More on Renewed Fighting in Ethiopia

 Source: The Associated Press published on 1 September 2022 an article titled “Renewed Conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region Said Widening” by Cara Anna.

This an another account of the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia with all sides blaming the other for restarting the conflict.  

Labels: Amhara Region, civil war, Eritrea, Ethiopia, peace process, Tigray Region

Horn of Africa faces another failed rainy season

Source: africanews, Tuesday September 6, 2022

The UN’s weather agency has alerted to the dire consequences of a fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa region.

Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are already experiencing the worst drought in 40 years as the effects of climate change take hold.

advertisements”The biggest challenge here is the drought, most of the pans here have dried and that means water is a big challenge resulting from the lack of rain for the last three years and more. That has led to many animals dying, food insecurity because most of the households are not able to access water”, said Simon Nzioka, country director in Kenya for the Danish Refugee Council.

African countries are among the nations that are least to blame for global warming, accounting for less than four percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide.

But they are also among the countries that are most exposed to climate impacts, such as worsening drought, floods and cyclones.

Last week, African countries met in Libreville in Gabon for Africa Climate Week to agree on a common push to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Last week’s meeting was one of a series of meetings ahead of the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, taking place from November 6 to 18

Update on Fighting in Northern Ethiopia

 Source: Aljazeera published on 1 September 2022 an article titled “Ethiopia, Eritrea Forces Launch New Offensive in Tigray: TPLF.”

Tigrayan forces have pushed into neighboring Amhara and Afar Regions on Tigray’s southeastern border.  Fighting has also broken out in western Tigray, which has been controlled by the central government and Amhara militia since early in the civil war that began in November 2020.

Labels: Abiy Ahmed, Afar Region, Amhara Region, civil war, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tigray Region, TPLF

US says sending envoy to Ethiopia, condemns Eritrea return to war

Source: AFP, , Saturday September 3, 2022
By Shaun TANDON



The United States on Friday dispatched an envoy to Ethiopia to seek an end to renewed fighting, and condemned neighboring Eritrea for re-entering the conflict in the northern region of Tigray.

Mike Hammer, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will head this weekend to Ethiopia and “convey that all parties should halt military operations and engage in peace talks,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“We condemn Eritrea’s re-entry into the conflict, the continuing TPLF offensive outside of Tigray and the Ethiopian government’s air strikes,” she told reporters, referring to the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Fighting resumed last week in the northern region after a five-month lull, dashing hopes of peacefully resolving the nearly two-year war and of ending a humanitarian crisis in which Tigray has suffered widespread hunger.

“There is no military solution to the conflict,” Jean-Pierre said.

“All parties should exercise restraint and we urge de-escalation by all actors, particularly so that there can be a resumption of humanitarian relief and basic services to all parties in need.”

The State Department said Hammer, a veteran diplomat whose assignment also covers troubled Sudan and Somalia, would travel from Sunday through September 15 in the Horn of Africa.

He will meet both Ethiopian and African Union officials as well as political players from elsewhere in the country, it said.

Hammer took on the role in June and the following month visited Ethiopia in a bid to help launch peace talks, which never began due to disputes between the government and TPLF even while the ceasefire was holding.

The two sides have traded blame for starting the latest round of hostilities.

The TPLF, once Ethiopia’s dominant force, has said that historic rival Eritrea again sent in forces as part of a major offensive with Ethiopian troops.

Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed nations with one of its most authoritarian governments, has been accused of heinous violence in the conflict.

Amnesty International said that Eritrean forces at the start of the conflict in November 2020 massacred hundreds of civilians in the ancient city of Axum.

After months of denial that Eritrean troops had crossed the border, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in March 2021 admitted to their presence and promptly announced their departure.

Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation with Eritrea but has fallen out of favor with the United States, a longtime Ethiopian ally which voiced revulsion over the violence in Tigray, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken of “ethnic cleansing.”

President Joe Biden’s administration as of January 1 booted Ethiopia out of a key trade agreement that allowed duty-free access, outraging segments of the growing Ethiopian-American community which said the United States was ceding influence to rival powers such as China.

Ethiopia’s ambassador in Washington, Seleshi Bekele, met Thursday with senior officials including Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and called on the United States to condemn the TPLF, which he said was to blame for breaking the ceasefire.

Access to northern Ethiopia is severely restricted and Tigray has been under a communications blackout for over a year.

TPLF spokesman Kindeya Gebrehiwot earlier told AFP that a major offensive was coming from Eritrea.

Combat had been concentrated around the southeastern border of Tigray, with the rebels pushing into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, sending residents fleeing.

The fighting so far has not terminated relief efforts, with UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying that 17 trucks distributed fertilizer in Tigray this week for farmers in their planting season.

The war on terror continues apace in Africa 

Source: reason, Saturday September 3, 2022
By By ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL

U.S. counterterrorism action in Somalia hasn’t been approved by Congress, but it rages on anyway.


Lt. Gen. Langley talking at a hearing (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom)

After a wave of U.S. airstrikes against jihadist groups in the Horn of Africa this summer, U.S. officials have made their way to Mogadishu to show their support for Somalia’s embattled central government. Lt. Gen. Michael Langley, the newly appointed commander of U.S. Africa Command, the division of the U.S. military focused on operations in Africa, made a visit to Mogadishu earlier this week to meet with Somali defense and security officials.

The visit comes as al-Shabab, a terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda, has resurged in strength and reach in the country by waging new and brazen attacks against civilians in Somalia, and as the Biden administration reverses a Trump-era withdrawal from the East African country.

Back in May, the Biden administration announced that 500 U.S. soldiers would return to Somalia as a “small, persistent military presence.” U.S. officials have maintained that military operations in Somalia have been limited to support roles for the country’s central government. “We provide #security assistance that strengthens Somali [and African Union] partners as Somalia assumes full responsibility for protecting the Somali people from extremist violence and extortion,” the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu tweeted during Langley’s visit.

That said, U.S. forces have taken on a greater role in maintaining security and stability within Somalia in recent months. Over the summer, the U.S. military carried out several drone strikes against al-Shabab targets, killing dozens of suspected al-Shabab members. The strikes come just two years after human rights group Amnesty International criticized U.S. Africa Command for the lack of accountability for civilian deaths resulting from a separate wave of U.S. airstrikes on purported al-Shabab targets.

The resurgence of al-Shabab in recent months can be attributed to instability in the region caused by neighboring Ethiopia’s ongoing civil war. Last month, al-Shabab invaded Ethiopia’s northern provinces, inflicting heavy damage on Ethiopian forces. On August 22, al-Shabab fighters also laid siege to a hotel in the heart of Mogadishu, killing more than 20 people and injuring over a hundred.

The redeployment of troops and these recent airstrikes represent the latest episode in a 15-year U.S. intervention in Somalia done entirely without congressional approval. Though U.S. troops mostly withdrew from the country following the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, during which Islamic insurgents shot down Black Hawk helicopters and embarrassed the Clinton administration, the Bush administration returned to Somalia in 2007 as part of its global war on terror. The Biden administration’s renewed commitment to Somalia also comes as it draws down other fronts in the war on terror and Africa becomes a growing priority in broader U.S. military and diplomatic strategy amid the rise of China and Russia on the continent.

Almost exclusively, U.S. military actions on the continent have occurred without much congressional consultation. When four Green Berets were killed in an ambush in Niger in 2017, many prominent lawmakers reacted with surprise at learning that significant numbers of U.S. troops were even deployed in Western Africa. “I didn’t know there was 1,000 troops in Niger,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.), who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee at the time, said on NBC’s Meet the Press. While the Obama administration informed Congress that the U.S. would be sending troops to Niger, little congressional oversight followed as U.S. engagement there increased, creating a disconnect between Congress and the White House. As with this summer’s airstrikes in Somalia, no explicit congressional authorization existed for those deployments either.

Though lawmakers promised accountability in the immediate aftermath of the ambush, a report from the Center for a New American Security found that few improvements had been made to the oversight process by 2020. With the Biden administration not backing down from its redeployment plans anytime soon, a lack of reform could have unfortunate consequences.

Source: New UN Concerns about Humanitarian Situation in Ethiopia

 UN News published on 24 August 2022 a press release titled “Drought, Hunger and Fighting Leave Ethiopia in ‘Very Difficult Humanitarian Situation’.”

Amid the worst drought in 40 years and the outbreak of new conflict in northern Ethiopia, the United Nations has targeted 17 million people for humanitarian assistance.  The UN also condemned Tigrayan forces for entering the World Food Program warehouse in Mekelle, taking 12 fuel tankers with 570,000 liters of fuel.  

Labels: drought, Ethiopia, fertilizer, flooding, food insecurity, fuel, humanitarian assistance, looting, Tigray Region, TPLF, UN, WFP

Fifth consecutive year of drought forecast for Horn of Africa 

Source: VOA, Saturday August 27, 2022
By  Lisa Schlein


Cattle affected by the effects of the drought situation eat fodder in an open field in Adadle district, Biyolow Kebele in Somali region of Ethiopia.

The World Meteorological Organization warns millions of people in the greater Horn of Africa will likely face a fifth consecutive season of insufficient rains. According to the U.N. weather agency the terrible four-year long drought in the Horn of Africa is set to continue for another year.

World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Claire Nullis says the seasonal climate outlook for the region, which was issued Thursday, bears bad news for millions of people who already have suffered the longest drought in 40 years.

“The predictions show high chances of drier than average conditions across most parts of the region. In particular, the drought affected areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are expected to receive significantly below rainfall until the end of the year.”

The WMO notes the October to December season contributes up to 70 percent of the annual total rainfall in the equatorial parts of the greater Horn of Africa, particularly in eastern Kenya. It says the lack of rain is likely to extend to parts of Eritrea, most of Uganda and Tanzania.

Last month humanitarian agencies and the regional bloc IGAD issued an alarming report about the growing number of people suffering from acute hunger in the region.

World Food Program spokesman Tomson Phiri says drought is not a new phenomenon in the Horn of Africa. However, he says what is happening now is more severe and is occurring with greater frequency.

“Hunger and malnutrition is worsening across all drought-affected areas. And there is a very real risk of famine in Somalia”, says Phiri. “I think this is well documented. This is on the record. It is in the public domain…No one has called for a famine now, but it does not mean it may not be declared in the coming months. It is very much a real threat.”

U.N agencies estimate more than 50 million people in the greater Horn of Africa suffer from acute food insecurity. The director of the WMO’s regional climate center for East Africa, Guleid Artan, warns the region is on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

Flooding in Sudan and Possible Mitigation by Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Source: Agence France Presse published on 22 August 2022 an article titled “After ‘Doomsday’ Floods, Sudanese Fear Worse to Come.”

Heavy rains in Sudan’s White Nile basin are causing severe flooding; so far this year, 146,000 Sudanese have been negatively impacted along the White Nile and the Nile River.  

Comment:  The Blue Nile, which begins in Ethiopia, joins the White Nile at Khartoum, thus creating the Nile River.  Much of the flooding has been downstream from Khartoum.  This is a situation where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile may have mitigated the flooding this year in Sudan while Ethiopia was filling the reservoir behind the dam.  Sudan and Ethiopia need to explore how they can coordinate efforts to minimize flooding along the Nile River.  

Labels: Blue Nile, climate change, Ethiopia, flooding, GERD, Nile Basin, OCHA, Sudan, White Nile

First US Ambassador to Sudan in 25 Years Emphasizes Transition to Democracy

 Source: Aljazeera published on 24 August 2022 an article titled “US Ambassador Arrives to Post in Sudan Following 25-year Freeze.”  

The first US ambassador in 25 years, John Godfrey, arrived in Khartoum on 24 August.  Upon arrival, he emphasized his goal of “supporting the Sudanese people’s aspirations to freedom, peace, justice, and a transition to democracy.”  Over the past 25 years, the US embassy in Khartoum has been headed by a charge d’affaires.  

Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, democracy, diplomacy, foreign policy, Sudan, US

New York Times Account of Resumed Fighting in Northern Ethiopia

 Source: The New York Times published on 24 August 2022 an article titled “Fighting Erupts in Northern Ethiopia, Shattering Cease-Fire” by Declan Walsh.

The article concludes that the incentive for peace talks between Tigrayan leaders and the central government could now be outweighed by an impulse to fight, with disastrous consequences for civilians on all sides.  

Labels: Abiy Ahmed, Amhara Region, AU, cease fire, civil war, Ethiopia, EU, humanitarian crisis, Olusegun Obasanjo, Tigray Region, TPLF, US

Analysis of Biden Administration Africa Strategy

 Source: Brookings published on 25 August 2022 an analysis titled “Biden’s Africa Strategy Seeks to Revitalize Ties with the Continent” by Witney Schneidman and Landry Signe.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has significantly increased visits to Africa and the Biden administration will host in December in Washington the second African Leaders Summit.  The administration’s strategy for Africa is built on four pillars: fostering openness and open societies, delivering democratic and security dividends, advancing pandemic recovery and economic opportunity, and supporting climate adaptation and energy transition.  

Labels: Africa, African Leaders Summit, Biden administration, China, climate change, COVID-19, democracy, energy, investment, Russia, security, trade, US

Waiting for Ethiopia: Berbera port upgrade raises Somaliland’s hopes for trade 

Source: The Conversation, Thursday August 25, 2022
By May Darwich & Jutta Bakonyi

Dubai-based port operator DP World and the Government of Somaliland, opened a container terminal at Berbera Port in June 2021. Photo by ED RAM/AFP via Getty Images

Berbera port is the main overseas trade gateway of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. The port city is located on the Gulf of Aden – one of the globally most frequented seaways connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Only a few years ago, Berbera port was a dilapidated runway, originally built by the British empire, and then modernised first by the Soviet Union and later the US. The port is the lifeline of Somaliland, which imports most of what it needs, from food to construction material, cars and furniture. Its main export is livestock to the Arabian Peninsula.advertisementsThis picture changed considerably after the Emirates-based Dubai Ports World (DP World), a leading global port operator and logistics giant, took over the port management in 2017. It expanded the quay by 400m, established a new container terminal, designed a free zone, and started to manage the port’s operations.

Lined up alongside the quay are the latest crane models, which have become operational since June 2022. DP World employees practise operating the cranes every day. The hope is that the port will attract 500,000 TEU (unit of cargo capacity) per year, about one third of the capacity of neighbouring Doraleh port in Djibouti. This would allow Somaliland to become a logistical hub on the Gulf of Aden competing with other ports in the region such as Djibouti, Mogadishu and Mombasa.

The cranes are crucial for the speedy handling of cargo required in a modern port. The staff training, however, takes place in a port that is yet to get busy. So far, container ships arrive only infrequently.

We have been studying the Horn of Africa’s emerging port infrastructures. The boost that the revamped Berbera port needs is for Ethiopia to come to the party. Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea gained independence in 1993, and relies on the port of Djibouti – 95% of its trade goes through the port.

In 2017, a concession agreement was signed between DP World, Ethiopia, and the government of Somaliland to rebuild and modernise the port of Berbera. The 30-year concession involves: a commercial port, a free zone, a corridor from Berbera to Ethiopia’s borders, and an airport in Berbera.

The concession allowed Somaliland’s government to retain 30% of the shares in the port, 19% for Ethiopia, and 51% for DP World. But in June 2022, Somaliland announced that Ethiopia had failed to acquire its 19% share of Berbera port. Ethiopia failed to meet the conditions.

Somalilanders remain optimistic, nonetheless. The infrastructure project means a great deal to the country. It promises to foster its ambition to receive international recognition, achieve economic development, and fulfil hopes for improved living conditions of its citizens.

The context

DP World’s expansion in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is taking place in the context of turbulent political transformations in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 on the back of popular protests and awakened hopes of a democratic transition in the country. He ended the two-decades-long rivalry between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which brought him the Nobel Peace Prize. With a population of more than 100 million and one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, Ethiopia’s transition brought prospects of developments across the Horn of Africa.

DP World’s will to expand its operations in the region coincided with conflicts between DP World and Djibouti. In 2006, DP World had signed a 30-year concession to design, build, and operate the Doraleh container terminal in Djibouti. Growing tensions led the government of Djibouti to cancel DP World’s concession in 2018.

DP World shifted its interest from the port in Djibouti to Berbera in Somaliland and Bosaso in Somalia (Puntland). In 2017, a concession agreement was signed between DP World, Ethiopia, and the government of Somaliland to rebuild and modernise the port of Berbera. The projects covered by the 30-year concession included a commercial port, a free zone, a corridor from Berbera to Ethiopia’s borders, and an airport.

These projects are steadily progressing. Berbera port has already completed its first expansion phase. The DP World-owned free zone is under construction. Large parts of the Berbera corridor, a highway linking Berbera to Toqwajale at the Ethiopian-Somaliland border; and from there to Jigjiga and Addis in Ethiopia are finalised. According to Somaliland officials, the airport is also completed, but its original designation as a military outlet for the UAE remains ambiguous.

What next?

The infrastructure project means a great deal to Somaliland, promising to put the country on the path to international recognition and achieve economic development. However, these aspirations will not materialise without Ethiopia on board, which has not met the conditions under which it was to get a 19% share of the Berbera port. In addition it has not yet opened its markets to Somaliland traders.

Somalilanders remain optimistic, nonetheless, expecting that especially trade from eastern parts of Ethiopia will redirected to Somaliland. But this plan is not without risks. The pandemic and war in Tigray has slowed down Ethiopia’s economic growth, and the stability of the country is on the brink.

While DP World’s strategy to control ports along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is already transforming the political geography of the Horn of Africa, the success of its strategy largely hinges upon Ethiopia, and so do the hopes and aspirations of Ethiopia’s coastal neighbours.

Everybody, so it seems, is currently waiting for Ethiopia.
—————–

May Darwich
Associate Professor of International Relations of the Middle East, University of Birmingham

Jutta Bakonyi
Professor in Development and Conflict, Durham University

Greater Horn of Africa faces 5th failed rainy season 

Source. UN, Friday August 26, 2022

There are mounting concerns that the food crisis is set to deteriorate come autumn, following forecasts indicating there will be a fifth failed rainy season CREDIT: EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP

Drought-stricken parts of the Greater Horn of Africa are bracing for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, which will worsen the crisis which is impacting millions of people.

The forecast for October to December issued at the Greater Horn of Africa Seasonal Climate Outlook Forum shows high chances of drier than average conditions across most parts of the region. In particular, the drought affected areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are expected to receive significantly below normal rainfall totals through until  the end of the year.

“It pains me to be the bearer of bad news, when millions of people in the region have already suffered the longest drought in 40 years. Sadly, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the 5th consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” said Dr. Guleid Artan, Director of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), which is WMO’s regional climate centre for East Africa.

The severity of the situation was echoed by Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). « I solemnly renew our call to national governments, donors, humanitarian, and development actors to adopt a no-regret strategy and help us weather the worst of this crisis.”

The October to December season contributes up to 70% of the annual total rainfall in the equatorial parts of the Greater Horn of Africa, particularly in eastern Kenya. 

The rainfall deficits are  likely to extend to parts of Eritrea, most of Uganda and also Tanzania as  ICPAC estimate that the start of the rainy season is likely to be delayed across much of the eastern parts of the region.

Djibouti, the eastern Afar region of Ethiopia, and central to northeastern South Sudan could receive above average precipitation. Temperatures are expected to remain warmer than average across most of the region.

The 62 session of the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum was convened by ICPAC  in collaboration with the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in the region and other partners. It brought together climate services providers and users from key socio-economic sectors, governmental and non-governmental organizations, decision-makers, climate scientists, and civil society stakeholders, among others, to discuss the seasonal outlook, its impacts and mitigation measures for the upcoming season.

WMO supports Regional Climate Outlook Forums throughout the world in order to provide actionable climate information for society.Drought worsens in Horn of Africa

Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative

The exceptional drought underlines the vulnerability of the Horn of Africa region to  climate-related risks. These threats are expected to intensify because of climate change. However, hydrometerological and early warning services (EWS) have the potential to reduce the negative impacts.

To improve the availability of and access to these services, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative (CREWS) has launched a new US$ 5.2 million project entitled “Greater Horn of Africa – Strengthening early warning and early action systems for meteorological, hydrological and climate extremes.”

The objective of the project is to enhance the capacities for regional and national entities to produce and use climate, weather, and hydrological services, including early warning systems.

Regional activities will be centered around  improving regional services to support countries to provide effective EWS and strengthening regional coordination and cooperation for effective EWS and climate services.

Support for regional centers of excellent to provide hydromet products and services will in turn contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs). The project will also provide support to the NMHSs in three countries (Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan) through technical assistance. Here, the project will build upon and leverage ongoing and pipeline investment projects implemented or financed by WMO, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, and World Bank.

In Ethiopia, activities will support reaching the last-mile. Communities with actionable EWS and ensuring early actions, and developing demand driven climate and early warning information services.

In Somalia, activities will focus on developing and delivering priority public hydromet services, and institutional Development.

In Sudan, activities will focus on strengthening community involvement in EWS and  strengthening flood early warning services.

The teen girls forced into marriage by struggling families in the Horn of Africa hunger crisis 

Friday August 26, 2022
By Molly Blackall 

 
Badra, 16, sits next to her village’s empty water storage container in Somaliland. She was forced to drop out of school eight months ago to spend her days making a four-hour round trip to the nearest water supply (Photo: Plan International)

Girls are being pulled out of school to marry or spend hours making dangerous treks for water, aid agencies warned

“I got married when we couldn’t afford my education. It was my parents’ choice,” said 19-year-old Hamda. “I wanted to continue my education, but there wasn’t enough for my family.”

Hamda’s story is one of many. Aid workers have warned that the growing hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is forcing girls out of school, with many married off to ease the burden on families and bring in a dowry.

Roughly 15 million children are thought to be out of school across the region with an estimated 1.1 million children – more than half of which are girls – at a higher risk of dropping out to due to the drought.

Nakhungu Magero, East and Southern Africa gender-based violence adviser at Save the Children, said aid workers were seeing a “strong link” between the hunger crisis and girls dropping out of school, and a “surge in teenage pregnancies and child marriages”.

As is common in their home of Somaliland, Hamda’s family made their living from rearing livestock, but the crippling drought currently torturing the Horn of Africa wiped out their income. They became “destitute”.

Hamda was married, aged 18, to a 27-year-old man. “At first, I was sad about it, but later, I adapted to the situation,” she said.

When aid workers from Plan International met her in a camp for internally displaced people in the Toghdheer region of Somaliland, Hamda was heavily pregnant with twins. She hadn’t had any food all day.

“Sometimes you get cravings, especially in early pregnancy, but you can’t find what you’re craving for. For me, I used to like sour soup. Sometimes I could get it, but most of the time I couldn’t,” she said.

“I’m worried because I’m due to give birth in five days and I don’t have anything prepared [food, supplies] to help me through the maternity period.”

But the teenager still hopes to return to education. “I want my children to live a good life, to get an education and reach a higher level in life. I also hope to finish school, and to get a job in media and management.”

Alongside a rise in early marriage comes an increase in female genital mutilation; frequently a prerequisite to the union.

Hamda still hopes to return to school some day, and would like to work in media or management (Photo: Armstrong Kiprotich/Plan International)
With the cost of a typical food basket rising by 66 per cent in Ethiopia and 36 per cent in Somalia between January and June alone, families are resorting to these “extreme coping mechanisms.”

“Girls are often seen as a commodity used in exchange for livestock or married to those that are in a better position to look after them,” Ms Magero said.

Susan Otieno, Kenya country director of ActionAid, said that early marriage “reduces the number of dependants to be fed in the family and the dowry is considered as part of restocking to replace the animals that a household lost during drought.”

ActionAid has also seen girls missing school during menstruation, because their family cannot afford period products.

‘Risk of sexual violence’ on hours-long treks to find water

Many girls are also missing out on education to make hours-long treks to find water; dangerous journeys which put them at risk of rape and sexual violence.

In the Oromia region of Ethiopia, for example, water scarcity has reached an all-time high; a burden which “has been transferred primarily to girls”.

Hamda, 19, collecting water at a camp for internally displaced people in the Toghdheer Region of Somaliland. (Photo: Armstrong Kiprotich/ Plan International)

“Girls have reported that they have to walk long distances of up to seven to nine kilometres a day in search of water. Balancing this with school requirements and the expectation that comes with their role as girls has been challenging and many of them have either opted to or forced to drop out of school,” she said.

“Whilst walking these long distances in search of water, girls face huge risks including rape and sexual violence.”

Girls are often forced into transactional sex with the men who own the water sources to access the resource. Other men use their water as leverage to pressure the girls into marriage. Sometimes, there is violence.

Badra, a 16-year-old girl who lives in the Maroodi-Jeeh region of Somaliland, dropped out of school eight months ago to help her family collect water, walking a four hour round trip most days. Some in the community make the trip multiple times a day.

There has been no rain in her area for 11 months, according to community leaders, with 2022 marking the fourth consecutive year without enough rain. The community is dependent on livestock-rearing for income and food, but cannot keep its animals alive.

Badra said she missed going to school; she had wanted to be a teacher.

“I’d like to help those in need where there is no school, where there is no mosque. But now the drought has brought me here. I fetch water for my family because they have no one else.”

Her mother Sainab said that water was “the hardest thing for us”.

“It’s a very difficult time for us. Animals are dying and we don’t have many livestock left,” she said.

Badra, 16, and her mother Sainab, 35, at their home in the Maroodi-Jeeh Region of Somaliland. The nearest water source is a four-hour walk away (Photo: Plan International)

Sainab said the family do not count the number of meals they skip per week, but that it was “many”. “Some days, we don’t cook at all. We just sit here.”

When they do have food, boys in her family eat first.

“Boys and girls are the same to begin with. I have a son too. But when there is less food, the girl accepts it. She is a girl. But perhaps the boy will cry and say you did it on purpose,” Sainab said.

Across the Horn of Africa, 6.8 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to Action Against Hunger.

‘You cannot hear the sound of hunger’

Sadia Allin, country director for Somalia at Plan International, warned that the withdrawal of girls from education was perpetuating a “cycle of vicious poverty.”

“In many societies, and Somalia is not immune, people respect others according to the size of their wallet. If women don’t have financial worth in society, their value in society is very low,” she said.

“Girls have proved that, given the chance, they can do well in school and leadership. When girls miss the opportunity to go to school, it impacts not just them but the whole society.

“One of the things people like me believe about why Somalia has been in crisis for so many years is because of the gender inequality. One half of society lagging behind the other means that the country will not achieve.”

“This crisis is going to impact those gains we have made over the past few years,” she added.

Badra, 16, next to the empty well in her village. She misses going to school and wants to be a teacher (Photo: Plan International)

UN Emergency Fund injects $10 million to scale up Somalia drought response 

CGTN, Sunday August 21, 2022

United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has released 10 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to ramp up emergency aid to Somalia, following its worst drought in 40 years.

Catastrophic levels of food insecurity have been declared for the first time since 2017, with 213,000 people in famine-like conditions and half the population — 7.8 million people — being acutely food insecure.

“The clock is running down for people in Somalia. If we don’t step up in force now, it’ll run out and the malnourished children are likely to die first,” Emergency Relief Coordinator Griffiths warned.

advertisements“This new funding will help humanitarian agencies get supplies and staff in place as soon as humanely possible to help avert a further catastrophe in Somalia. But it is no solution. We need all hands on deck and all resources mobilized to prevent famine,” he added.

The drought has displaced over 1 million people in Somalia since 2021, and an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of 5 face acute malnutrition. They include 386,400 who will require emergency nutrition treatment to survive.

With this latest funding, CERF has allocated a total of 41 million U.S. dollars to the drought response in Somalia this year.

Funding has backed food and nutrition interventions and delivered health, water and sanitation, protection, shelter and education to people in need.

The hunger crisis extends across the Horn of Africa. More than 21 million people across eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and Somalia are facing high levels of acute food insecurity following four consecutive failed rainy seasons. A fifth failed rainy season is predicted in the coming months, which will escalate needs.

Somalia urgently needs assistance to save lives and avert famine, but it also needs substantial investments in livelihoods, infrastructure development and climate adaptation to build resilience to future climate shocks.

En miljon människor på flykt i Somalia

Source: Sydveskan, Av: TTPUBLICERAD: I DAG 13.59helskärm

NYHETER

En miljon människor har tvingats fly från sina hem i Somalia på grund av torka och svält. Antalet svältande väntas att öka med två miljoner personer de kommande månaderna.

Biden formalizes US support for Finland, Sweden joining NATO

Source: AP, By ZEKE MILLERAugust 9, 2022

1 of 9President Joe Biden signs the Instruments of Ratification for the Accession Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty for the Kingdom of Sweden in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. From left, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Karin Olofsdotter, Sweden’s ambassador to the U.S., and Mikko Hautala, Finland’s ambassador to the U.S. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden formally welcomed Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance Tuesday as he signed the instruments of ratification that delivered the U.S.’s formal backing of the Nordic nations entering the mutual defense pact, part of a reshaping of the European security posture after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In seeking to join NATO, Finland and Sweden are making a sacred commitment that an attack against one is an attack against all,” Biden said at the signing as he called the partnership the “indispensable alliance.”

The U.S. became the 23rd ally to approve NATO membership for the two countries. Biden said he spoke with the heads of both nations before signing the ratification and urged the remaining NATO members to finish their own ratification process “as quickly as possible.”

The Senate last week approved the two, once-non-aligned nations joining the alliance in a rare 95-1 vote that Biden said shows the world that “the United States of America can still do big things” with a sense of political unity.ADVERTISEMENT

The countries sought out NATO membership earlier this year to guarantee their security in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Ukraine. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s rules require the consent of all of its 30 existing members before Finland and Sweden can officially accede into the alliance, which is expected in the coming months.

Panel Discussion on Situation in Ethiopia

Source: The Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute taped on 2 August 2022 an hour long podcast titled “Ethiopia: Is There Hope for an End to the Crisis in Tigray?” with panelists Hank Cohen, Rea Brazeal, and me.   

This is a wide ranging discussion of the peace process for Tigray Region, the situation in Tigray, and implications for the wider region.  

Labels: Abiy Ahmed, Amhara, AU, cease fire, China, democracy, drones, Eritrea, Ethiopia, food insecurity, humanitarian aid, Kenya, mediation, peace process, Somalia, starvation, Tigray Region, TPLF, US

Biden Administration Africa Policy Statement

Source: The Biden administration released its “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa” on 8 August 2022.  This is the first comprehensive Africa policy statement by the Biden administration.  The focus is on the development of democracies, pandemic recovery, economic development, climate adaptation, and improvement of security.  

Following release of the Africa policy document, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about U.S.-Africa policy at the University of Pretoria in South Africa on 8 August 2020.  The title of his speech was “Vital Partners, Shared Priorities: The Biden Administration’s Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy.”

Labels: Africa, Antony Blinken, Biden administration, civil society, climate change, COVID-19, democracy, diaspora, energy, foreign policy, private sector, security, South Africa, sustainable development, trade, US

Sudan accuses Chad of cross-border attack it says killed 18

2022-08-06

Source: CAIRO (AP) — Sudan has accused neighboring Chad of a cross-border attack earlier this week that a top commander says killed at least 18 nomads in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

According to Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, armed Chadian assailants crossed into West Darfur province and attacked a group of nomads staying in an open area near the border towns of Beir Saliba and Ardeiba last Thursday.

Apart from those killed, several nomads were also wounded in the attack and their livestock was looted and taken to Chad, the council said Friday.

There was no immediate comment from Chad on the accusations.

A Sudanese outlet, Darfur 24 news, reported a minor clash Friday between Chadian and Sudanese forces in the area, saying three Sudanese troops were wounded.

Senior Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the sovereign council, had travelled to Chad before the attack for a previously scheduled meeting Thursday with Chad’s acting president and head of the country’s ruling transitional military council, Mahamat Idriss Deby.ADVERTISEMENT

He then returned to Darfur where he has resided for weeks to help defuse tribal tensions and violence that has rocked the troubled region in recent months.

Dagalo attended the funerals of the slain nomads on Friday and urged tribal leaders and residents in West Darfur for restraint. On Saturday, he met with a Sudanese-Chadian joint committee and held talks with local officials and tribal leaders to prevent a further escalation.

Sudan has called on Chad to find the attackers and return the looted livestock.