Month: September 2022

The White House has condemned last week’s resumption of conflict that threatens to fuel famine and destabilize the Horn of Africa, following the collapse of the five-month cease-fire in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

“We condemn Eritrea’s reentry into the conflict, the continuing TPLF offensive outside of Tigray and the Ethiopian government’s airstrikes,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.

She urged the parties to cease hostilities. “There is no military solution to the conflict.”

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have blamed each other for the latest round of violence. The TPLF is an armed political movement that led the country as part of a ruling coalition for more than 20 years but has now been designated as a terrorist organization by Addis Ababa.

Jean-Pierre said U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer is set to travel to Ethiopia this weekend to urge parties to engage in negotiations to end the nearly two-year-old conflict. This would be Hammer’s second visit in a month — he was there August 2 with his European Union counterpart, Annette Weber, to facilitate the beginning of talks.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that a return to active conflict “would result in widespread suffering, human rights abuses, and further economic hardships.”

Nearly half a million Ethiopians may have died from violence and famine and more than 1.6 million people have been displaced by this conflict, according to researchers at the University of Ghent.

US role

Washington can provide incentives for negotiations as it is the leading source of development assistance to Ethiopia and a key source of future investment that will be critical for rebuilding after the conflict, said Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

“The United States can also reaffirm its commitment to accelerating efforts to help address the acute humanitarian crisis generated by the conflict,” Siegle told VOA. “It will also be important to reinforce to both sides that this conflict revolves around a political dispute — how Tigray can be reintegrated as part of a federal Ethiopia while retaining meaningful autonomy.”

Siegle said Washington can also clearly convey to regional actors, including Sudan, Egypt and the Gulf states, the need to refrain from amplifying the conflict. “If the Tigray conflict were to be regionalized, it would become even more difficult to resolve and could become more destabilizing for the region,” he said.

It is unclear how much pressure the Biden administration can wield to bring parties to the table. Last year, the administration suspended Addis Ababa from the tariff-free African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides tariff-free access to the U.S. market for African manufacturers.

Source: Voice of America

Sudanese authorities said yesterday that the death toll from ongoing torrential rains and flooding has risen to at least 104, with a further 96 injured, figures that are likely to rise in the coming days. Two recent flooding-related deaths were reported yesterday in Kereinik, West Darfur, following flash flooding in Mornei.

According to a report from Sudan’s National Civil Defence Council, at least 72 of these 104 deaths have resulted from drowning, 23 from collapsing houses, and five from lightning strikes.

So far, a total of 25,591 homes have been completely destroyed while some 40,657 homes have partially collapsed, the report found. At least 85 shops, seven health centres and 16,017 acres of land have been affected by this year’s floods.

In its latest update on Monday, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan said the number of people affected by flooding across the whole of Sudan stands at about 226,200.

In its latest update, OCHA said the number of people affected by flooding across the whole of Sudan stands at about 264,200. The states with the highest number of people impacted by the flooding are South Darfur, Central Darfur, Kassala, El Gedaref, and White Nile state.

Flooding kills two in Kereinik

West Darfur authorities yesterday said days of flooding and torrential rain in Mornei, in Kereinik locality, killed two people and injured a further nine. The exact circumstances of the deaths were not disclosed.

The flooding in West Darfur, the authorities reported, has damaged some 5,262 homes with 3,874 of these houses completely destroyed. El Tijani El Tahir, Deputy Wali (governor) of West Darfur, said in a press statement during his visit to the Mornei area said those affected are without shelter and many are living in schools and other public facilities.

He described the situation as tragic and called on the central government and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to provide medicine, tarpaulins, mosquito nets and food.

In 2022, more than 460,000 people could be affected by the floods, according to the 2022 Sudan Emergency Response Plan (ERP). In 2021, about 314,500 people were affected across Sudan, while between 2017 and 2021 on average 388,600 people were affected annually.

Other regions affected

Other states affected by the ongoing torrential rain and flooding include El Gezira where a total of 1,082 homes have been damaged. In River Nile state, days of heavy rainfall have led to the collapse of two houses and the partial collapse of an additional 17. Areas of the state most affected include Ed Damer and areas south of Atbara.

In Yasin, East Darfur, recent flooding has caused another 126 houses to collapse and damaged 5,000 acres of agricultural land.

According to the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) forecast for August 31 to September 6 further heavy rainfall (above 200 mm) is expected to hit several locations in southern and eastern Sudan.

The rainy season in Sudan usually starts in June and lasts up to September, with the peak of rains and flooding observed between August and September. For more information on floods and updated figures of people affected and areas, as well as rainfall forecast and water levels at water stations on the Nile River, please see the OCHA 2022 Floods Dashboard.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Sudanese authorities said at least seven people have been killed and 23 others injured after renewed clashes in Blue Nile state on Thursday, about a month after similar violence left more than 100 dead.

According to a Reuters summary of a statement distributed by Blue Nile state Security Committee, the latest episode of violence remains under investigation and neither the groups involved nor the exact location of the incident were stated. The statement also announced the imposition of a curfew in the state capital Ed Damazin and in neighbouring Roseires from 20:00 to 5:00, and prohibited public gatherings.

According to an activist interviewed by Sudan Tribune, the violence began when three vehicle loads of people from the Hausa ethnic group tried to occupy several public buildings and homes abandoned during July’s deadly clashes. Five people were seriously injured and transferred to the Ed Damazin Military Hospital.

Echos of July’s violence

In July, fighting erupted between opposing Hausa and Berta ethnic groups in the northern part of Blue Nile state. More than 100 were killed, and thousands of people fled to Ed Damazin.

The fighting was triggered by a dispute over land. Berta leaders accused the Hausa of sparking the conflict by trying to lay claim to their agricultural and ancestral land. Yet Hausa members said the violence broke out after a Berta leader refused their demand to let a “civil authority to supervise access to land”.

The El Roseires Resistance Committees however also pointed to the hostility between supporters of the SPLM-N Agar and those who support the faction of Abdelaziz El Hilu in neighbouring South Kordofan. In a press statement at the time, they described the violence as “a spill-over of a conflict between the two SPLM-N factions in and accused the authorities of neglecting their duties because they ignored warning signs and chose not to act even after the first attacks.

Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that the violence has led to the displacement of a large number of people, many of whom fled to Ed Damazin.

Source: Radio Dabanga