Ethiopia: At least 17 killed in violence over Sidama autonomy
At least 17 people have been killed in clashes between Ethiopian security forces and activists seeking a new autonomous region for their Sidama ethnic group, according to a local official and hospital authorities.A local district official told Reuters news agency on Saturday that at least 13 people were killed in a town near Hawassa city...



THERE'S NEED FOR MORE DISRUPTION IN AFRICA'S TECH SCENE
Olukayode Kolawole 7-19-19 - For most people living outside Africa, they imagine the continent as the home of poverty, corruption, internet fraud, infrastructure deficit, and everything that describes under-development, marginalization, oppression, bad leadership, insecurity, diseases, and many more. Although the continent is truly beset with some perennial development issues, some of these notions are preposterous...

Protesters take to streets to declare new Ethiopia region
HAWASSA/ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - A political party representing some of Ethiopia's ethnic Sidama people said on Thursday it would postpone plans to set up a new region in defiance of the federal government and would accept the offer of a referendum in five months' time. "Now the most important thing is peace for our people," Million Tumato, president of the Sidama Liberation Movement Party, told Reuters. "Still the five months timeline is not specific as it doesn't indicate when the referendum will take place."
Meantime as expected, PM Abiy has left the country to visit Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea. Shouldn't he have been closely monitoring the situation in Hawassa and elsewhere in the region? It is said Isaias Afeworki is known to fly out of Eritrea whenever there is trouble brewing in his country. It was reported then after he ordered his army to invade Ethiopia some 20 years ago, he left for Saudi Arabia!



Addis Ababa Airport Sees Record Number of Passengers
Addis Ababa, 18 July 2019 - A record number of international passengers are traveling through Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, the major gateway into Africa, this summer. Wednesday, July 17, 2019 was one of the busiest days for the Airport with 310 flights and 29,528 travelers (21,028 departing and 8,500 arriving passengers, respectively) which marked a record number of daily passengers served at the terminal.



Ebola outbreak in Congo declared global health emergency
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a global health emergency, citing the virus's recent spread into Goma, one of the country's most densely populated cities.Two million people reside in Goma, which sits just south of the epicenter of the outbreak, near the border with Rwanda.

Can Abiy Keep Reforming?
In April 2018, Abiy Ahmed emerged the unlikely winner of an intraparty horse race to replace Hailemariam Desalegn, who had resigned from his position as Ethiopia's prime minister. Abiy is a former intelligence officer and a member of the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP)...
-The international community can encourage continued liberalization and democratization in Ethiopia by supporting the development of an independent commission to investigate the events in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar.
-The violence has fanned ethno-regional tensions, which could manifest in communal violence if not assuaged by a transparent investigation and report concerning the assassinations.
-Additionally, the international community can support the National Elections Board to ensure that preparations for the 2020 elections are progressing according to schedule.
It is interesting to see how fast Abiy's ardent supporters of the past are ready to drop him like a hot potato. Do you see any difference between TPLF recent statement and the above recommendations from the author? We don't, except the line where it says continue liberalization - where Abiy is being encouraged to auction the main income-generating companies to private owners!

Ethiopian civil war would have far-reaching effects
Recent political reforms by Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, have revived ethnic tensions within the country, resulting in violence that could spiral into civil war, with grave repercussions not just for Ethiopia's neighbors, but also for Europe, East Africa and the Arab Gulf states.Abiy the prime minister is an ethnic Oromo and was propelled into office last year as the result of a tacit alliance between the Oromo and Amhara parties in the EPRDF...

Deja vu
Mohamed Adan Samatar July 15, 2019 - I remember a long time ago, during Siad Bare's regime, when Somaliland youths flock to Mogadishu to apply for a passport to flee their motherland. They would sleep in the parking lots outside the Somali Immigration Office to secure their places in the queue, which at times stretched miles and miles around the building; only to be denied and sometimes jailed for being unpatriotic.



Ethiopia: The nation that fights itself
Qana Zegelila 7-15-19 The recent tragedy that took place in Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa is fresh in our minds and compelled many to raise so many questions with no easy answers. Many found it very difficult what can possibly explain the killing of comrades serving in the same party and administration and sharing same vision, according to media reports.



TPLF Statement of July 10, 2019 (Translation)
July 14, 2019 - After a complete review, the TPLF has assessed the overall situation of the country in a one-day meeting held on July 2, 2011 (Ethiopian calendar). This came in the advent of the recent assassination of five senior officials, including the Ethiopian army chief of staff as well as the Amhara Regional State leaders in the Amhara region. Important milestones and decisions were established.





Regional power grab attempt causes rare discord in Ethiopia coalition
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A failed regional coup in Ethiopia has exposed rare divisions in the alliance that has dominated the country for three decades, with two of the four ethnic parties that form the ruling coalition trading insults in a public feud.
If war breaks out in Northern Ethiopia because the inept federal government failed to uphold the rule of law and its constitutional duty, make no mistake, there will be no stone left unturned anywhere in the country! Those basking in a wishful dream of seeing the Amhara and Tigrai people fighting while consolidating their own power anywhere in Ethiopia are foolish at best! The Abiy government and its western sponsors should be wary about the impending civil war! From what I hear TPLF and ADP leaders will take their fight all the way to Addis Abeba - Zeru Hagos July 12, 2019



Ethiopia's Year of Reckoning
On April 2, 2018, Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia's prime minister after the ouster of his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn, amid widespread protests. Early in his tenure, Abiy promised fair and competitive elections in 2020. As that date nears, however, Ethiopia appears to be in increasing danger of collapse, with a retired general and several others shot dead late last month...

Ethiopia: New journalist arrests put press freedom gains at risk
The Ethiopian government risks rolling back the great progress it made on media freedom last year, said Amnesty International, after the government announced plans to charge journalists and media outlets for their reporting on the armed forces.
The Abiy government should not incarcerate innocent people regardless of their profession. I can not confirm if the people Amnesty International(AI) mentioned in this report are a real journalist or political activist. What is clear is AI's coverage in Ethiopia is very biased. It makes you wonder if AI was all along praising Abiy for a sinister motive! Is AI using a scare tactic to coach Abiy? Why bring 2018 as if it is different than 2013! In any case, AI if you are honest, you should have reported although people were released when Abiy came to power many more people were jailed and uprooted since he came to power. Zeru Hagos July 2019.

Federation of Nation States: The only viable option for Ethiopia
Mersea Kidan 7-10-19 - In a recent panel discussion held recently in Addis Ababa, one of the most prominent scholars in the horn of African inter-governmental and intra-governmental relations, Professor MedhanieTaddesse, recommended loosening the federal system in Ethiopia as a way out of the predicament the country is in. He declared it as the only way to save Ethiopia as a country..

Calls for unity in Ethiopia's Tigray as anti-Abiy sentiment swells
Mekele (Ethiopia) (AFP) - In his cramped studio, Ethiopian reggae singer Solomon Yikunoamlak plucks his guitar and reads over his latest ballad, a strident call for unity in his native Tigray during a time of national upheaval. It is unusual material for an artist who rose to fame singing love songs, but Solomon expects it will resonate with Tigrayan listeners..