር፣ ዝምድንኡ ከዛሕትል ወሲኑ ከምዘሎ ኣረዲኦም።

መንግስቲ ኤርትራ፣ ምስ ስዑዲ ዓረብን ሕቡራት ኢማራትን ሓድሽ ስልታዊ ዝምድና ካብ ዝመስረተለን ኣብዘን ኣስታት ክልተ ዓመታት ጥራይ ናይ ወጻኢ ፖሊስኡ ክገላበጥ ከምዝጸንሐ ዘረድኡ እቶም ተንተንቲ፣ ኣቐዲሙ'ውን ምስታ ንነዊሕ እዋን ዝምድና ዝነበሮ ኢራን ተመሳሳሊ መርገጺ ከምዝወሰደ ኣዘኻኺሮም።

መንግስቲ ኤርትራ፣ ደድሕሪ መርገጺታት ስዑዲ ዓረብን ሕቡራት ኢማራትን ዝጉተት ዘሎ፣ ኣብ ዞባ ሃገራት ዓረብ ኣገዳስን ጸለዋን ተራ ሃልይዎ ዘይኮነ፣ እቲ ድሮ ብጉዳይ ዓሰብ ዝረኽቦ ዘሎ ሚልዮናት ዶላራት ንኸይኩለፍ ዝገብሮ ጻዕሪ ጥራይ ምዃኑ እቶም ተንተንቲ ኣስሚሮም።

ኣብ መንጎ ኣሚር ቀጠርን ፕረዚደንት ኢሳይያስን ብዝነበረ ጥቡቕ ዝምድና፣ ኣሚር ቀጠር ነበር ሸሕ ሓማድ፣ ንስድራቤቱን ስድራቤት ፕረዚደንት ኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂን፣ ኣብ ደሴት ዳህላክ መዘናግዒ ሪዞርት፣ ወይ ፍሉይ ቦታ ብሊባኖሳዊ ኩበንያ ከምዝሃንጸ ይፍለጥ።

ብዘይካ'ዚ በዓልቲ ቤት ኣሚር ቀጠር ነበር ሸሕ ሓማድን ኣድኡ ነዚ ሕጂ ዘሎ ኣሚር እ ሃገር ሸኽ ታሚምን፣ ኣብ እትውንኖ ናይ መጓዓዝያ ትካል ኣብ ምምራሕ መኪና ንኽሰርሑ ኣማኢት ተጋደልቲ ነበርን ሓለፋ ዝተገብረሎም ዜጋታትን ናብታ ሃገር ከምዝገዓዙ ኣይርሳዕን።

ሓገዝ ቀጠር በዚ ከይትሓጽረ፣ ብመንገዲ ኣልጀዚራ፣ ኣብ ሚኒስትሪ ዜና ናይ ኣቑሑ ረዲኤትን ምስልጣን ኣባላት ዜናን ከምዘሰላሰለት ሰነዳት የረጋግጹ።

በንጻር እዚ፣ ስዑዲ ዓረብ ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ንኣስታት 15 ዓመታት ዝኾነት ዓይነት ዝምድና ከምዘይጸንሓን ዝፍለጥ ኮይኑ፣ ስዑዲ ኣብ የመን ወትሃደራዊ መጥቃዕቲ ንምክያድ ኣብ ዝወሰነትሉ ንኤርትራ ንስልታዊ ረብሓታት ክትጥቀመላ ካብ ምሕላን፣ ዝምድና ከምዝመስረተት ኣቐዲሙ ተጠቒሱ'ዩ።

ጉዳይ የመን ብወትሃደራዊ መጥቃዕቲ ከምዘይፍታሕ ርጉጽ ኣብ ዝኾነሉን ብፖለቲካዊ መስርሕ ኣብ ዝትከኣሉን እዋን፣ ስዑዲ ምስ ኤርትራ መስሪታቶ ዘላ ስልታዊ ዝምድና ከተዛሕትል ተኽእሎ ከምዘሎ ትንታነታት ይወሃቦ'ዩ።

ድሕሪ'ቲ ስዑዲ ዓረብ ምስ ቀጠር ዝጸንሓ ዝምድና ምብታኻ፣ ኣሰር ስዑዲ ስዒበን ዝምድንአ ምስ ቀጠር ዝበተኻ፣ ዘደስከላ ወይ ከኣ ዘዛሕተላ ሃገራት፣ ሕቡራት ኢማራት፣ ባሕሬን፣ ግብጺ፣ ሊብያ፣ ጅቡቲን ኤርትራን ክኾና እንከለዋ፣ ቱርኪ፣ ኩዌትን ሱዳንን ዝርከብአ ሃገራት ከኣ ዕርቂ ዝጽውዓ'የን።

ስዑዲ ዓረብን ቀጠርን፣ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብዚ ጉዳይ ዘለዋ መርገጺ ንምፍላጥ ሰበ ስልጣናተን ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ክልእካ ይርኣዩ።

ንሶማል ንምስዳዕ'ውን ስዑዲ ዓረብ ሚልዮን ዶላራት ሰሊዓ ከምዘላ ይጥቀስ።

እዚ ከምዚ'ሉ እንከሎ፣ ኣብ ስዑዲ ዓረብ፣ ሕቡራት ኢማራትን ባሕሬን ዝርከቡ ዜጋታት ቀጠር ኣብ ውሽጢ ክልተ መዓልታት ክወጹ ተነጊርዎም ኣሎ።

===========================

Poverty Levels Increase from Conflict in Eritrea

2017-04-26T14:08:00.003-07:00

26 Mar 2014

Poverty Levels Increase from Conflict in Eritrea

Situated on the Red Sea, Eritrea is one of the youngest independent countries in the world, but it is also one of the poorest. Eritrea has had to deal with being a small, seriously poor country with many socio-economic problems since it won independence from Ethiopia after 30 years of war in 1993. Like many African nations, the Eritrean economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture with around 60% of its population relying on agricultural activities, like livestock and crop production or fishing, for food and income. In 2003, Eritrea had an annual per capita income of $150 and as a result was ranked at 155 out of 175 countries on the Human Development Index. Food insecurity and poverty are extremely widespread and are increasing; nearly half of their food has to be imported even with adequate rainfall.
More than 50% of the entire country was below the poverty line, and 44% of children under the age of five were underweight between 1990 and 2001. Around 2 million Eritrean people, a large amount of the population, are experiencing economic hardship. The low productivity of their livestock enterprises and crops extremely harm rural households, the most affected by poverty. Nearly two-thirds of all the households in Eritrea lack food security.
Some of the worst droughts in Eritrea’s history threatened the lives of over a third of the population from 2002-2004. Large quantities of livestock perished or were sold fairly cheaply to pay for food and crop production greatly fell by about 25%. Malnutrition levels are very high in Eritrea and the rural people do not have much access to social services like healthcare and purification systems for clean drinking water. Many women are the heads of their households and have to produce food and care for their children. These types of households are largely disadvantaged because they rely greatly on the help of male relatives and neighbors who may not always be available when they are needed.
The mandatory military service and armed conflicts take many men away from their families and villages and this plays a large role on the severity of poverty in the country. The border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia left tens of thousands of people killed and although a peace deal was agreed upon, there are still tensions between the disputed territories. There have been more people condemned to poverty than have been lifted out of poverty from the war in Eritrea, but the government has been working toward diplomatic solutions with Ethiopia. After Ethiopia sent in troops to Eritrea in March 2012, Eritrea remained peaceful and announced that it would not retaliate, rather it would use the proper diplomatic channels to resolve the issue and eventually bring economic growth to both countries.
Though the situation does not look promising for many rural families, Eritrea has traditional ways of protecting the rural poor communities. Wealthier families dispose of assets, like livestock and crops, and then make loans to their poorer relatives and neighbors during times of great stress. A community’s wealthier families will help households that are physically unable to cultivate their own land at different times of the agricultural cycle.
– Kenneth W. Kliesner
Sources: Geneva-Academy, IRIN News, Rural Poverty Portal
Photo: WFP

3 Ways to Increase Girls’ Education in Eritrea Eritrean women help drive progress despite difficult situations

2017-04-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

3 Ways to Increase Girls’ Education in Eritrea

Eritrean women help drive progress despite difficult situations

Blog - July 31, 2014 by Koli Banik and Lyndsay Bird| source

Eritrean women help drive progress despite difficult situations

Blog - July 31, 2014 by Koli Banik and Lyndsay Bird|

In 1979, Eritrea was in the middle of its battle for independence. During this time education was seen as essential to build the social capital of the Eritrean community, as a key principle of social justice and a human right. However, parents would only send boys to school.
On a recent trip to Eritrea to pilot a new Gender Analysis Tool (prepared by the Global Partnership for Education and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative) to analyze whether countries are on track to achieve gender equality in education, we had the pleasure of meeting four dynamic women who lived through this difficult time: Luul Gebreab, President of Tsega Gaim Misgun, Director General for Social Service; Worku Zerai, an international consultant; and Mhret Iyob, Director General of the UNESCO National Commission for Eritrea. These four women are founding members of the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), a grassroots organization established in 1979, dedicated to improving the status of Eritrean women.

Giving parents an ultimatum

During the time of the battle for independence, these four women fought behind the trenches to ensure all children had access to education. They created make-shift schools, disseminated political messages and organized supporters. When make-shift classrooms under trees were bombed, schools were moved into caves and eventually simple structures were built and classes were taught with minimal supplies and learning materials. Despite progress, girls were being excluded from education.
A teacher at the time, Tsega Gaim Misgun, took matters into her own hands.

“I told the parents to send their daughters to school, but no one would listen. But I gave them an ultimatum. Bring your daughters by 10.00 this morning, or I will close the school.”

Parents then started bringing their daughters to school and realized the importance of education.
Now when these four women travel through Eritrea, they are recognized by their former students who work in all professions. “This is our proudest accomplishment—to see girls and boys we taught and mentored in professional positions. One girl became a pilot in the air force, another a high profile journalist.”

Three Innovative Ways to Ensure Girls Are EducatedNUEW’s main focus is to coordinate gender issues, mainstream gender and advocate for the cause of Eritrean women. Over the years, NUEW has directly designed and implemented projects and activities to increase access education and training; formulate programs to promote women’s literacy; and improve community attitudes for girls’ education. Three innovative examples are highlighted below:

1. Bicycles
There was a high drop-out rate for girls in the Debre Bizen Secondary School near the town of Nefasit, largely due the distance of the school from their homes. NUEW selected 118 girls who travel more than nine kilometers to be part of a project where 60 girls received bicycles. Of those, 55 completed secondary school and took the matriculation exam.
2. Donkeys and canvas water tanks
NUEW helped to introduce measures to bring more girls into school by providing over 10,000 families with donkeys. In this project, women in rural areas were provided a donkey and canvas water tank. As a result, thousands of girls were able to go to school rather than fetch water. The project also helped with gender roles as boys and men started using the donkey and shared in the water fetching activities.
3. Engage Communities
The rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Eritrea are very high—83% of females nationally have been cut; under the age of 15 rates have reduced to under 15%. In order to engage communities about this harmful and painful practice, the Ministry of Health developed a film and started an advocacy drive to show the film across the country to students and their families. Eventually villages started public declarations against FGM.
NUEW helped create reproductive and gender committees all over the country, which included equal numbers of men and women, girls and boys from the communities. NUEW developed and presented the President of Eritrea with a report on the devastating effects of FGM and encouraged the government to pass legislation against the practice. In 2007, the law was approved but remained difficult to enforce. The NUEW committees get the communities involved and as a result, over 900 cases have been reported to the police since 2007.
These dynamic and courageous women have led the way for other girls and young women to make a difference not only to gender equality in education, but for the whole nation of Eritrea.
Read more about the National Women of Eritrean Women.

Areas:Girls' Education

Regions and Countries:Sub-Saharan Africa: Eritrea

Comments - Join the Conversation

USAID Interested in Eritrea?

Submitted by Elhakim on June 10, 2015 @ 4:23

Hello,
Nice to see an article on Eritrea. It is a welcome news to hear USAID taking interest in Eritrea. Should we expect USAID coming back to Eritrea?
An Eritrean

In 1979, Eritrea was in the middle of its battle for independence. During this time education was seen as essential to build the social capital of the Eritrean community, as a key principle of social justice and a human right. However, parents would only send boys to school.
On a recent trip to Eritrea to pilot a new Gender Analysis Tool (prepared by the Global Partnership for Education and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative) to analyze whether countries are on track to achieve gender equality in education, we had the pleasure of meeting four dynamic women who lived through this difficult time: Luul Gebreab, President of Tsega Gaim Misgun, Director General for Social Service; Worku Zerai, an international consultant; and Mhret Iyob, Director General of the UNESCO National Commission for Eritrea. These four women are founding members of the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), a grassroots organization established in 1979, dedicated to improving the status of Eritrean women.

Giving parents an ultimatum

During the time of the battle for independence, these four women fought behind the trenches to ensure all children had access to education. They created make-shift schools, disseminated political messages and organized supporters. When make-shift classrooms under trees were bombed, schools were moved into caves and eventually simple structures were built and classes were taught with minimal supplies and learning materials. Despite progress, girls were being excluded from education.
A teacher at the time, Tsega Gaim Misgun, took matters into her own hands.

“I told the parents to send their daughters to school, but no one would listen. But I gave them an ultimatum. Bring your daughters by 10.00 this morning, or I will close the school.”

Parents then started bringing their daughters to school and realized the importance of education.
Now when these four women travel through Eritrea, they are recognized by their former students who work in all professions. “This is our proudest accomplishment—to see girls and boys we taught and mentored in professional positions. One girl became a pilot in the air force, another a high profile journalist.”

Three Innovative Ways to Ensure Girls Are Educated

NUEW’s main focus is to coordinate gender issues, mainstream gender and advocate for the cause of Eritrean women. Over the years, NUEW has directly designed and implemented projects and activities to increase access education and training; formulate programs to promote women’s literacy; and improve community attitudes for girls’ education. Three innovative examples are highlighted below:
1. Bicycles
There was a high drop-out rate for girls in the Debre Bizen Secondary School near the town of Nefasit, largely due the distance of the school from their homes. NUEW selected 118 girls who travel more than nine kilometers to be part of a project where 60 girls received bicycles. Of those, 55 completed secondary school and took the matriculation exam.
2. Donkeys and canvas water tanks
NUEW helped to introduce measures to bring more girls into school by providing over 10,000 families with donkeys. In this project, women in rural areas were provided a donkey and canvas water tank. As a result, thousands of girls were able to go to school rather than fetch water. The project also helped with gender roles as boys and men started using the donkey and shared in the water fetching activities.
3. Engage Communities
The rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Eritrea are very high—83% of females nationally have been cut; under the age of 15 rates have reduced to under 15%. In order to engage communities about this harmful and painful practice, the Ministry of Health developed a film and started an advocacy drive to show the film across the country to students and their families. Eventually villages started public declarations against FGM.
NUEW helped create reproductive and gender committees all over the country, which included equal numbers of men and women, girls and boys from the communities. NUEW developed and presented the President of Eritrea with a report on the devastating effects of FGM and encouraged the government to pass legislation against the practice. In 2007, the law was approved but remained difficult to enforce. The NUEW committees get the communities involved and as a result, over 900 cases have been reported to the police since 2007.
These dynamic and courageous women have led the way for other girls and young women to make a difference not only to gender equality in education, but for the whole nation of Eritrea.
Read more about the National Women of Eritrean Women.

Areas:Girls' Education

Regions and Countries:Sub-Saharan Africa: Eritrea

Comments - Join the Conversation

USAID Interested in Eritrea?

Submitted by Elhakim on June 10, 2015 @ 4:23

Hello,
Nice to see an article on Eritrea. It is a welcome news to hear USAID taking interest in Eritrea. Should we expect USAID coming back to Eritrea?
An Eritrean

Sharp increase in number of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe, Ethiopia and Sudan

2017-04-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sharp increase in number of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe, Ethiopia and Sudan

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

14 November 2014 | Français

During the first ten months of 2014, the number of asylum-seekers in Europe from Eritrea has nearly tripled. In Ethiopia and Sudan, neighbouring Eritrea, the number of Eritrean refugees has also increased sharply. So far this year, nearly 37,000 Eritreans have sought refuge in Europe, compared to almost 13,000 during the same period last year. Most asylum requests have been lodged in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland, with the vast majority of the Eritreans having arrived by boat across the Mediterranean. Our office in Italy reports that 22 per cent of the people arriving by boat are Eritrean, a total of nearly 34,000 people this year. This makes Eritreans the second largest group to arrive in Italy by boat, after Syrians.
Most of the Eritreans arriving in Europe have travelled, initially, via Ethiopia and Sudan. These countries have also experienced a dramatic increase in arrivals, including large numbers of unaccompanied children. More than 5,000 Eritreans crossed into Ethiopia during the month of October alone, compared to the average of some 2,000 arrivals per month since the beginning of the year. About 90 per cent of those who arrived in October are between 18 - 24 years old. Seventy-eight children arrived on their own, without an adult family member. The trend seems to continue with more than 1,200 Eritreans having arrived in Ethiopia during the first week of November.
In Sudan, we have also been witnessing a marked increase in the number of arrivals since the beginning of 2014. This year, more than 10,700 Eritreans have sought refuge in Sudan, an average of more than 1,000 arrivals per month.
There are currently more than 216,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and Sudan. Sudan has been hosting Eritrean refugees for more than forty years, which makes it one of Africa’s most protracted refugee situations. Eritreans started to arrive in Ethiopia in 2002, after the end of the conflict between the two countries. The recent arrivals told us that they were fleeing an intensified recruitment drive into the mandatory and often open-ended national service.
Growing numbers of the predominantly young refugees in Ethiopia and Sudan have become frustrated with the shortage of services and absence of self-reliance opportunities in the camps. Limited funding for the Eritrean refugee programme in both countries has resulted in a lack of secondary and post-secondary education, as well as vocational training and job opportunities. Deprived of any prospects for a better future and feeling that they have nothing to lose, many fall prey to unscrupulous smugglers and put themselves in danger by trying to cross the Mediterranean on overcrowded and unsafe boats. We are extremely concerned that the refugees crossing into Ethiopia today will eventually try to move on.
There is a need to boost education and livelihood opportunities for the refugees in the countries neighbouring Eritrea to prevent people moving on simply out of desperation. At the same time, we also call on Europe to step up efforts to provide credible legal alternatives to dangerous voyages, to protect people from the risks of traveling with smugglers. The collective response needs to maintain a strong capacity to rescue people at sea and increase safer ways for refugees to find safety, including enhanced resettlement, other forms of humanitarian admission and private sponsorship schemes. UNHCR is calling on European governments to do more to facilitate family reunification and use programmes such as student or employment visas to benefit refugees.
Additional Information:
During the first 10 months of 2014, 36,678 Eritreans sought refuge in 38 European countries in 2014, compared to 12,960 during the same period last year. Most asylum requests were presented in Sweden (9,531), Germany, (9,362) Switzerland (5,652) and the Netherlands (4,113). Authorities in Italy recorded 342 asylum applications by Eritreans thus far this year.
Sudan is the main country of asylum for Eritreans with 109,594 refugees at the end of October 2014. 10,701 people have arrived since the beginning of the year, including 1,259 during the month of October. The majority of the refugees are in refugee camps in the arid eastern part of the country (Gaderef and Kassala), with smaller numbers in the capital Khartoum.
Ethiopia is the second largest country of asylum with 106,859 Eritrean refugees, including 1,591 unaccompanied children at the end of October. They mostly live in four refugee camps in Tigray region and two in Afar region in north-eastern Ethiopia
For more information on this topic, please contact:

In Addis Ababa, Kisut Gebre Egziabher on mobile +25 19 11 20 89 01
In Geneva, Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 9120
In Geneva, Karin de Gruijl on mobile +41 79 255 92 13
In Geneva, William Spindler on mobile +41 79 217 3011