Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Mekelle
Most recents (22)
#Tigray had it all. We had Ahmad ibn Ibrahim & the Ottoman Turks/The Egyptians, Italians, Menelik, Fascist Italy, Haile Selassie, Mengistu. But this genocidal war on #Tigray is incomparable to any that hitherto occurred. Its design, scope, intent, & the execution of action plans
defines its sadistic uniqueness. It was cataclysmic & is ongoing. They decided & came to eliminate #Tigrayans as people. Despite the incalculable sacrifices paid in lives lost, ethnic cleansing, genocidal rape, starvation, millions of IDPs, materials destroyed, in the end as
The Ethiopian Government delegation led by House Speaker #TagesseChafo arrived at #Mekelle Alula Abanega International airport early this morning in what we believe is a milestone in the peace agreement to end the war in/on Tigray. The delegation also comprises a half dozen high
ranking ministers and heads of public enterprises including commercial bank of Ethiopia, Ethiopian airlines and Ethiotelecom. The delegation was warmly welcomed at the airport by representatives of the public, religious leaders and Tigray government officials.Fruitful discussions
were held & important understanding reached. The government’s gesture to green light the long over due restoration of services is commendable. That none of the delegation members bothered to bring close protection guards is a testament to their confidence in Tigray’s commitment
Being Nilotic (Dark skin) in #Ethiopia
Growing up in #Gambella, I have always been curious about the second-class citizen treatment the #Anuak people have always faced. We were never seen or treated equally with the rest of lighter skinned highlanders. The same thing could be 1/
Growing up in #Gambella, I have always been curious about the second-class citizen treatment the #Anuak people have always faced. We were never seen or treated equally with the rest of lighter skinned highlanders. The same thing could be 1/
said for the dark-skinned people of #Benishangul who have also faced genocide and mistreatments from the #TPLF and Derg regime. Why are the Nilotic treated differently in Ethiopia? This goes back to the Abyssinian Empire. During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia,2/
1/ The #Ethiopia/n government has informed the diplomatic community in the country on the “measures taken by the Government on human rights violations related to the conflict in the northern part of the country.”
#Tigray #warcrimes #CrimesAgainstHumanity #genocide
#Tigray #warcrimes #CrimesAgainstHumanity #genocide
2/ One may argue however that it seems evident that PM #AbiyAhmed, #PP government, and #ENDF military leadership in #Ethiopia are ultimately politically and juridically responsible for the #warcrimes, #crimesagainsthumanity, and possibly #genocide for their war in and on #Tigray.
3/ ICRC in #internationalhumanitarianlaw commentary: “Commanders & other superiors are criminally responsible for war crimes committed by their subordinates if they knew, or had reason to know, that the subordinates were about to commit or were committing such crimes... (cont.)
🧵On forced recruitment in #Ethiopia's #Tigray - For the past 4 months @Reuters spoke w. residents of Tigray, captured fighters and aid workers who detailed how authorities are forcing young people to join their army by threatening and jailing relatives. reuters.com/world/africa/s…
This began late last year, accelerated in January and intensified with mass arrests last month six #Tigray residents told @Reuters. All said they had friends or family members detained in an aggressive push to make people enlist.
A resident said a leaflet was distributed at recruitment drives in #Mekelle calling on residents not to "hide". "For now, without any delay, go to military training and contribute to your motherland."The doc dated Jan 9 was stamped by Tigray's regional gov nd Mekelle city admin
While in #Ethiopia, I initially planned to travel to Mekelle to assess the humanitarian situation and see @USAID's life-saving programs, but I was unable to go because of the airstrikes.
@USAID In fact, just one day later, an @WFP_UNHAS flight carrying humanitarian personnel to #Mekelle was forced to turn back by airstrikes that put them in grave danger. This is unacceptable. Humanitarian workers must be protected and allowed to reach those in urgent need.
@USAID @WFP_UNHAS I was still able to meet with @USAIDSavesLives partners who are working in Tigray. They described a perfect storm of increasingly vulnerable & food insecure people, destroyed public services, dwindling supplies & no medicine -- people are on the brink.
This is Mesfin Industrial Engineering, an industrial area NOT residential ❌ on easternmost outskirts of #Mekelle.
The thick smoke indicates that fuel or weaponry was successfully destroyed.
Recall last month: #TPLF forces looted ~200ton explosives from Weldiya rail project 🤔
The thick smoke indicates that fuel or weaponry was successfully destroyed.
Recall last month: #TPLF forces looted ~200ton explosives from Weldiya rail project 🤔
📍 More geolocated pics showing location of strike within Mesfin Industrial Engineering south compound.
Smoke originating from parking area. Other pics show some of the smaller warehouses were destroyed.
Smoke originating from parking area. Other pics show some of the smaller warehouses were destroyed.
🚨 CORRECTION:
📍 Geolocated pictures. Picture taken next to main portal frame warehouse in southern compound.
Smoke originates from parking lot in southern compound. Clearly it was not a random strike.
💬 What weaponry/cargo did they have stored here?
📍 Geolocated pictures. Picture taken next to main portal frame warehouse in southern compound.
Smoke originates from parking lot in southern compound. Clearly it was not a random strike.
💬 What weaponry/cargo did they have stored here?
🇺🇳 THREAD: Bias at the highest level of @UN with staff taking rebels’ side in #Ethiopia.
A summary of the bias going straight to the top, inc. @DrTedros of @WHO.
No blanket accusations. The UN is not homogeneous.
🚨 Biased officials named. Read on.
⬇️
A summary of the bias going straight to the top, inc. @DrTedros of @WHO.
No blanket accusations. The UN is not homogeneous.
🚨 Biased officials named. Read on.
⬇️
🇺🇳 SIDE NOTE: @UN is organisation with staff from all over world.
Structure (for purpose of thread) is 2-pronged:
➡️ local/in-country staff (on the ground)
➡️ int’l staff (abroad).
e.g. You may see @UNOCHA (referring to int’l staff) & @OCHA_Ethiopia (for in-country staff).
Structure (for purpose of thread) is 2-pronged:
➡️ local/in-country staff (on the ground)
➡️ int’l staff (abroad).
e.g. You may see @UNOCHA (referring to int’l staff) & @OCHA_Ethiopia (for in-country staff).
This 2019 article, written a year before the ethnofascist #TPLF launched war on #Ethiopia, exposes the rampant #rape &sexual violence that #women of #Tigray suffered from the rapist TPLF gang. The defeated criminal TPLF "men" are continuing their rape now!
africanfeminism.com/yikono-campaig…
africanfeminism.com/yikono-campaig…
2) In this video clip from 2018 brodacast of #Tigray's DW-TV, a #Tigrayan woman recounts the horrible mysogynistic culture in Tigray under #TPLF, where #rape & sexual violence against Tigray's #women is a commonplace occurence, & 60% of Tigrayan womem are victims of rape.
#Yikono
#Yikono
3) #Tigrayan feminist @meazaG_, speaking to #TigrayMediaHouse in 2019, over a year before the war, explained the horrific level of #rape in #Tigray's society. She said men regularly kick & oppress women every night.Tigray ppl were victims of #TPLF. #TPLFcrimes
#Eritrea #Ethiopia
#Eritrea #Ethiopia
War crimes: UN, US demand Eritrean troops leave Ethiopia’s Tigray region
To rescue of the people suffering from hellish ordeal in the hands of Eritrean troops, the @UN and US have told the melancholic armies to leave #Tigray region.
#Thread 📌
1/15
thedailyleaks.com/war-crimes-cla…
To rescue of the people suffering from hellish ordeal in the hands of Eritrean troops, the @UN and US have told the melancholic armies to leave #Tigray region.
#Thread 📌
1/15
thedailyleaks.com/war-crimes-cla…
The @UN on Friday said that it is "now abundantly clear to all" that Eritrean troops are operating throughout Ethiopia's northern #Tigray region and "well-corroborated" reports suggest they are responsible for atrocities. @amnesty too has been calling for #justice #freedom
2/15
2/15
"Eritrean Defence Forces must leave Ethiopia, and they must not be enabled or permitted to continue their campaign of destruction before they do so," U.N. aid chief @MarkLowcock @UNReliefChief told the @UN Security Council.
3/15
3/15
I was only 23 when I met Dr. Mulugeta Gebrehiwot (nom de guerre Mulugeta Chaltu) in #Mekelle. I was young, ambitious, full of energy, first year after graduating from #AddisAbabaUniversity. I was talking to him on how I could help with the selection of wastewater treatment 1/5
plant technologies to be established as part of Sheba Tannery in #Wukro (now destroyed/looted by #Eritrean forces). He knew I was a novice. He still was glad to see me give it a shot. He handed me the tender document. I cherished it so much (and partly, I am a collector par 2/5
excellence) that it went with me to Bahir Dar, Addis Ababa, #Stockholm and now #Calgary. I still have it in my home office library here. I remember Chaltu as a very positive and encouraging gentleman. Fast forward 25 years, I am now at the foot of the Rocky Mountains of 3/5
Commentary on the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions on 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 (para. 4885) reads:
"The fact that consent is required does not mean that the decision is left to the discretion of the parties. If the survival of the population is ...1/10
"The fact that consent is required does not mean that the decision is left to the discretion of the parties. If the survival of the population is ...1/10
threatened & a humanitarian organisation fulfilling the required conditions of impartiality & non-discrimination is able to remedy this situation, relief actions must take place. In fact, they are the only way of combating starvation when local resources have been exhausted. 2/10
The authorities responsible for safeguarding the population in the whole of the territory of the State 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 such relief without good grounds. Such a refusal would be equivalent to a violation of the rule prohibiting the use of starvation as a method ... 3/10
A relative traveled from #Adwa to #Mekelle today. He told my family that many people are dying from starvation.
As banks don't work, people cannot withdraw their money and save their lives and those with some grain need to line up for up to two weeks to have it milled. 1/4
As banks don't work, people cannot withdraw their money and save their lives and those with some grain need to line up for up to two weeks to have it milled. 1/4
There're few mills running on diesel.
Some families are desperately trying to send food from #Mekelle and other parts with access to cash. However:
1. They're impoverished and without income themselves.
2. It costs 500 birr to transport a quintal, Ex, from #Mekelle to #Adwa
Some families are desperately trying to send food from #Mekelle and other parts with access to cash. However:
1. They're impoverished and without income themselves.
2. It costs 500 birr to transport a quintal, Ex, from #Mekelle to #Adwa
3. It is risky. Friends in #Mekelle know of confiscated money and food destined to needy families, particularly in areas manned by savage #Eritrean soldiers.
The situation is catastrophic.
#AbiyAhmed is killing my people in masses by denying humanitarian relief.
The situation is catastrophic.
#AbiyAhmed is killing my people in masses by denying humanitarian relief.
A Glimpse of a Ruined #Tigray - Report
Below are 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗽𝘁𝘀 from the latest Needs Assessment Mission conducted by some Eth. ministries, @UNICEF @UNmigration @UNOCHA @WFP @UNFPA .... It covers from Alamata to #Mekelle, relatively least affected parts of #Tigray 1/20
Below are 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗽𝘁𝘀 from the latest Needs Assessment Mission conducted by some Eth. ministries, @UNICEF @UNmigration @UNOCHA @WFP @UNFPA .... It covers from Alamata to #Mekelle, relatively least affected parts of #Tigray 1/20
“all people from Besober, Ulaga, Bala, Chamaro, Hawelti and May Mekden kebeles were displaced due to the conflict. #IDPs and the affected communities lost their belongings, mainly household items, food stock, jewelry, & cash. Most of those belongings were looted or destroyed 2/20
According to the regional authorities in #Mekelle, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟰.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 currently require some sort of humanitarian assistance... In Alamata and nearby areas only, about 𝟳𝟵𝟮,𝟱𝟬𝟬 require urgent food assistance. 3/20
After 64 days, I finally managed to talk to someone who travelled on foot for 3 days to reach #Mekelle from Rubagered, a village in central #Tigray where I grew up and where my parents live. Hearing a familiar voice over the phone gave me goosebumps.
What he told me about what's going on in our villages is heartbreaking. He told me that there's been at least 5 rounds of heavy fights & the invading #EritreanArmy still controlls the area.
In Rubagered, my home village, he confirmed that the #EritreanArmy killed 3 civilians; Birhane Gebru Weldemichel (my 60 year old farmer cousin), Teweldebirhan Weldekidan and Jemal Abdelkadir (a shopkeeper).
PEOPLE ARE DYING IN #TIGRAY: #HumanitarianReliefNow
A Thread
It’s almost 2 months since #WarOnTigray was waged. Since then, much of #Tigray has been under a complete blockade of all life supporting services, including medicine, food, & access to cash. 1/17
A Thread
It’s almost 2 months since #WarOnTigray was waged. Since then, much of #Tigray has been under a complete blockade of all life supporting services, including medicine, food, & access to cash. 1/17
It’s also almost a month into an agreement for ‘unimpeded’ humanitarian access to #Tigray the #AbiyAhmed regime signed with the @UN. Yet, even a needs assessment is not conducted to date. 2/17
news.un.org/en/story/2020/…
news.un.org/en/story/2020/…
Mesfin Hagos (founding member of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (#EPLF) in the 1970s who served as Minister of Defense in the 1990s), the most authoritative voice on #Eritrea|n military affairs, reveals the extent of #Eritrean involvement in the #Ethiopia|n war.
Thread
Thread
This is a war crime against humanity being waged in a total darkness, but the international community is watching idly
Thousands of #Tigrayan children and parents have been victims of aerial bombardments and shelling perpetrated by @AbiyAhmedAli
Thousands of #Tigrayan children and parents have been victims of aerial bombardments and shelling perpetrated by @AbiyAhmedAli
and #IsaiasAfwerki with their ally’s the #UAE drones.
From last Saturday #Mekelle bombardment and shelling, documented reports show 27 deceased, including 4 yrs old baby and 78 yrs old grandpa, both parents and two children of a family, and 86 seriously wounded patients
From last Saturday #Mekelle bombardment and shelling, documented reports show 27 deceased, including 4 yrs old baby and 78 yrs old grandpa, both parents and two children of a family, and 86 seriously wounded patients
checked into Ayder Hospital #Mekelle with no power, generator, water, gas, phone/internet, medication or ambulance. This is a war crime against humanity being waged in a total darkness.
On top of daily bombardment and shelling by @AbiyAhmedAli , #IsaiasAfwerki, Somalia
On top of daily bombardment and shelling by @AbiyAhmedAli , #IsaiasAfwerki, Somalia
Did you know that it is not possible to revoke a #NobelPeacePrize even if one is no longer worthy of the honor? Imagine #Hitler was awarded the #NobelPrize, he would still keep his prize after the #Holocaust. I think this is flawed and unscientific! bit.ly/370k0uV
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1/n
That's not a far-fetched example. Something extraordinary is happening in front of our eyes. The #Tigray region of #Ethiopia is on the edge of genocide at the hands of the 2019 #NobelLaureate @AbiyAhmedAli. #TigrayGenocide
bit.ly/3lXuZLV
bit.ly/39boZfb
2/n
bit.ly/3lXuZLV
bit.ly/39boZfb
2/n
You may not have heard or seen much of the atrocities Abiy is committing. This is because there's a complete communication blackout in #Tigray. Abiy has shut down the #Internet and blocked roads so no independent reporters are on the ground.
news.un.org/en/story/2020/…
3/n
news.un.org/en/story/2020/…
3/n
THREAD on #Ethiopia & the region II
After 2 weeks of rebuffing mediation to ongoing #EthiopianCivilWar, PM @AbiyAhmedAli is begrudgingly warming up to that possibility. I pray for his courage for it takes courage to make peace, & for innocent civilians’ sake, I wish him success
After 2 weeks of rebuffing mediation to ongoing #EthiopianCivilWar, PM @AbiyAhmedAli is begrudgingly warming up to that possibility. I pray for his courage for it takes courage to make peace, & for innocent civilians’ sake, I wish him success
Intricacies of possible mediation demand clear-eyed reading of what may have contributed to such coming out of one’s corner – even if lukewarm. Moreover, any dragging of one's feet to immediately ceasefire & allow humanitarian access brings near a catastrophe of epic proportions
Ethiopian federal forces & aligned regional militias are measuring success by territorial gains. A close monitoring of what appears to be transpiring on the frontlines, however, contradicts this. Gov't advances appear to be feeble & gains stoppable - if not reversible.
Thread
Will Tigray leave or remain in #Ethiopia?
#TPLF's calculated moves so far could assist with predicting the likely future of #Tigray.
The current TPLF (since #Abiy came to power) had been carefully following procedures when it comes to dealing with the federal govt. 1/12
Will Tigray leave or remain in #Ethiopia?
#TPLF's calculated moves so far could assist with predicting the likely future of #Tigray.
The current TPLF (since #Abiy came to power) had been carefully following procedures when it comes to dealing with the federal govt. 1/12
#TPLF had been releasing a number of statements/announcements, both written & verbal, which may seem pointless to the juvenile, naive and/or intentionally deaf ears but they're calculated & sensible than anyone could imagine. Every statements had some reasoning behind it. 2/12
#Ethiopia-#Eritrea:PM #AbiyAhmed makes unannounced visit to Port #Massawa & #Assab today, ETV & FanaBc said. It follows last night's announcement that an Ethiopian commercial ship was scheduled to dock in in port Massawa after 20 yrs. PM Abiy was welcomed by Pres. Isaias Afwerki.
Update: PM #AbiyAhmed visited port #Assab & the 71km long road which stretches from #Ethiopian border to the port. He is also expected to visit port of Massawa this afternoon
⏩Ethiopian commercial ship will dock today at #Massawa Port from #SaudiArabia fanabc.com/english/2018/0…
⏩Ethiopian commercial ship will dock today at #Massawa Port from #SaudiArabia fanabc.com/english/2018/0…
Update: PM #AbiyAhmed will have two days of official visit to #Eritrea during which he will also travel to the capital #Asmara and "will hold extensive discussions with President Isaias Afwerki to assess and expedite implementation of the agreement of 9 July," @hawelti said.
