Day: November 4, 2021

WASHINGTON —

Hundreds of people marched in Washington on Thursday to denounce the Ethiopian government on the first anniversary of its deadly military conflict with forces in the country’s northern Tigray region.

VOA estimated that several hundred people joined the peaceful protest organized by ethnic Tigrayans living in and around Washington. The protesters marched from the Capitol to the U.S. Agency for International Development then on to the State Department, where a U.S. foreign service officer met and spoke with some of the organizers outside the building. There was no immediate word on what they discussed.

The protesters chanted slogans and held signs accusing the Ethiopian government of committing genocide against the Tigrayan people and driving them into a famine. Mesfin Reda, one of the organizers, told VOA that he has relatives in Tigray.

“We want to make sure that we are the voice of the people who are being killed in the darkness,” he said.

Many of the marchers carried the red and gold flag of the Tigray region. Some joined the protest from as far away as the U.S. West Coast states of California and Washington. They concluded the march with a vigil near the White House and planned to gather for more protests in the U.S. capital on Friday and Saturday.

Thursday marked the first anniversary of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s deployment of troops to Tigray in response to forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front seizing military bases a day earlier. The ensuing conflict has killed thousands of people, displaced several million from their homes and left 400,000 residents of Tigray facing famine, according to a July estimate by the U.N.

A joint investigation by the United Nations and the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission published on Wednesday found that all sides in the conflict have committed human rights violations, including torturing civilians, gang rapes and arresting people based on ethnicity. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said some of those abuses may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Prime Minister Abiy said Wednesday that he accepted the report despite some “serious reservations” and noted that it did not accuse the government of genocide or using food as a weapon. He said a civil-military taskforce would be established to investigate all of the report’s allegations.

Eritrean troops allied with the Ethiopian federal military and regional Amhara militias were also implicated in the joint report. However, the Eritrean government denounced the findings. Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane Gebremeskel said the report “replicates fallacious narrative on the origins of the conflict – (that the war was unleashed by the Federal Government!)” he said in a Twitter post. “If the Joint Investigative team cannot get this fundamental fact right, the credibility of its report cannot be taken seriously by any standards.”

The TPLF led Ethiopia’s ruling coalition for nearly 30 years but lost control when Abiy took office in 2018 following years of anti-government protests. Abiy’s relations with the TPLF soured after they accused him of centralizing power at the expense of Ethiopia’s regional states, an accusation Abiy has denied.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Washington’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffery Feltman, who arrived in Addis Ababa on Wednesday to try to start a dialogue between the warring parties, had a “productive” first day of meetings with members of Abiy’s government on Thursday.

But Paris-based Horn of Africa historian Gerard Prunier told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program that he is skeptical about Feltman’s chances of success.

“Right now, both sides want to fight to the bitter end,” Prunier said. “Abiy says we should all die defending Ethiopia, meaning his government. And the Tigrayans — it is clear that they want to go on until they win. The U.S. shuttle diplomacy, I’m sorry, is not very useful for the time being. Once the shooting stops, perhaps [it will be].”

Sara Fissehaye of VOA Horn of Africa’s Tigrigna Service and John Tanza of VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program contributed to the report. Some information also came from AFP and Reuters.

Source: Voice of America

Two leaders of the Boda-Boda (motorcycle taxis) Association in Yei town of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State were set free on Monday afternoon after spending a whole day in police custody.

The two riders were detained following a sit-down strike by members of the Boda-boda association last week over what they described as ‘high and unnecessary charges levied against the boda-boda riders by the Yei traffic police department.’

The police then accused the riders of disobeying traffic rules.

Emmanuel Duku, the chairperson of the association, said they were released without charges and were treated well while in custody.

“They put us in detention because of the issues we raised and suspended boda-boda operations in the town last week. I want to say that yes we have been arrested, we have been treated well and I want to tell our boda-boda members and the community that we are safe. The issue was administrative and we have been released and we are now home,” he added.

Duku revealed that the association’s leaders and the police have met and resolved to promote cordial working relations in the town.

“We discussed and agreed that the charges on the number plates and other taxes to be cut off and as this is good for us as boda-boda association and the traffic police also agreed to implement those resolutions to reduce costs on the boda-boda riders,” he added.

He urged the riders in the county to resume their business operations without any fear saying any issues that will arise will be addressed jointly.

For his part, Yei’s chief inspector of police Brigadier General Sarbino Dominic confirmed the release and urged the riders to respect traffic and police regulations.

“We sat and discussed with them yesterday and released them. We told them to resume their work and we don’t want to hear that the police are mistreating you, this is an administrative issue that has been addressed by the traffic police,” Brig. Gen. Dominic said. “You also need to pay your operation taxes to the government, and if there are challenges on getting your operations license, come to my office and report. Residents should not rely on rumors, the police are yours and they are here to work you.”

He assured the riders that of police commitment to working with them.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

A 36-year-old fisherman drowned in Mundri West County of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State after his boat capsized in a river in Amadi Payam on Sunday evening following heavy rains.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuji on Monday, the Inspector General of police in Mundri West County, Maj. Gen. Ishaque Abboud William said the deceased’s brother survived the ordeal.

“In the process when he was fishing his boat overturned. When it overturned, he drowned in the river and died. It happened on Sunday at 3 pm in Amadi Payam. His name is Gasima Barnaba, 36, years old,” Abboud said. “He was with his brother in the boat fishing. His brother survived.”

Maj. Gen. Abboud urged the people to take precautions while fishing as heavy rains continue causing rivers to overflow.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

About 30 community counseling volunteers from the six payams of Gogrial East County of Warrap State are attending a five-day trauma healing and psychosocial support training in Kuajok City Hotel.

Duor Kuany Duor, the lead facilitator said the training aims at imparting knowledge to volunteers to help communities cope with trauma and depression.

“We train them on characteristics of a traumatized society and its relation to violence, conflict, and symbols of trauma, how they should recognize a person with stress and this is very important because they stay within communities. As community volunteers counselors, it can help them to talk with people with stress and trauma so that they can change from that conditions,” he added.

One of the participants Achuil Mathuc Chan said he learned trauma as it is with many people and its danger to human health.

“I have learned that trauma is everywhere, and when you have trauma, it is good at least for a counselor to be available to help you. It can help especially our community members who are traumatized by sharing with them how other people have been able to overcome similar challenges,” Mathuc stated.

Another trainee, Aker Mayiik Thiik says: “I have learned trauma healing and psychosocial support meaning I know how to bring a person out of bad conditions and comfort her to take it easy because what affects people so much is when they think too much about bad things.”

“We learned so many things yesterday, like individual resilience, traumatic feeling and psychosocial support like when I get some people with such conditions I will talk to them. Maybe, somebody who could commit rape, I will talk to him or her to avoid it and follow the law,” Lino Longar said.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

A 62-year-old man died instantly and two people he was carrying on his motorcycle survived a grisly accident when he lost control and hit a tree along the Wau-Aweil road on Tuesday morning, police in Aweil said.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State traffic police officer Major Yai Ater Malith, identified the deceased as Chief Chut Achien Tong and said the two who survived are receiving treatment at the Aweil Civil Hospital.

According to him, the accident was caused by overspeeding.

“The accident took place at around 11:30 am in an area between Alok and Barmayen. The driver who is now the deceased Chief Chut Achien Tong 62-year old was riding a motorbike with other two persons Dut Achiech Thiep and Maduok Thiep Deng. The driver lost control because he was riding at a high speed. He knocked a nearby tree with his head and died immediately. Meanwhile, the other two companions are currently hospitalized at Aweil civil hospital,” said Malith.

Kiir Yor Lual, the commissioner of Aweil East County paid tribute to the chief saying he was a respectable and responsible chief whose death is a great loss to Abiem West community of Aweil East County.

“We received the body yesterday from the hospital and took it home for burial in the evening. And the death of this particular chief there is a huge gap left in the community because he was an executive, responsible chief who held a large area and was very strong who worked closely with us,” he added.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Authorities of Warrap state on Wednesday said more than 20 people have died and 36 others injured in two separate communal fights in Tonj East County of South Sudan’s Warrap State on Friday and Sunday last week.

The Luachjang community clashed with the Adoor community at Kuech Adoor village on Friday and with the Thiik community on Sunday. The clashes come barely two weeks since the state government and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) conducted a two-day training on the importance of peace and reconciliation among the communities of Tonj East, Tonj North, Tonj South, Twic, and Gogrial counties.

John Deng Kok, Tonj East commissioner said many people were killed and villages torched in both clashes between the Luachjang, Adoor, and Thiik communities which he says are revenge attacks.

“In the fight of 29th, between Adoor section of Jal-Wau and Rubaar section of Luachjang resulted to nine people killed on the spot and 11 others were wounded. Two people who were wounded died at Paliang and another one died at Wunlit health centers,” he said. “In detail, Luachjang lost six people and six others wounded while Adoor suffered five people and five with wounds on the first fighting of 29 October last week.”

Deng said, after the clashes on Friday, armed youth from Thiik mobilized and torched several villages. “The armed youth from Thiik burned villages of Romich and Romich market, Gokloch, Turagot, Malek and Piokjiak and destroyed the water tank which supplies water to residents and this was after I ordered Luach youth to pull out of those villages.”

Commissioner Deng pointed out that 11 people were killed on Sunday after the Luachjang youth regrouped and attacked the Thiik community.

“In the morning of Sunday, the Luachjang youth organized another revenge fight attacking Thiik community, the fighting ended after the Luachjang chased the Thiik youth and burned one village called Rai in Thiik territory. Seven people died from Thiik, 11 were wounded while Luach lost four people and eight were wounded,” he added.

Deng blamed local politicians in the towns for fuelling the clashes and urged the state and national government to intervene by deploying military forces to quell the tensions and avoid further clashes.

Meanwhile, Moses Madot, Tonj East area Member of Parliament condemned the clashes and called on the national government to provide military forces to contain the armed youth.

“I was frustrated when I heard people fighting again in Tonj East just immediately after chiefs, women, and cattle leaders were taken to Kuajok for peace and reconciliation,” Madot lamented. “The death of our people is paining us as one incident lost many young men like this fight left Adoor community with losses of six people and ten people also injured from Adoor, Thiik lost seven and 12 people wounded to make the total of 13 people simply die and other 22 disabled just because of cattle and revenge. And I don’t have any details of the losses on the Luachjang side.”

However, Tonj North County Commissioner Kuol Akoon said the fighting was triggered by an incident where a man and his wife were shot and injured on Sunday at Pariang in Tonj North by armed youth allegedly from the Luachjang community.

He said the couple is currently hospitalized at the Akop Health Centre.

In related news, Tonj East Commissioner Deng further said a young man was shot and killed at the cattle camp in Nyingoor village on Sunday, while two fishermen were injured on Monday evening at Abuong village by unknown gunmen.

Early last month, more than thirty people died in the intercommunal conflict among the Thiik and Luachjang communities of Tonj East, and the Lou Paher of Tonj North County.

In March this year, Warrap state governor Gen. Aleu Ayieny Aleu, gave a stern warning to perpetrators of intercommunal violence and cattle rustlers to stop or face the law. However, the warning seems to have fallen on deaf ears as the vices continue to claim lives and displace families in Tonj East and North counties.

Source: Radio Tamazuj