Uganda to send more than 3,200 troops to Somalia - 07/30/2012

The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) graduated 3,237 soldiers on Friday (July 27th) to replace other soldiers fighting under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Uganda's New Vision reported.

The troops completed four months of training at Singo Military Centre, and will depart for Mogadishu after one month of leave.

After a ceremony in which graduates demonstrated their new skills, UPDF reserve force commander Major General Levy Karuhanga commended the troops' readiness.

"The skills demonstrated imply you are ready to take up the mandate," he said. "It is a manifestation of the maturity needed to pursue terrorists and restore calm among the Somalis, which had been denied to them by al-Shabaab."

"You will be joining AMISOM after Somalia's general elections, a situation that will require keeping maximum peace," he said. "However, the situation may change from being peaceful; whenever it does, you must also change."

This group will be the tenth Ugandan contingent to go to Somalia since it joined AMISOM in 2007. They will relieve the eighth group, which will return to Kampala after the new group arrives.

School commandant Colonel Stephen Kashure urged the graduates to uphold the standard of the Singo Military Centre, which has sent seven other groups to Somalia since its founding in August 2011. "The performance of the first groups has shown that what seemed mission impossible has become mission manageable," he said.

The UPDF recently more than doubled its budget for Somalia. The Ugandan contingent comprises 6,700 of AMISOM's 17,730 troops.

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Ethiopia: 20,000 flee Moyale clashes - 07/29/2012

Ethnic clashes in southern Ethiopia are reported to have left at least 18 people dead and 12 others injured.

More than 20,000 people have crossed into Kenya to escape the fighting, the Kenyan Red Cross says.

A spokesman told the BBC that people were continuing to cross the border although Ethiopian government forces had intervened to stop the fighting.

The clashes, in the Moyale area, are thought to have been sparked by a simmering dispute over land rights.

Fighting involving the Borana and Garri communities is said to have started mid-week, and to have continued until Friday.

Local reports speak of armed militias taking up positions in outlying villages on Wednesday, with the fighting spreading to Moyale town, on the Ethiopia-Kenya border, on Thursday.

Many of those who fled across the border into the Kenyan side of Moyale are having to sleep out in the open.

The Red Cross says it is providing those who have been displaced with food, water and tarpaulins.

Source: BBC 

             http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19028609

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Three Eritrean men have been stabbed in Tel Aviv, in what police are treating as a racially motivated attack - 07/31/2012

An attacker stabbed three Eritrean men in a south Tel Aviv video store on Tuesday in what police said they were initially treating as a racist attack.

"All three people that were stabbed were taken to hospital with light to moderate injuries," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

"A suspect who was in the video shop at the time fled the scene. Police are searching for him."

He did not give a physical description of the suspect, adding that police were currently examining CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses.

An eyewitness told an AFP photographer that the assailant was of Israeli appearance.

Rosenfeld said that while not ruling out other motives the main police avenue of investigation was that it was a hate crime.

"That's the main direction, as all three of them were stabbed," he said. "If it had been just one of them stabbed it could have been an argument between them."

Rising tensions over the growing number of illegal immigrants has turned violent in recent months with arson attacks on Africans in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In May an anti-immigrant protest in south Tel Aviv turned ugly, with demonstrators smashing African-run shops and property, chanting "Blacks out!"

Israeli figures indicate there are some 60,000 Africans in the country illegally, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea. Most of them live in run-down neighbourhoods of south Tel Aviv.

On June 10, the immigration police began a mass roundup operation, which initially focused on South Sudanese nationals but which has been expanded to include those from the Ivory Coast.

Since then, hundreds of Africans have been detained and around 900 flown back to Juba, capital of South Sudan.


Source:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/49173/World/Region/Three-African-immigrants-stabbed-in-Tel-Aviv-hate-.aspx

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Eritrea and Czech Republic take honours in Slovenia – WMRA GP - 07/30/2012

(IAAF) Kamnik, Slovenia

A record number of 268 runners from 16 countries gathered on the start line of the 14th Grintovec race for the WMRA Grand Prix in a beautiful valley of Kamniska Bistrica 25km north from Ljubljana.

The weather forecast was promising sunny hot day with lots of humidity and light west wind above 2000m – not too bad conditions for the top runners who had plans to attack women’s and men’s course records from 2006.

The three Eritreans and Ahmet Arslan from Turkey started at a high pace even though nobody knew the how difficult 10km course was with almost 2000m elevation, and after the middle part of the course the leading runners started to pay the price of their rate of running in what was very hot weather. In the end it was only Eritrean Azeryra Teklay who was able to keep up the high tempo and he finished well clear of Arslan, with local Nejc Kuhar, a specialist on such steep courses, taking bronze.

In the women’s race was very similar. Mateja Kosovelj from Slovenia ran the first part of the course at her normal pace for 45 minutes but in the upper part she was overtaken by Briton Emma Clayton and eventual winner Iva Milesova from the Czech Republic. Clayton was in the lead until just a hundred metres before the finish, but she lost concentration and tripped, and Iva used this moment to take the victory.

Both course records – Ana Pichrtova and Jonathan Wyatt – remained unchallenged.

The next station of the WMRA Grand Prix will be next Sunday in Mayrhofen (AUT). 

Tomo Sarf (LOC) for the IAAF

RESULTS:

1. MILESOVA Iva 77 CZE 1:39:37

2. CLAYTON Emma 88 GBR 1:39:44

3. KOSOVELJ Mateja 88 SLO 1:41:14

4. DRAGOMIR Denisa 92 ROU 1:42:42

5. SJURSEN Therese 76 NOR 1:46:57

MEN:

1. TEKLAY Azerya 78 ERI 1:17:27

2. ARSLAN Ahmet 86 TUR 1:21:54

3. KUHAR Nejc 85 SLO 1:22:03

4. KIDANE Abraham 74 ERI 1:22:56

5. MIKLOŠA Matjaž 75 SLO 1:28:00

6. EDWARDS Orlando 75 GBR 1:28:46

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Audio: Interview with Wari lead singer Ruth Abraha – VOA - 07/23/2012

ቂሐ-ጽልሚ ምስ መንእሰይ ሩታ ኣብርሃ ካብ ኣስመራ

ByTewelde Weldegebriel

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Natnael Berhane The Eritrean Cyclist of the World Center of Cycling will be training with Vendée U this end of season

The Eritrean Natnael Berhane, 21, will do an internship this end of season with Vendee U, subject to the professional team Europcar, announced the World Cycling Centre, which Berhane is a member since 2 seasons. 

Berhane, Champion Africa last November, has shown particularly in France, winning the Tour of Chablais. 

Last year, he was placed on a stage in the Tropical Amissa Bongo, the riders Europcar have the habit of running . This internship in the Vendée U could allow Berhane the plunge of professionalism. The Europcar team already has an African in its workforce with the Tunisian Rafaa Chtioui.

In a statement, Jean-Jacques Henry, coach at the World Cycling Centre, and former sports director at Credit Agricole, explaining that Natnael Berhane "is ready for the internship. It has plenty of potential to turn professional, and we hope that this internship in a club reserve will open doors of professionalism. "

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Eritrean Golgol Mebrahtu’s move from Gold Coast United to Melbourne Heart - 07/23/2012

Golgol Mebrahtu

By SoccerAnchor

Despite the Gold Coast's struggles last season, there was many talented youngsters plying their trade for the senior and youth sides. When it was announced that the Gold Coast was folding, A-League clubs scrambled to secure the best youth prospects that were available on free transfers. The list included Mitch Cooper, Ben Harold, Jake Barker-Daish, Ben Halloran, Daniel Bowles, Zac Anderson and Golgol Mebrahtu.

The Eritrean-born Mebrahtu emigrated to Australia in the mid-90's and began a youth career in Queensland with Brisbane Northern Districts and Brisbane Olympic.

Mebrahtu came to the attention of Gold Coast manager Miron Bleiberg as the Israeli-born coach was waiting for a helicopter flight from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. Bleiberg noticed Mebrahyu training by himself and recognised him from a previous scouting mission.

The 21 year old striker/winger made his debut for Gold Coast in the 2009/2010 season, when came on as a substitute in the 69th minute in GC's 2-2 draw away at Perth Glory.

Mebrahtu made 26 appearances (14 starts) over three seasons for Gold Coast but never found the back of the net despite featuring in over 1,100 minutes of football. The closest he came was when presented with a chance a yard out against Melbourne Victory last season, he scuffed the shot straight at Covic when it was definitely easier to score.

With his pace and good ball control, Mebrahtu will be used as an attacking winger for Melbourne Heart this season. He will compete with Mate Dugandzic, David Williams and Aziz Behich for a position high on the flanks.

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Teklehaymanot prepares for London 2012 in Eritrea - 06/22/2012

By: Barry Ryan June 22, 2012

Orica-GreenEdge rider on his debut WorldTour campaign

Daniel Teklehaymanot’s graduation to WorldTour level at Orica-GreenEdge this season has been a significant stride in Eritrean cycling’s progress at international level and he will continue in that pioneering fashion at the London 2012 Olympics on July 28.

“It’s going to be the first time that Eritrea has been represented in cycling at the Olympics, so I’m very happy,” Teklehaymanot told Cyclingnews. “I’m looking forward to riding for Eritrea in the national jersey at the Olympics in London. It will be special.”

Like Colombia before it, Eritrea’s rich domestic cycling tradition had long been overlooked by the rest of the world, but in recent years, the East African country has begun to make an impact on the international stage, with Teklehaymanot its leading light.

The 23-year-old has been a dominant force in African cycling in recent years, winning the continental road title in 2010 as well as back-to-back crowns in the time trial and team time trial, but it was his performance at the 2009 Tour de l’Avenir that first saw the major European teams sit up and take notice.

Riding for a UCI World Centre selection, Teklehaymanot rode to an impressive 6th overall behind Romain Sicard and Tejay van Garderen, and was set to join Cervélo TestTeam at the end of the following season, only for the outfit to disband due to financial problems. After another year in Aigle with the UCI, Teklehaymanot did reach the ProTour ahead of the 2012 campaign when he signed for Orica-GreenEdge.

Following his move to Italy in February to base himself near GreenEdge’s European training centre in Varese, Teklehaymanot made his debut for the Australian team at the Volta a Catalunya in April. “I did my first race in Catalonia but it was snowing a lot on the third stage so I abandoned,” he explained. “The next race I did was Circuit de la Sarthe and since then I’ve been to Turkey, Norway and the Dauphiné.”

Teklehaymanot was speaking in Châtel shortly after he had finished the Critérium du Dauphiné, and he acknowledged that the Alpine event had been the highest-quality race of his career to date. Teklehaymanot was particularly prominent on the front of the peloton on the opening road stage, as he put in a lengthy stint on the front in defence of teammate Luke Durbridge’s overall lead.

“For me it’s my first year as a pro so I was very happy to race in the Dauphiné,” he said. “It’s a high level race and it’s hard, a big ProTour race.”

After the Dauphiné, Teklehaymanot headed back to Eritrea via Egypt, in what was his first trip home in five months. His three-week stay in Eritrea marks the mid-point of his season, though his ambitions for the second half of the campaign remain unchanged. “I’ve been riding for my teammates,” he said. “We’ve been working for each other and I’m happy like that.”

Looking to London

Teklehaymanot’s spell at home in Debarwa coincides neatly with the Eritrean national championships and it’s testimony to the standard of domestic racing that he only could only manage 13th place in the road race twelve months ago. His elegant, almost languid pedalling style did carry him to the time trial crown, however, and he is hopeful of repeating the feat in 2012.

As well as visiting family and friends, and chasing national titles, Teklehaymanot’s trip home will also allow him to fine-tune his preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. In Eritrea, altitude training is a necessity rather than an option.

“Asmara, the capital, is at 2,400 metres and I used to live at 1,900 metres, so all of my training at home is at altitude,” he said. “I feel good when I go back there to train.”

On his return to Europe, Teklehaymanot is slated to ride the Tour of Poland as his final warm-up ahead of London. In 2008, he even travelled to Beijing in the hope of being Eritrea’s first cyclist at the Games only to find that an administrative error meant that he hadn’t been entered. Four years on, there will be no such confusion as Teklehaymanot lines up as the standard-bearer for an emerging generation of Eritrean talent.

“There are so many riders there but the level has maybe been limited up to now,” he said. “But now there is a lot of progress, there are a lot of riders coming to Europe and it’s good. I hope in the next few years we will see more professional riders from Eritrea.”

Teklehaymanot may not have to wait so long: the fast-finishing Natnael Berhane has been tracked with considerable interest by at least one major European team.

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Official Reply From Permanent Mission Of Eritrea To The UN On The Recent Human Rights Allegations

The permanent mission of Eritrea to the United Nations complains to the Secretariat of the United Nations (office of the United Nations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) and, in reference to ....

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South Sudan Solicits Eritrea to Advise Bashir

BY MARTIN JADA GABRIEL, NEWS AGENCY OF SOUTH SUDAN, 17 JUNE 2012

South Sudan government has urged the government of the Republic of Eritrea to advise President Bashir on the importance of the ongoing talks in Addis Ababa.

The minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin made this appeal last week while briefing the Eritrean delegation on the current situation of the country. He told the Eritrean delegation that Khartoum government is not genuine in negotiation despite South Sudan's commitment to peace process.

Advisor to Eritrean President, Yemane Ghebreab said Eritrean solidarity to South Sudan will never change until the young nation is strong and prosperous. He told Dr Benjamin that Eritrea's position is to see North and South Sudan peaceful so as to facilitate development in the region.

He further assured south Sudan that the idea of constructing pipeline through Eritrea is possible and there's no problem in that.

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U.N. Human Rights Chief Accuses Eritrea Of Torture, Killings

United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay

United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay accused on Monday gold-rich Eritrea, which holds a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast, of carrying out torture and summary executions.

Pillay told the U.N. Human Rights Council there were between 5,000 and 10,000 political prisoners in the secretive African nation of some 6 million people which has been ruled by a single party and president since independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

“The human rights situation in Eritrea is a matter of deep concern,” said Pillay, a South African former senior judge on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, who has just had her four-year term extended for a further two years.

“Credible sources indicate that violations of human rights include arbitrary detention, torture, summary executions, forced labor, forced conscription, and restrictions to freedom of movement, expression, assembly and religion,” she said.

Eritrea, where former anti-Ethiopia guerrilla leader Isaias Afewerki has been head of state for nearly two decades, is rarely mentioned in the 47-nation council, where African and Asian countries often work to shield each other from criticism.

But responding to Pillay’s remarks on Monday, a European Union representative said the 27-nation grouping backed Pillay’s comments on the Red Sea state — whose population is mainly Christian but includes a large Muslim minority.

Thousands of people have fled Eritrea in recent years because of poverty and political repression, according to human rights groups. Many have settled in neighboring Sudan, and some have reached Israel and Western Europe.

Independent human rights groups say the country has one of the world’s most repressive governments, an accusation Eritrean officials reject, arguing that the country is the target of a foreign smear campaign backed by the United States.

Eritrea fought a border war with Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000 which killed 70,000 people on the two sides and occasional clashes have flared up since with both accusing each other of supporting armed rebel groups.

In April, Ethiopia’s President Meles Zenawi Afewerki accused Eritrea of abducting dozens of miners from his country’s north-western gold region which borders an area where Eritrea’ largely untapped reserves of the precious metal are located.

Pillay told the rights council that she had written to the Eritrean government in January this year with an offer to send a mission from her office by this month at the latest to help it address its “human rights challenges.”

But despite later talks with an Eritream delegation in Geneva, she said, there had so far been no reply.

(Reuters)

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Monitoring Group is anti-peace: President Sharif - 07/18/2012

Somalia's President
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

The president of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has accused the U.N. Monitoring Group and its coordinator Mr. Matt Bryden of being “against peace in Somalia” .

President Sharif spent half of his one-hour speech to discuss the recently leaked report by the Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group, and he launched a clear attack against Monitoring Group Coordinator Matt Bryden.

“Matt Bryden is not ashamed to suppor the division of Somalia into two countries. Matt Bryden has a track record of being against the restoration of peace in Somalia,” said President Sharif to the crowd’s applause.

Monitoring Group
Coordinator Matt Bryden

Responding to Monitoring Group allegations of corruption, President Sharif said: “This government is ready for transparency. If any money is missing, I am ready to resign and to be taken to Guantanamo Bay,” President Sharif joked.

The TFG president expressed his disappointment that the Monitoring Group report was leaked at such a time when Somalia is ending the transitional period for the first time since 2000.

“This Monitoring Group report was timed to coincide with the end of transition period in order to discredit the TFG,” said President Sharif.

Referring particularly to the Monitoring Group’s mention of a $3million donation from Oman Government, President Sharif said: “All that money was used to pay off government expenses, including loans, security forces and parliament.”

He added: “Every TFG official is in personal debt because they borrow money to keep the government functioning. Even the soldiers, sometimes the salary is late or the salary does not come, and the soldiers continue to work because they are defending their nation and their dignity.”

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Ethiopia rocked by massive Muslim protests - 07/18/2012

Hundreds of thousands of irate Ethiopian Muslims took to the streets of Addis Ababa this weekend – Africa’s biggest protests since Tahrir Square. They want the government to stop meddling in their religious affairs, and acknowledge that Muslims can’t remain a marginalized minority. Ethiopia’s Christian-led government better make some concessions quickly, or risk finding out exactly how many irate Muslims there really are. 

By SIMON ALLISON.

You would be forgiven for thinking that the tense, dramatic African Union elections were the most exciting thing to happen in Addis Ababa this weekend – but you would be wrong. While the diplomats were squabbling about procedure and protocol, in another part of the capital an altogether more serious situation was developing, at least as far as hosts Ethiopia are concerned.

While reports are hard to confirm, participants claimed that somewhere between 500,000 and one million Muslims gathered in and around one of the city’s main mosques in a blatant show of defiance against the Christian-led government, while smaller marches took place in other cities across the country. If these numbers are true, then the government of Meles Zenawi – who is currently in Brussels receiving medical treatment, adding to the uncertainty – should be gravely concerned. To put them in perspective, the marches on Tahrir Square which precipitated the Egyptian Revolution were of a similar size; demonstrations of this scale have not been seen in Africa since.

Sunday was the third consecutive day of protests and mosque sit-ins, and already hundreds are reported arrested or injured by the government response, which has definitely included the liberal use of tear gas and – again according to participant claims – live rounds.

Ethiopia is a historically Christian country, one of the oldest Christian countries in the world. But Islam too has deep roots there; it was the first place that persecuted Muslims sought refuge, fleeing Mecca to the kingdom of Axum where the Prophet Muhammad had told them they would be safe. The Axumite king, recognising that his Christianity and the exiles’ Islam shared the same Abrahamic roots, welcomed them. “Go to your homes and live in peace. I shall never give you up to your enemies,” he said.

Ever since, there has been a Muslim community in Ethiopia, and the two religions have co-existed relatively peacefully; both the Christian majority and Muslim minority generally treated with similar disdain by whatever emperor or government was in power, even though Ethiopia’s leaders have always been Christian.

Meles Zenawi’s government, however, is having to contend with a new threat. According to official statistics, Muslims make up 34% of the population; Ethiopian Orthodox Christians 44%; and various Protestant groupings another 17%. But the Muslim population is growing so quickly that, even taking these numbers at face value, Muslims are projected to become the majority in Ethiopia by 2050.

But Ethiopia’s Muslims say these figures have been twisted, and that they are already the majority. This is part of the rhetoric which underpins the current protests, and it’s not the first time I have heard this claim. Three years ago, in Addis Ababa, a diplomat who asked to remain anonymous told me that the results of the 2007 census had been delayed for months as the government struggled to deal with what that census revealed: that, in fact, there were more Muslims than Christians in the country. This posed an existential threat to Zenawi’s government, eroding its traditional support base, and the numbers were fixed – or so the story goes.

A more recent spark for the unrest has been the government’s perceived meddling in religious affairs by encouraging and supporting one minority Muslim sect over the more mainstream others. Terrified of the potential emergence of Al Shabaab-style fundamentalist Islam, Zenawi’s administration has promoted one particular sect of Islam, the Al Ahbash, which opposes ultra-conservative ideology and rejects violence. This has included appointing Al Ahbash clerics to lead the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, despite the fact that the Al Ahbash are pretty far from mainstream Islam – in Ethiopia and anywhere else. “It (Al Ahbash) has the right to exist in Ethiopia, but it is unacceptable that the Council tries to impose it on all members of the Muslim community," Abubeker Ahmed, head of an independent Islamic arbitration committee, told Reuters.

All this takes place against the backdrop of a highly autocratic state. Meles Zenawi would describe it as a benevolent autocracy, but human rights watchdogs would beg to differ. “Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Hundreds of Ethiopians in 2011 were arbitrarily arrested and detained and remain at risk of torture and ill-treatment,” wrote Human Rights Watch in their World Report 2012.

Restrictions on journalists are particularly tight, making it very difficult to gauge accurately what’s going on in the country. Nonetheless, it’s a story that needs to be covered; it’s clear that the tinderbox of religious divisions, strong-arm responses from the state, historical inequalities and modern demographic shifts has the potential to turn ugly. A media source in Addis Ababa told the Daily Maverick that tensions were so high that the smallest spark could cause a conflagration. And with Zenawi out of action in Brussels, who is around to put out the fire?

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Ethiopia Dictator Meles Zenawi in a "critical" state - Sources -07/18/2012

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in
Los Cabos, Mexico, June 17, 2012. Photo Xinhua

Ethiopia's longtime dictator Meles Zenawi is fighting for his life in a Brussels clinic according to several sources. France 24, the state-run English news channel said the Ethiopian Prime Minister is in a Brussels clinic and is in a "critical" state, citing several diplomatic sources, who spoke to the news agency AFP. One diplomat who asked not be named also said, the diminutive dictator is in a "critical state".

Some Ethiopian opposition websites had earlier reported that the 57-year old dictator is already dead, but this appears to be inaccurate. Nevertheless, the unexpected deteriorating health of the Prime Minister has captivated the blogosphere.

Zenawi was last seen during the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, last June. His picture with Chinese President Hu Jintao (seen above), during the summit was much talked about. He looked thin and pale, and he has not been seen in public since.

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Ethiopian Regime Crumbles: Enter CIA - 07/17/2012

by THOMAS C. MOUNTAIN

With its foundations irreparably cracked and its edifices of power crumbling the Ethiopian regime headed by Meles Zenawi is turning more and more to the CIA to make the critical decisions in the ministries of power in the capital Addis Ababa.

Faced with growing nationalist insurgencies, an ongoing economic crisis and calls for regime change from the heights of the religious community, the isolation surrounding Meles Zenawi grows almost by the day. Addis Ababa has become home to an ever shrinking inner circle of regime insiders allowed to share in the spoils of power but with no one able to replace Meles himself as head of state.

When the Egyptian people finally exploded President Mubarak quickly became expendable for the USA had a “Plan B” in the Egyptian military. But no such back up plan exists in Ethiopia for Meles Zenawi knows all to well how quickly he can become “expendable” when it comes to the interests of Pax Americana and has made sure that the Ethiopian army has been purged of any and all who might replace him.

Towards this end earlier this year Meles “retired” some 120 of the last of the top generals and colonels left over from the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front guerilla army that brought Meles to power in 1991.

Hated in his ethnic homeland of Tigray, once his power base, and hated by the Amhara elite, the ethnic minority who previously ruled Ethiopia, Meles has ceded de facto control of his ministries to technocrats from the CIA and US State Department.

The USA is desperate to keep Meles in power, for without anyone they trust to replace Meles from within or outside the regime the options facing Pax Americana should be causing a growing sense of anxiety in the White House offices of President Obama’s Senior Policy Advisor on Africa, Gayle Smith.

The last five years has seen an historic shift in world economic power, with Asia, headed by China, and Europe, headed by Germany, becoming the major trade partners on the planet. And all of that trade, hundreds of container ships a day, must pass through not only the Suez Canal, guarded by a mercenary Egyptian army, but the Red Sea and the potential choke point Bab al Mandeb where it joins the Indian Ocean.

So far $7 billion a year in western aid has kept Meles Zenawi and his army, the largest, best equipped in Africa, in power and able to do Pax Americana’s dirty work in the Horn of Africa. But with Meles gone and no pro-USA replacement waiting in the wings the options facing America will be daunting.

Ethiopia is not so much a nation as a prison house of nations. The people of the Ogaden, Oromia, Gambella and Afar, some two thirds of of Ethiopia’s 80 million people, are demanding the right to self determination, de facto independence. Once this happens, and matters have gone to far to prevent such, there will no longer be an Ethiopia and no longer an Ethiopian army to do the bidding of the USA.

The result will be that Eritrea, population 5 million, will have the strongest, most capable army in the Horn of Africa with Eritrea’s national motto being “Never Kneel Down”.

So no matter how many drones it may have the USA may find itself having to put thousands of American boots on the ground in the Horn of Africa alongside a permanent naval fleet, a task that is a political and public relations disaster in the making.

No matter the control wielded by the CIA inside the ministries of power in Ethiopia the end of the Meles Zenawi regime grows closer and with it will come the end of Ethiopia as the world has known it. And with the end of Ethiopia as a regional power and policeman on the beat for the imperial interests of the USA all bets are off in the Horn of Africa and America will be left to scramble for a solution to maintaining their control of one of the most critically strategic areas of the world.

Thomas C. Mountain is the most widely distributed independent journalist in Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. His interviews can be seen on RT and PressTV. He can be reached at thomascmountain at yahoo dot com.

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Dawn Explosions Rock Ethiopian Troops in Beledweyne Town - 07/17/2012

Deadly multiple blasts are reportedly rocked on Tuesday Ethiopian troops in Somalia's central town of Beledweyne, a town which is under the control of Somali government soldiers and its allied Ethiopian troops, reports said.

Eyewitnesses confirmed to Shabelle Media that roadside bombs targeted Ethiopian forces as they were walking east of Beledweyne, but could not verify the exact number of casualties to the Ethiopian military.

Following the blasts Ethiopian forces momentarily halted business and public transportation operations, opening fire at nearby crowds indiscriminately, but No deaths reported.

No Ethiopian military spokesman has briefed the media on the incident.

Beledweyne, 350 kilometers north of Mogadishu, and a trading hub near the Ethiopian border, has witnessed a string of attacks and co-coordinated killings against soldiers and civilians since Al shabab vacated at the end of last year without fighting.

No group has yet said it carried out the landmine blasts on Ethiopian troops in Beledweyne town on Tuesday morning.

© Shabelle Media Network.

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Somalia: Al Shabaab Bombing Assassinates Former Cabinet Minister - 07/16/2012

Mogadishu, Somalia — Former Minister of Commerce was killed in a car bomb in Hamarweyne district in Mogadishu, Garowe Online reports.

The victim, Mr. Mohamud Abdi (Garweyne), is a former official of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), the parent organization of today's Al Shabaab terrorist militia. Mr. Garweyne was later appointed by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, himself former ICU chief, as a Cabinet minister for humanitarian affairs and was a current Member of Parliament.

Mr. Garweyne was killed in Mogadishu Monday afternoon, in what police officials speculate was an explosive planted on his vehicle.

One woman died from her injuries another and two people who were on board Garweyne's vehicle were injured totaling the injuries to six persons in Monday's blast.

Deputy security chief for Banadir region, Warsame Mohamed Hassan, verified the assassination of Mr. Garweyne who according to security officials in Mogadishu was on the Al Shabaab 'hit list'.

Al Shabaab press desk claimed responsibility for Monday's blast saying that the attack certifies that the terrorist organization is still active in Mogadishu.

"This is proof that Al Shabaab still hasn't exited Mogadishu and we will target more government officials," said the Al Shabaab press desk.

Although Al Shabaab claimed that it had retreated from Mogadishu last year, however attacks in Mogadishu by the terrorist organization have been a recurrent theme in the capital.

As the transitional government period is scheduled to come to a close next month important conferences like the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) meeting are set to take place in Mogadishu.

According to Transitional Federal Government (TFG) officials, despite security breaches in the capital, the security of officials and delegates who will take part in ending the transitional process is the top priority for government and UN backed security institutions operating in Mogadishu.

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Eritrean President holds talks with EU Special Envoy on Horn of Africa affairs

Asmara, 7 June, 2012 – Eritrean president Issaias Afewerki today held talks with Mr. Alexandros Rondos, Special Envoy of the European Union on Horn of Africa affairs.

In the meeting at the State House, the two sides exchanged views as regards creating a conducive atmosphere for the prevalence of peace and stability in the Horn region.

The president pointed out that Eritrea approves the EU’s timely and serious concern on the Horn of Africa, and that an overall handling is vital in the process as the cases of the region are entangled.

Indicating that the EU is working attentively with the objective situation in the Horn region, Mr. Alexandros underlined that the Union holds enthusiasm and plan to ensure peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. He also expressed readiness to fulfill the task for which he has been assigned.

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Somalia challenges Kenya over oil blocks 07/06/2012

By Kelly Gilblom

Somalia's government accused Kenya on Friday of awarding offshore oil and gas exploration blocks illegally to multinationals Total and Eni because the concessions lie in waters claimed by Somalia.

The spat between Kenya and its war-ruined neighbour could complicate the hunt for resources along a part of the East African coastline, rapidly emerging as one of the world's hottest oil exploration prospects.

Somalia's deputy energy minister, Abdullahi Dool, said contracts awarded for four blocks in deep waters were invalid and the government planned to complain to the United Nations, which oversees maritime border laws.

"We are concerned about the lease of blocks," Dool told Reuters. "I am sure we will lodge complaints."

The blocks are among seven awarded by Kenya last week, three of them to Italy's Eni and one to France's Total .

They lie in an area long contested by Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy, and Somalia, wrecked by more than two decades of civil war, split between an interim government and Islamist rebels and serving as the main base for Indian Ocean pirates.

Kenya rejected the accusation that ownership of the blocks was contested and said there was no need to hold up exploration.

Kenya's first major oil discovery in March has raised expectations of more to come.

"Saying these are not Kenyan blocks is like saying we don't have a full-fledged government, like we are a banana republic," petroleum commissioner Martin Heya said.

An Eni spokesman said the company would not comment on the challenge to its rights to blocks L21, L23 and L24. Total, awarded block 122, did not respond to requests for comment.

Kenya says the maritime boundary, over which there is no formal agreement, should run due east from the point at which the land border meets the coast, like the maritime boundaries of other countries along the coast.

Somalia says the boundary should extend perpendicular to the coastline, giving it a big chunk of the waters claimed by Kenya.

The dispute mirrors those in other parts of Africa where resources straddle boundaries that were first drawn only vaguely by colonial era map makers.

Kenya and Somalia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009 that the border would run east along the line of latitude, but Somalia, which has lacked an effective central government since 1991, then rejected the

agreement in parliament.

The quarrel over the oil blocks strains otherwise close ties between Kenya and the Somali government. In fact, Kenya sent troops into Somalia last year to hunt down the Islamist al Shabaab rebels who control swathes of the country.

Joshua Brien, a legal adviser with the Commonwealth Secretariat who is advising Kenya on the matter, said no legal boundary can be established until both governments sign a U.N.-approved agreement or move the issue to an international court.

"It's not impossible they could come to a resolution, but the situation in Somalia is so uncertain," Brien told Reuters by phone from London.

An added frustration for Kenya is that it cannot extend its claim to the continental shelf beyond its 200 nautical miles (370 km) of territorial waters until the border spat is resolved. That holds up the award of more exploration licenses. (Editing by Richard Lough and Matthew Tostevin)

C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved

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Ogaden National Liberation Front [ONLF] Army mounted several targeted operations against Woyane Troops

According the military communique released by ONLF, the ONLF fighters has conducted several operations to punish the woyane troops who were sent to commit atrocities against the civilians in the area. The communique also released that  the death toll on the Woyane Army side during those operations was 168 dead. They also captured heavy weapons, food, medicine and item looted from the civilian population while freeing 50 conscripts from the local area, who were forcefully being trained to kill their own people.

Full communique follows

The Ogaden national Liberation Army mounted several targeted operations against Ethiopian Troops who were conducting punitive campaigns against the civilian population in Ogaden. On the May 31, 2012, in Birqot garrison, the Liberation Army waylaid two Ethiopia Army convoys and killed more than fifty soldiers on missions to commit atrocities against the civilian people the area. On the same day, the liberation Army, preempted another Ethiopian Army mission near Qabri Bayah in preparation for carrying out massacres around Obole area, by attacking them at Bula dari Garison, killing 98 soldiers, including 6 officers, while capturing and destroying all the camps in the garrison. The liberation Army killed another 19 soldiers after trouncing reinforcements from Jigjiga garrison town.

In total, the death toll on the Ethiopian Army side during those operations was 168 dead. The Liberation Army captured heavy weapons, food, medicine and item looted from the civilian population while freeing 50 conscripts from the local area, who were forcefully being trained to kill their own people.

This operation was in response to appalling acts carried out by the Ethiopian Occupation Army in Ogaden who massacred in Cool blood 18 civilians in the hamlet of Dhabo Jiriso, near Birqot, while abducting 15 others on May 27, 2012. The Ethiopian Army, which committed that crime against humanity, came from the town of Birqot on the highway between Degahbur and Qabri daher. The slaughterer troops used ghastly manners in carrying out the massacres- some of the victims were beheaded others were killed with stones, while the rest were mutilated. The Ethiopian Army conducted similar acts around Degahbur and Wardheer regions recently.

The Ogaden National Liberation Army will keep defending the Ogaden people until their right to self-determination is implemented.

Names of some of the executed civilians that were identified by ONLA:

1. Mo’alin Adan Hassan Kur’as

2. Mohamed Mohamud Ali-Madoobe

3. Bishar Ahmed Ali-Madoobe

4. Adan Hassan Abdi-Shide

5. Hassan Bashir Mo’alin Abdi

6. Ahmed-Nur Mohamed Hasan

7. Abdi-Rashid Sheikh Abdulahi Sheikh Ali-Dhagood

8. Taman Abdi Duwane Ismail

Below are the names of some of the missing reported by the civilian relatives:-

1. Farah Mohamed Abdi Odowa

2. Taman Ali Madobe

3. Ahmed-Faroole Mahamud Ali-Madoobe

4. Siraje Ahmed-Fiqane Hassan

5. Farhan Taman Ali-Madoobe

6. Abdulahi Ise

7. Mohamed Ali-Barre Aw-Hirsi

8. Kilas Abdulahi

9. Gaydh Abdi Odowa (with severe injury)

Issued by ONLF

June 1, 2012

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Mekseb Debesay claims stage victory at the final stage [5] of Tour of Eritrea [VIDEO]

Tour of Eritrea 2012 ended today in Asmara at the 5th stage. At the end of the race Mekseb Debesay stood 1st, Freqalsi Debesay 2nd, and Tesfay Abraha from MTN-Qhubeka 3rd.

Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka) was the overall winner beating Freqalsi Debesay by just 00:01:09 at the end of the 5 stage event.
MTN-Qhubeka Team Manager Kevin Campbell said " the rest of the team worked tirelessly throughout the final stage to ensure that the lead did not slip from their grasp."
Jacques Janse van Rensburg has now become the first non-Eritrean to win the race since it started in 2001. Freqalsi Debesay from the Eritrean National Cycling team 2nd and Algerian Lagab Azzadine 3rd.

Tour of Eritrea 2012 Stage 5 [Last] Result

General Classification @ Last Stage [5]

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Another stage [4] win for MTN-Qhubeka's Jani Tewelde at Tour of Eritrea 2012 [VIDEO]

By MTN - Qhubeka

Stage 4 of the Tour of Eritrea saw riders climbing along the 94km route from Keren to Asmara. MTN-Qhubeka’s Jani Tewelde claimed his second stage victory of this year’s tour in front of his ecstatic Eritrean countrymen as he outsprinted a group of four breakaway riders to claim his team’s third win of the tour.

Jacques Janse Van Rensburg retained his overall race lead and is making good progress towards claiming his maiden Tour of Eritrea title.

Four riders escaped early on the day’s stage and as the peloton recognised that none of the leaders were a serious threat to the overall positions, the gap quickly grew to 2, then 3 then 4 minutes.

Dawit Haile riding for the Red Sea Camels then launched an attack up the only serious climb of the day, the Shindwa Pass, and before long he had ridden across to the leading quartet, which started alarm bells ringing in the peloton as he had started the day in sixth position overall, just 3min 55sec behind the race leader.

Team MTN-Qhubeka calmly upped the pace and slowly reeled in the gap to the break and Tewelde crossed the finish line only 1min44sec ahead of the yellow jersey bunch.

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Tour of Eritrea 2012 Stage 4 Result

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General Classification @ Stage 4

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Tesfom Okbamariam of Red Sea camels ERI Wins Stage 3 of Tour of Eritrea 2012 [VIDEO]

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Tour of Eritrea 2012 - Stage 3

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#	Rider's Name	Time	Country
1	Tesfom Okbamariam		ERI
2	Mekseb Debesay		ERI
3	Daniel Teklay		ERI
4	Freqalsi Debesay		ERI
5	Meron Amanuel		ERI
6	Tesfay Abraha		ERI-MTN
7	Solomon Habte		ERI
8	Azedin --		ALG
9	Jani Tewelde		ERI-MTN
10	Bereket Yemane		ERI

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Tour of Eritrea 2012 - General Classification @ Stage 3

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#	Rider's Name	Time	Country
1	Jacques Janse Van Rensburg		MTN-Qhubeka
2	Azzedine Lagab	@55”	Algeria
3	Frekalsi Debesay	@1m46”	Eritrean National Cycling Team
4
5
6

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Ethiopia bans Skype and other VoIP services.

June 17, 2012
Ethiopia has banned Skype and other use of Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services that offer audio and video related communications.

The new law was passed late last month and breaking the law is punishable by 15 years in prison.

According to Reporters Without Borders, the Horn of Africa country endorsed the law national security reasons.

Internet-based phone calls have been a popular means of communication for government opponents and their supporters abroad. Addis Ababa’s actions are interpreted to be a attempt to cut off these lines of communication with Ethiopians abroad, from which the opposition secure most of their funding.

However, it is also believed that the new law is intended to protect the state’s monopoly over telephone communications.

People in Ethiopia prefer to use internet based phone calls than telephone calls because they are far cheaper.

The law is also said to allow the Ministry of Communications and Information to ban the import of communications equipment.

Reporters Without Borders criticised Ethiopia’s crackdown on Internet users and accused the East African country of trying to "attack every means of information exchange."

Ambroise Pierre from the Reporters Without Borders Africa service told the BBC: "There’s already a very strict control over written press, and last year several journalists were arrested, and now the government is tackling communications over the Internet”.

Local journalists have accused the Ethiopian government of trying to take control of Internet-based telecom services by intensifying a crack down on Internet cafés during the past few weeks.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders accused Ethiopia of further intensifying press and internet censorship by what the group alleged was using a sophisticated technology, the Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) - an advanced network filtering used to selective blocking websites.

It also accused the country’s state owned printing presses of trying to impose political censorship on media content prior to publication.

A number of international press freedom groups have accused Ethiopia of press censorship and endangering safety of journalists using controversial laws.

According to CPJ research, Ethiopia drove more journalists into exile than any other country, over the past decade. The country is also Africa’s foremost jailer of journalists after neighbouring Eritrea.

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