Mekelle: 21 May 2024 (Tigray Herald)
Interim administration of Tigray mourns civilians killed in Raya Azebo.
On May 20, 2024, seven civilians herding cattle in the Raya Azebo Woreda, Tabya Hawelt were brutally killed.
Following this tragic incident, the Tigray Interim Administration issued a statement
The Tigray interim administration said unidentified assailants brutally killed civilians who were herding cattle in Raya Azebo woreda in the contested southern Tigray on Monday. In a statement, the regional communication office stated that the assailants had crossed into the woreda from the neighbouring Afar region, adding that it was following up the matter to identify them. The regional government called on the Federal Police and the Afar regional government to apprehend the assailants and hand them over to Tigray’s security forces. The statement did not disclose the number of casualties in the attack.
2) The Ethiopian Political Parties Joint Council told Sheger Radio on Tuesday that it had called on the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for independent investigations into the killing of Bate Urgessa, a senior official of the opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The chairman of the joint council Desta Dinka said that if the killing is not independently investigated and the results made public, the safety of opposition political parties and politicians engaging in peaceful activities will be in danger. He added that many opposition politicians were fearing for their lives since the killing in April. The council, which includes the ruling Prosperity Party, also called for an end to the harassment and intimidation of peaceful opposition political parties. The council considers the political space an environment of arrest, intimidation and violation of the basic human rights of opposition figures, who express their views freely, Desta added. Sheger quoted the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission that its investigations into the killing of Bate had faced obstacles, but were ongoing.
3) National carrier Ethiopian Airlines, Tuesday announced a discount for coffee exporters to the Middle East and Asian markets. The airline said it had decreased $1.50 charge per kilogramme of coffee. It stated that the reduction was intended to encourage the coffee exports. Ethiopia earned $835 million from coffee exports, over the past nine months. Since the disruptions of commercial shipping on the Red Sea, Ethiopians have been struggling to export their coffee from the Djibouti port. In a move that has shocked Ethiopian exporters, the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has recently introduced a new bill that allows foreigners to export commodities, including coffee.
4) The government is continuing the repatriation of Ethiopian nationals from Oman, the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs said. The ministry said that the government had repatriated 230 Ethiopians from the Gulf country on Tuesday, who had been detained. The repatriation that started three weeks ago, has brought home 1,150 Ethiopians. The repatriation of 70,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia was also ongoing. Over 27,000 Ethiopian migrants, who were in “difficult situations” in various Saudi detention camps, had been repatriated by Monday.
5) UNICEF has revealed that 8.85 million out of the 10 million children in need of educational support in Ethiopia, were currently out of school due to the ongoing emergencies. According to a 2024 quarterly report, the figure represents a substantial increase in out-of-school children since mid-2023. UNICEF and the government had targeted to provide emergency education support to nearly 3 million students this year, the report said, adding, however, that only 356,000 children had received the support as of March. In the first three months of 2024, a 4.5 percent rise in damaged school infrastructure and an 18 percent increase in the number of closed schools have been reported nationwide. The report warns that the situation risks further deterioration, jeopardising the children’s educational prospects, without increased resources and safe humanitarian access.
Source፡wazemaradio
