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I'm leaving the field properly speaking for a few days - the 1st part of my investigation is over, a bit of rest before the 2nd.
It goes without saying I continue to monitor the war in #Tigray and gather information (by the way, we're going to make a quick overview today).
It goes without saying I continue to monitor the war in #Tigray and gather information (by the way, we're going to make a quick overview today).
Update #Refugees from #Tigray in #Sudan - UNHCR data:
to date, 61,200 people have arrived since November
nearly 36,000 already redirected to camps or shelters
Average arrivals are decreasing
The most populated camp: #UmRakuba (Gedaref) with 20,570 people
to date, 61,200 people have arrived since November
nearly 36,000 already redirected to camps or shelters
Average arrivals are decreasing
The most populated camp: #UmRakuba (Gedaref) with 20,570 people
One of my off the record African diplomatic sources estimates that there are between 150,000 and 200,000 #IDPs / #refugees from #Tigray since the beginning of the offensive in November, split between #Sudan and #Ethiopia, and uncertainty about the number of missing.
On 30 January this year, #Ethiopia announced through official channels that the situation had returned to normal in #Tigray after a military phase that began on 4 November 2020 https://apnews.com/article/world-news-ethiopia-coronavirus-pandemic-kenya-b275884a35bf176b6a53072f716b6a38
An off the record humanitarian source, recently back from #Tigray comments:
"it's a return to military normality. But from a humanitarian point of view, it is an organised disaster, which is getting worse every day, not least as regards the food situation. Risk of #Famine".
"it's a return to military normality. But from a humanitarian point of view, it is an organised disaster, which is getting worse every day, not least as regards the food situation. Risk of #Famine".
#Ethiopia is still strictly denying the presence of Eritrean soldiers in #Tigray, which has been isolated from the world since November.
It now seems impossible to me to accredit the Ethiopian version:
It now seems impossible to me to accredit the Ethiopian version:
In addition to the diverse testimonials that have been released in the international press
1/ I personally collected and cross-checked evidence of the presence of Eritreans in #Tigray,
arrived in the first days of the offensive in November
1/ I personally collected and cross-checked evidence of the presence of Eritreans in #Tigray,
arrived in the first days of the offensive in November
2/ not informal militias
but individuals who wore the uniform of the Eritrean army, some of whom spoke Tigrigna (one of the three official languages of #Eritrea - but also spoken in #Tigray)
but individuals who wore the uniform of the Eritrean army, some of whom spoke Tigrigna (one of the three official languages of #Eritrea - but also spoken in #Tigray)
3/ All my witnesses (coming from different regions) pointed to these contingents - presumably Eritrean, therefore - as engaging in the most serious abuses against civilians.
#Eritrea #Tigray
#Eritrea #Tigray
As for the presence of Somalis, who allegedly arrived, supposedly by force, via #Eritrea, I personally have no sufficiently well-founded information to confirm this.
The latest elements released in the anglophone press date from 3 weeks ago. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210127-parents-of-somali-soldiers-fear-sons-fighting-in-ethiopia
The latest elements released in the anglophone press date from 3 weeks ago. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210127-parents-of-somali-soldiers-fear-sons-fighting-in-ethiopia
Concerning exactions against civilians:
I keep the details and my analyses for the magazine which assigned me.
But I have enough information to state that sexual violence is AT THE VERY LEAST known and tolerated by the military command.
#Tigray
I keep the details and my analyses for the magazine which assigned me.
But I have enough information to state that sexual violence is AT THE VERY LEAST known and tolerated by the military command.
#Tigray
That this sexual violence is ethnic in nature, and targets women, children and men as well.
Is it planned and ordered: only an independent international investigation can determine this.
#Tigray
Is it planned and ordered: only an independent international investigation can determine this.
#Tigray
As a very provisional conclusion to this thread :
The international community and global civil society must keep up the pressure on Ethiopia to gain unrestricted access to Tigray, allow journalists and allow any investigation into what has been going on since November.
The international community and global civil society must keep up the pressure on Ethiopia to gain unrestricted access to Tigray, allow journalists and allow any investigation into what has been going on since November.
