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Hadas Eritrea April 30, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
UN: 3,000 Ugandan and Burundi Soldiers Killed in Somalia
By VOA News,
A top U.N. official says up to 3,000 African Union soldiers have been killed in Somalia over the past few years fighting the Islamist insurgency.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson gave the death toll at a news conference Thursday at U.N. headquarters.
Eliasson said Uganda and Burundi, which supplied most of the troops for the AU force, “have paid a tremendous price.”
A spokesman for the force, Ali Aden Hamoud, says he cannot confirm or deny the death toll.
“That responsibility belongs to each one of those contingents, or troop-contributing countries,” he said.
Over the past two years, AU troops, working with Somali and Ethiopian forces, have forced militant group al-Shabab out of southern Somali towns and cities they once controlled.
Eliasson said the al-Shabab threat has receded but still exists and that the AU force, known as AMISOM, still “plays an absolutely crucial role” in Somalia.
AU soldiers arrived in Somalia in 2007 and were involved in heavy fighting with al-Shabab in Mogadishu for several years.
The capital is largely calm these days, although al-Shabab still carries out periodic attacks like a suicide bombing last Sunday that killed eight people.
The East African nation is attempting to emerge from more than 20 years of chaos and war under a new government formed last year. Donor nations pledged $300 million for security in Somalia at a conference in London this week.
Sudan says South Sudan helped rebels attacking major town
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan accused South Sudan of having supported rebels who launched a major assault two weeks ago, warning this could derail recent oil and security agreements between the African neighbors, state media said on Saturday.
The two countries agreed in March to resume cross-border oil flows and end tension that has plagued them since South Sudan’s secession in 2011.
Since then ties have improved with Sudan receiving last week the first oil exports from the landlocked South, which had shut down its production in January 2012 in a dispute over pipeline fees.
But in a new setback, Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) said South Sudan had helped rebels who two weeks ago attacked the central city of Um Rawaba. It was the worst assault since a raid on Khartoum in 2008.
“The support for the (rebel) forces … included fuel supplies and the opening of military hospitals in the South to receive wounded Sudanese rebels,” SUNA said, quoting NISS.
South Sudan also had recently supported rebels from the western region of Darfur and two border states with vehicles, SUNA said, adding South Sudan also has provided weapons, ammunition and training at several camps in its Unity state to form a “another force” to send into Sudan.
“NISS has confirmed that Juba has supported rebels against Khartoum since the cooperation agreement (to resume oil flows),” SUNA said.
South Sudan also had issued emergency travel documents for wounded rebels to receive medical treatment in some African countries and hosted some of their leaders in the capital Juba, SUNA said.
The security services “urged the South’s government to stop any involvement in support of Sudanese rebels which threatens the implementation of all cooperation deals between Khartoum and Juba,” SUNA said.
REBEL ALLIANCE
There was no immediate comment from Juba, which has long denied it was supporting rebels on Sudanese territory.
Khartoum had since the March deal stopped accusing Juba of backing any rebels but mistrust runs deep between the two sides, which fought one of Africa’s longest civil wars before a 2005 peace deal.
The Um Rawaba attack, a normally placid commercial hub, was conducted by an alliance of three rebel groups from Darfur, scene of a decade-long rebellion of non-Arab tribes, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North).
The SPLM-North is made up of fighters who sided with the south during civil war and ended up with southern secession in Sudan. They complain like the Darfur rebels of marginalization in a country controlled by an Arab elite in Khartoum.
Sudan and South Sudan came close to war in April 2012 when border skirmishes broke out over oil exports fees, rebel support and disputed territory.
Under international pressure, both agreed in March to set up a buffer zone on both sides of their border, a condition for Sudan to allow through South Sudan’s oil exports.
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Bill Trott)
Ethiopia: Police officer kills 14 civilians - ST
May 14, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) - An Ethiopian federal policeman shot dead 14 innocent people in the northern west city of Bahirdar, a regional police source told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.
Amhara regional police commissioner, Mulgeta Worku, said the shooter randomly opened fire on Sunday evening at around 9pm local time against residents of Abay Mado vicinity and against passers by.
The dead include children, women and elderly.
The motive behind the killings is not yet clear however police said a thorough investigation is underway and details will be made public soon.
The incident took place on the shores of Lake Tana. The gunman died after he threw himself off a bridge over the Blue Nile River after he was chased by security forces.
The body of the assailant was recovered on Tuesday.
The bodies of the 14 victims have been put to rest at Debre-Abay, Saint Gebriel Church, in the presence of Amhara regional chief Ayalew Gobeze and other government officials.
While calling the slaughter “cruel, outrageous and unacceptable” Ethiopian prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, on Monday urged the concerned authorities to launch an immediate probe in to the crime.
The federal and regional governments have also condemned in the strongest terms the massacre which is uncommon in the East African nation and extended condolences to the relatives of victims.
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2013 Stage 8 Result
49th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2013 Stage 8 Result
Final General Classification
1
|
Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano | |
| 2 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana | |
| 3 | Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-QuickStep | |
| 4 | Aidis Kruopis (Lit) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 5 | Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
| 6 | Moreno Hofland (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
| 7 | Francesco Lasca (Ita) Caja Rural | |
| 8 | Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) Lampre-Merida | |
| 9 | Andrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
| 10 | Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol |
Final General Classification
| Result | ||
| 1 | Mustafa Sayar (Tur) Torku Sekerspor | |
| 2 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Team Europcar | 0:00:41 |
| 3 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:44 |
| 4 | Maxime Mederel (Fra) Sojasun | 0:00:57 |
| 5 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:01:00 |
| 6 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:01:02 |
| 7 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia | 0:01:08 |
| 8 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:01:09 |
| 9 | Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural | 0:01:13 |
| 10 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff |
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2013 Stage 7 Result.
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2013 Stage 7 Result.
| 1 | Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano |
| 2 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana |
| 3 | Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Lampre-Merida |
| 4 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar |
| 5 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox |
| 6 | Jacobe Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare |
| 7 | Francesco Lasca (Ita) Caja Rural |
| 8 | Jarc Blaz (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura |
| 9 | Aidis Kruopis (Lit) Orica-GreenEdge |
| 10 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep |
*** Sayar retains overall lead with one stage to go
General Classification @Stage 7
General Classification @Stage 7
|
Friday, April 26, 2013
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2013 stage 6 results
Mustafa Sayar (Torku Sekerspor) won stage six to Selçuk and set up overall success by going clear alone on the testing climb to the finish.
The Turkish rider powered clear in the big ring, finishing ahead of Cofidis duo Yohann Bagot and Nicolas Edet.
Eritrea's Natnael Berhane (Team Europcar) finished 43 seconds down and so lost he overall race lead to Sayar. Berhane is now 41 seconds down overall, with Bagot third at 44 seconds.
The Tour of Turkey continues with a hilly, 124 km stage to Izmir on Saturday and a concluding circuit stage in the centre of Istanbul on Sunday.
| Full Results Stage 6 | ||
| 1 | Mustafa Sayar (Tur) Torku Sekerspor | 4:40:09 |
| 2 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:18 |
| 3 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:23 |
| 4 | Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural | 0:00:28 |
| 5 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia | 0:00:30 |
| 6 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | |
| 7 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
| 8 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 9 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:00:33 |
| 10 | Marc De Maar (AHo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 11 | Maxime Mederel (Fra) Sojasun | |
| 12 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Team Europcar | 0:00:43 |
| 13 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Sojasun | |
| 14 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 15 | José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:00:49 |
| 16 | Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:00:51 |
| 17 | David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Torku Sekerspor | 0:00:54 |
| 18 | Nazim Bakirci (Tur) Torku Sekerspor | 0:00:57 |
| 19 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | 0:01:16 |
| 20 | Angelo Pagani (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
| 21 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 22 | Dennis Van Niekerk (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
| 23 | Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural | 0:01:21 |
| 24 | Mirac Kal (Tur) Torku Sekerspor | |
| 25 | Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:27 |
| 26 | Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana Pro Team | |
| 27 | Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Torku Sekerspor | 0:01:38 |
| 28 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
| 29 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:01:43 |
| 30 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:01:47 |
| 31 | Erick Rowsell (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura | |
| 32 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha | 0:01:53 |
| 33 | Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
| 34 | Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:01:56 |
| 35 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
| 36 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha | 0:02:13 |
| 37 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | |
| 38 | Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
| 39 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:02:25 |
| 40 | Nikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Polsat Polkowice | 0:02:31 |
UN to gather first-hand information from Eritrean refugees
Friday, 26 April 2013, 4:39 pm
Press Release: OHCHR
Eritrea / Human rights: UN rights expert to gather first-hand information from Eritrean refugees
Geneva, 25 April 2013 – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, will carry out an official visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti from 30 April to 9 May 2013 to collect information directly from Eritrean refugees on the human rights situation in their country.
“Due to lack of access to Eritrea, I will engage with all others concerned by human rights in Eritrea, including those who consider themselves to be victims of alleged human rights violations, human rights defenders and other civil society actors,” Ms. Keetharuth said.
“In my first field mission, I will gather first-hand information from Eritrean refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries,” explained the rights expert, while expressing her appreciation that neighbouring Ethiopia and Djibouti have agreed to provide her access to the Eritrean refugee population residing in those two countries.
Since her appointment in November 2012, the Special Rapporteur has made several requests to visit Eritrea, which has so far not been granted. She has repeatedly urged the Eritrean authorities to collaborate with her mandate with a view to addressing its human rights challenges. In her view, the mandate offers an opportunity for the Eritrean Government to engage in a fresh and constructive dialogue on human rights issues brought to the fore by an array of stakeholders.
During her mission, Ms. Keetharuth will interview Eritrean refugees in various places to assess allegations of widespread and systematic violations of human rights in Eritrea contained in reports she has received from a variety of sources. The result of her findings, which would be strictly limited to the situation inside Eritrea, will be reflected in her first report to the Human Rights Council in June 2013.
Apart from courtesy meetings with Government authorities in both countries, the human rights expert is planning to meet Eritrean refugees in various places throughout the countries to collect information about alleged human rights violations in Eritrea.
The Special Rapporteur will issue a news release with her preliminary findings on the situation of human rights in Eritrea at the end of her field visits to neighbouring Ethiopia and Djibouti
Sheila B. Keetharuth was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea during the 21st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2012. She took her functions on 1 November 2012. As Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. A lawyer from Mauritius, she has extensive experience in monitoring and documenting human rights violations, advocacy, training and litigation in human rights in Africa.
UN Human Rights, country page –
ENDS
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Human trafficking operation busted
By: Charlie Miller
Two vehicles carrying 196 refugees of various nationalities were stopped by border forces near the Egyptian-Sudanese border on Monday morning, according to the Egyptian army.
An Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson confirmed earlier today that a convoy containing a total of 196 people was stopped by Egyptian Border Forces approximately 50km into Egypt, after travelling over the border from Sudan yesterday morning.
The convoy was reportedly heading for Libya when it was stopped by the Egyptian Armed Forces close to Camel Mountain in Upper Egypt.
The vehicles, the first reportedly a beige Toyota Land Cruiser and the second a large open-backed Mercedes lorry, contained 33 and 163 refugees respectively. An automatic AK-47 rifle complete with two magazines and several rounds of ammunition were also discovered, alongside a Thuraya satellite telephone. Both of these items are believed to belong to the Libyan driver of the second vehicle.
The refugees were of various nationalities, the majority of them Sudanese, with a number of Somalis, Eritreans and Pakistanis reported to be amongst them. It is expected that charges will be brought against all those arrested.
Source: Daily News - Egypt
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
UN eases Somalia weapons embargo - 05/09/2013
The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to partially lift its ban on selling arms on Somalia for a year.
The embargo is the world's oldest, having been imposed in 1992, and will be partially eased for a year in order to help the country's new government.
The decision means the government will be able to buy light arms to help in its fight against Islamist militants.
Some countries had been reluctant to ease the ban for fear of fuelling insecurity in Somalia.
Correspondents say a compromise seems to have been reached: lifting an embargo on small arms for one year but keeping restrictions on heavy weapons.
The council also voted to extend the mandate of an African Union peacekeeping force in the country by a year.
The government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had been pressing for the embargo to be lifted. He took office in 2012 after the first election of its kind since President Mohamed Siad Barre.
"The council has struck the right balance. It sends a positive signal to President Hassan Sheikh but it continues to give the council oversight of weaponsflows into Somalia," Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said.
Many items will still be banned from Somalia, including surface-to-air missiles, large-calibre guns, howitzers and cannons.
The human rights group Amnesty International had said the move would be "premature", saying tighter safeguards were needed first to ensure weapons did not fall in to the wrong hands.
The embargo was imposed after the fall of President Barre in 1991 and subsequent bloody infighting between clan warlords.
Recent years have seen conflict between a UN-backed government and the al-Shabab Islamist militia.
Al-Shabab, a group aligned to al-Qaeda, seized control of southern and central parts of Somalia before Ethiopian, Kenyan and African Union peacekeeping troops undertook a counter-offensive in 2011, supported by the US.
Al-Shabab has now been forced out of Somalia's main towns but it still controls many smaller towns and rural parts of southern and central Somalia.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Natnael Berhane achieves historic victory at Tour of Turkey
First win by sub-Saharan African at UCI HC event
The globalisation of cycling took a leap forward today with the victory of Eritrea's Natnael Berhane (Team Europcar) in the third stage of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. It was the first victory of a sub-Saharan African in a Hors Categorie (HC) event on the UCI calendar and one of the greatest results from a former World Cycling Centre (WCC) trainee.
It was a double success for the 22-year-old Berhane who, in winning the third stage, also took possession of the leader's jersey. Showing good climbing form in the last five kilometres, he reached the top of the Elmali, considered Turkey's Alpe d'Huez, with a six-second lead over his breakaway companions Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana) and Mustafa Sayar (Torku Sekersport).
Founded in 2002, the World Cycling Centre has already trained more than 620 young athletes, mainly for road, track and BMX, from more than 120 countries. The trainees come mostly from countries that do not have the necessary facilities to help their athletes reach a level that could enable them to turn professional or realise their Olympic dreams.
"It is an historic day for Eritrea, for Africa and for cycling," said WCC Director Frédéric Magné. "It demonstrates the exceptional qualities of this rider, who preferred to remain amateur for an extra season in order to continue his progression. It is also proof of the quality of the coaching and training work undertaken at the WCC."
Berhane was a trainee at the WCC in Aigle, Switzerland, in 2011 and 2012. He followed in the footsteps of his compatriot Daniel Teklehaymanot, who trained at the WCC from 2009 to 2011 before turning professional in 2012, with Orica-GreenEdge.
Already showing his talent in 2011 by beating UCI WorldTour riders to take a stage victory in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo-Tour du Gabon, Berhane was African Road Race and Team Time Trial Champion in 2011 and 2012 and also clocked up solid results last year in the Under-23 UCI Nations' Cup: 3rd in a stage of Toscana-Terra di Ciclismo, 7th and 8th in the Ville de Saguenay (Canada).
WCC coach Jean-Jacques Henry is full of praise for his former trainee: "Natnael Berhane is a great guy, serious, diligent, intelligent in race situations and with a puncher's profile for events such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Since last May at the WCC he learned to be patient and concentrate his attacking efforts at the end, as he did in a winning way today at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey."
Berhane is now leader of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey with a 10-second lead over Seeldraeyers and a 12-second advantage on Sayar. The eight-stage event concludes on Sunday in Istanbul.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Egypt: Eritrea Offers Support to Egypt's "Historic Rights" Over the Nile
Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs, Yemane Gebreab, handed a message from President Isaias to President Morsi of Egypt on Monday (April 13th) this week. According to Egypt's State Information Service, President Morsi, who said he looked forward to meet Eritrea's President, praised Eritrea's support for Egypt's claim to "historic rights" to the Nile water.
This is the claim has led Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, and later Burundi to reject the colonial era Nile Water agreements between Egypt and Sudan. All these Nile Basin countries have signed the Cooperative Framework Agreement to provide for reasonable and equitable utilization of the river.
South Sudan has yet to sign but has also expressed its opposition to the 1959 Nile Water agreements between Sudan and Egypt.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Egypt, Eritrea Discuss Boosting Bilateral Relations
President Mohamed Morsi held on Monday 15/4/2013 a meeting with Eritrean Presidential Advisor Yamani Jibrab and Foreign Minister Othman Saleh on means of promoting bilateral ties.
The meeting tackled the file of Nile water along with discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, said a statement released by the Presidency.
Morsi praised the Eritrean stance that supports the Egyptian historic rights in Nile water.
Morsi said he is looking forward to holding a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr received Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Eritrean Presidential Advisor Yamani Jibrab.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Amr Roshdi said that Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh conveyed a message to President Mohamed Morsi from Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki.
Roshdi noted that the two sides took up means of boosting bilateral relations between Egypt and Eritrea as well as coordinating stances toward a host of international issues.
He added that Amr stressed Egypt's keenness on promoting trade with Eritrea
Monday, April 15, 2013
UN special rapporteur blocked from entering Eritrea
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea said authorities in Asmara have refused her entry into the country to asses the human rights situation in one of the world’s most repressive nation.
Speaking at the 53rd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, Gambia, Beedwantee Keetharuth said this week that the Eritrean government have failed to cooperate as required by the UN Human Rights Council.
As a result she said she would be forced to undertake her mission - assessing the human rights situation in Eritrea - by talking to refugees in neighbouring countries.
“In the meantime, I will engage with all others concerned by human rights in Eritrea, including those who consider themselves to be victims of alleged human rights violations, human rights defenders and other civil society actors,” she said.
It is to be recalled that the Eritrean government immediately rejected the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur by the UN Human Rights Council last July.
In a statement the Eritrean government said it won’t accept the mandate, describing her appointment as politically motivated.
Eritrea’s regional rival Ethiopia, however, has welcomed the appointment then and called upon its neighbour to comply with the resolutions of the Human Rights Council.
The UN Special Rapporteur to Eritrea is mandated to investigate the situation of human rights in Eritrea as the regime of the reclusive nation allegedly continues to commit widespread and gross human right violations.
The Special Rapporteur will present her first report on the human rights situation in Eritrea to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in June 2013.
Keetharuth called on the Eritrean government to “consider the mandate of the Special Rapporteur as an opportunity to start a fresh and constructive dialogue on human rights issues that have been raised by the international community and other stakeholders”.
(ST)
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Egypt, Sudan to stop kidnapping of asylum-seekers
Amnesty International urges Egypt, Sudan to stop kidnapping of asylum-seekers - Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Egypt and Sudan to stop asylum-seekers and refugees being kidnapped from camps in Sudan, forcibly transported to Egypt, and being severely abused in the Sinai desert.
The global rights body said in a briefing note that for over two years, refugees and asylum-seekers have been kidnapped from in and around the Shagarab refugee camps in eastern Sudan, near the Eritrean border.
It said the vast majority of victims are Eritrean. They are then trafficked to Egypt’s Sinai desert, where they are held captive by Bedouin criminal gangs while ransom payments are demanded from their families.
Amnesty International said it had received repeated reports of brutal violence used against captives in Sinai, including rape and sexual abuse, beatings, burning and other violent and cruel treatment.
The captors reportedly telephone their victims’ relatives while inflicting violence in order to extort money, often demanding ransoms of up to US$30-40,000.
According to the rights body, some refugees and asylum-seekers are murdered when their families are unable to pay the ransom, while others die from injuries or because of the extremely harsh conditions of captivity. One teenage boy held for eight months in Sinai witnessed seven deaths among the other captives during that time.
The organization called on the Egyptian security forces to investigate urgently reports that refugees and asylum-seekers are being held captive in compounds in northeast Sinai.
“The Egyptian authorities have a duty to protect any individual on their soil, and must urgently take steps to free all people held captive and subjected to appalling abuses in Sinai, and provide them with immediate medical attention and access to asylum procedures and support,” said Claire Beston, Amnesty International’s Eritrea researcher.
Amnesty International urges the governments of Egypt and Sudan to make significant efforts to bring anyone involved in the crimes of kidnapping and human trafficking to justice.
It also calls on the countries along the trafficking route – running from Eritrea through Ethiopia and Sudan into Egypt - to work together to bring an end to the kidnapping, trafficking and horrific abuses, and to increase engagement with international agencies’ initiatives to tackle these crimes.
Pana 03/04/2013
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Sudan harboring Ugandan warlord Kony
WASHINGTON, United States: Sudan appears to be providing shelter to Joseph Kony, one of the world's most wanted warlords, according to a report released on Friday by the Washington-based Resolve group.
Kony leads the Lord's Resistance Army, which is infamous for mutilating its victims and abducting children for use as fighters and sex slaves. It has waged an insurgency against the Ugandan government for more than 25 years.
A self-proclaimed prophet who claims his rebels are fighting to establish a government based on the Biblical Ten Commandments, Kony and other LRA leaders face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
According to Friday's report, "eyewitnesses testify that elements from Sudan's military actively provided Kony and other LRA leaders with periodic safe haven in Sudanese-controlled territory from 2009 until at least February 2013."
Khartoum's army spokesman, Sawarmi Khaled Saad, rejected the charge. "Sudan has no benefit from hosting rebels of another country," he said, quoted by the official SUNA news agency.
The report, called "Hidden in Plain Sight," also included satellite images of a recently-abandoned LRA camp, where Kony was last sighted in late 2012, in Sudanese-controlled territory along the disputed border with South Sudan.
Defectors and other sources told researchers that even while Kony was in the Sudanese-controlled territories, he "continued to direct LRA attacks against civilians in neighboring countries."
"As long as Kony is able to find a safe haven in Sudan, he can avoid pursuit by Ugandan forces by simply crossing the border whenever they get close," said Michael Poffenberger, Executive Director of The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative and one of the report's primary authors.
"Sudan should not be allowed to harbor one of the most brutal and notorious war criminals in the world with impunity."
The activists call on the international community, including the United Nations and the African Union, to pressure Sudan to cooperate with efforts to fight the LRA and strengthen their own efforts against the group.
The report notes that the Kafia Kingi enclave where the LRA found "safe haven" is part of a demilitarised buffer zone which Sudan and South Sudan have set up since March.
Observers from both countries as well as from the UN have begun monitoring the zone.
"The United States is aware and continues to evaluate reports that the LRA has operated in the disputed Kafia Kingi area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan," said Patrick Ventrell, deputy State Department spokesman.
"The US and the international community as a whole would take very seriously any credible evidence of support or safe haven being provided to the LRA," he said, adding Washington has encouraged Sudan to cooperate with regional efforts to counter the LRA.
Earlier this month, the US offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Kony, who Secretary of State John Kerry said would "not be easy to find."
Uganda's army chief in April last year said Kony was based in remote regions between the Central African Republic, South Sudan's Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, and Sudan's South Darfur state. - AFP
Ethiopia to Stay in Somalia, Despite Frustration with Pace of Progress
April 26, 2013 — Ethiopia’s foreign ministry has denied there are plans to immediately withdraw all troops from Somalia, despite remarks by the Ethiopian prime minister expressing frustration with the pace of military progress in the country, according to VOA.
Speaking to parliament Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the African Union force in Somalia has not kept its promise to replace Ethiopian soldiers in parts of the country under AU control.
Ethiopian forces entered Somalia two years ago to assist the AU force, known as AMISOM, in its fight against al-Shabab militants. The Ethiopians have enjoyed success securing towns and cities in western Somalia.
But Hailemariam said the failure of AMISOM to replace Ethiopian troops influenced a decision in March to pull out of the town of Hudur, which was then retaken by al-Shabab.
In a statement Wednesday, the foreign ministry clarified the prime minister’s remarks, saying Ethiopia was “anxious to pull its forces out of Somalia” as soon as the Somali army and AMISOM take over from Ethiopian forces.
ERITREA OBJECTS UN MONITORING GROUP’S OBSESSION WITH ITS AIR FORCE
By Eritrean Mission,
The Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the UN is aware that the Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) has submitted its February monthly report to the Sanctions Committee sometime early this month.
In spite of our repeated requests to receive, in time, a copy of the report, we have not yet formally obtained the document. This awkward state of affairs has no plausible explanation or logic.
28 March 2013
H.E. Mr. Kim Sook
Chairman
Security Council Committee pursuant to
Resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009)
Concerning Somalia and Eritrea
c.c. Mr. Kelvin Ong
Secretary, UN Security Council Committee
Excellency,
The Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the UN is aware that the Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) has submitted its February monthly report to the Sanctions Committee sometime early this month. In spite of our repeated requests to receive, in time, a copy of the report, we have not yet formally obtained the document. This awkward state of affairs has no plausible explanation or logic.
We also understand that almost all Member States are not comfortable with this untenable conduct. The Mission of Eritrea thus wishes to avail of the occasion to request, once more, rectification of this procedural anomaly in order to respect Eritrea’s inalienable rights to have full and timely access to the reports as the accused party.
In as far as the contents of the SEMG’s February Report are concerned, Eritrea’s views are the following:
1. In our view, the SEMG has again exceeded its mandate to probe into sensitive mattersthat impinge on Eritrea’s national security. Among other things, the report states: “…The
SEMG travelled to Switzerland, Sweden and Italy to …(collect) information about the state of the Eritrean Air Force and various military facilities”.
As far as Eritrea understands, UNSC Resolutions 1907 (2009) and 2023 (2011) do not envision, and contain no specific clauses aimed at, degrading Eritrea’s defensive capabilities and inalienable rights. But the SEMG apparently believes otherwise and has gone out of its way in the past to stealthily collect inventory of the EAF as well as assess its “technical readiness”. We had strongly protested against this unwarranted action. Yet, the SEMG continues to engage in activities that are not clearly compatible with its mandate. The Eritrean Mission to the UN strongly calls for prompt stoppage of these unlawful activities.
2. The report indicates that “from 18 to 19 February 2013, the SEMG met with representatives of International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands, regarding specific aspects of the SEMG’s mandate”. If this is in reference to Eritrea, the Mission requests clarification on how the SEMG mandate relates to this rather opaque activity.
3. As was indeed the case in the past, the SEMG’s methodology of information collection and standards of verifying allegations remain shoddy. The reports thus states: “…During its European visits, the SEMG met with Eritrean sources with considerable knowledge of the military apparatus in Eritrea, including the air force…. Information obtained indicate that there may have been a recent flight by the Eritrean jetfighter, despite aircraft of Eritrean Air Forces remaining grounded due to lack of maintenance and spare parts. In addition, the SEMG obtained information that an Italian company temporarily exported to Eritrea, between October 2010 and April 2012, a rotary-wing aircraft”.
In the first place, the allegation on supply by Italy of a rotary-wing aircraft is utterly false. More importantly, one wonders why the SEMG must be obsessed to monitorinternal flights of Eritrean air force “fighter jets”. However, incorrect, its gratuitous report on “the grounding of Eritrean fighter aircrafts” cannot be compatible with its mandate. The worst part is the identity and credibility of “the knowledgeable Eritrean sources” that the SEMG has met in various European capitals.
We know there are individuals under the payroll of Ethiopia and/or involved in terrorist and subversive acts against Eritrea. The SEMG is apparently oblivious to the nefarious agenda of these groups and gives full credence to their allegations. This cannot be acceptable by any standards. Previous outrageous reports that the SEMG circulated implicating senior Eritrean government officials in “human trafficking” on the basis of interviews with, in its own word, fugitives from the law “involved in illegal human smuggling” continue to be regurgitated by so-called human rights groups to sally the image of Eritrea.
The Eritrean Mission to the UN expresses its concern in the strongest possible terms these irresponsible practices and urges the Sanctions Committee to delineate clearly the mandate and practices of the SEMG. Adjustments in the SEMG’s methodology of information collection and basic attitudinal changes towards Eritrea are indeed prerequisites if its reports are going to be factual, objective, impartial and non-political. The SEMG’s workingmodalities have been lacking in these critical qualities and, in our view, the deficit is not diminishing with time and albeit changes in its composition.
Please accept, Excellencies, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Araya Dest
Ambassador/Permanent Representative