Ethiopia dam is 'declaration of war': Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya

Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya mufti, Abdel-Akher Hammad
(Photo: Al-Ahram Arabic)

Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam and the diversion of the Blue Nile is a declaration of war on Egypt, Sheikh Abdel-Akher Hammad of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ethiopia began diverting the course of the Blue Nile, one of the Nile River’s two major tributaries, as part of its project to build a dam for electricity production.

Speaking on Al-Arabiya satellite channel, Hammad claimed the move would reduce Egypt's water supply and damage national security.

"If such a war is forged against us, we are ready to fight and we will embark on it with all our strength to defend our honour," asserted Hammad.

Diplomatic negotiations should be the first step, he added.

Hammad went on to say the crisis should have been dealt with by the Mubarak regime.

The Blue Nile provides Egypt with the lion's share of its annual 55 billion cubic metres of river water.

According to the state-run National Planning Institute, Egypt will need an additional 21 billion cubic metres of water per year by 2050 – on top of its current quota of 55 billion metres – to meet the needs of a projected population of 150 million.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/72730/Egypt/Politics-/Ethiopia-dam-is-declaration-of-war-AlGamaa-AlIslam.aspx

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Will Canada’s hard line on Eritrea’s ‘diaspora’ tax apply to the U.S.?

How nice to see Canada taking a very hard line with the government of Eritrea and its attempts to impose a diaspora tax on Eritrean citizens now living in Canada. This country really does have a backbone when it comes to standing up to oppression and injustice.

How to explain, then, that while we send the Eritrean consul packing and threaten to shut down the consulate, we let U.S. Ambassador David Jacobsen stay put in Ottawa with nary a word of protest over America’s “diaspora” tax?

There are only two countries in the world that levy income tax based on citizenship rather than residence; one is Eritrea and the other is the United States. But while Canada fulminates and threatens mayhem against Eritrea, it says nothing about the U.S.

Even worse, it is actively negotiating with the U.S. to implement an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would have Canada Revenue Agency help the U.S. IRS track down its citizens in Canada and bring them into the U.S. tax fold.

Could it be the power gap?

Read more from the The Globe and Mail

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Eritrea condemns Canada's expulsion of Eritrean Consul General

Press Release


Eritrea condemns in the strongest terms the Canadian Government's expulsion of the Eritrean Consul General in Toronto.

Eritrea states categorically that the services it renders through its Consulate General are fully consistent with the Vienna Conventions on Consular Relations and do not violate international or Canadian laws. It considers the expulsion as an unwarranted escalation of the Canadian administration's hostility to Eritrea and its harassment of the Eritrean Diaspora community. It is the act of a bully against a small and proud nation and its people and is aimed at denying the Eritrean Community the services that they need from their government.

The Eritrean government is confident that the community which has faced increasing harassment, including intimidation and severe restriction on their peaceful activities will not be bullied and that their resolve will remain unshaken.



Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Asmara

29 May 2013

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Canada expelling Eritrean diplomat for using consulate to shake down citizens for ‘national defence’

TORONTO — The Consulate General of Eritrea in Toronto is the African country’s only diplomatic outpost in Canada and it has long been accused of running a collection racket that finances the regime and its armed forces.

As recently as Monday, the head of the mission, Consul Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael, denied that. “I was collecting before and I stopped collecting,” he insisted in a telephone interview. “It’s not a problem.”

But the evidence showed otherwise and on Wednesday the Canadian government ordered Mr. Micael’s expulsion over his persistent efforts to use the consulate to violate a United Nations military embargo.

The expulsion order followed a government investigation that found the consulate was acting as a fundraising front by soliciting a 2% income tax and a $300 to $500 “ministry of defence” fee from expatriates in Canada.

The scheme was considered illegal because the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the Eritrean military four years ago over its ties to armed groups in the Horn of Africa, notably Al-Shabab, a regional affiliate of al-Qaeda.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Mr. Micael had been declared persona non grata and gave him a week to leave the country. “Canada has repeatedly made clear to Eritrea to respect international sanctions and Canadian law,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

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Hadas Eritrea May 28, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 28, 2013

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‘We don’t force them’: Eritrean diplomat insists consulate is not extorting money from citizens in Canada

The diplomat who represents Eritrea in Canada insisted Monday his office was not extorting money from expatriates but merely providing “information” to those who want to donate to the African regime.

“I am not violating the law,” Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael, the Eritrean consul, told the National Post in an interview, his first since the Canadian government began probing the activities of his office in Toronto.

The dispute revolves around Eritrea’s efforts to impose a 2% “diaspora tax” and “national defence” fee on Eritreans living abroad — a practice critics call extortion and that has been denounced by the United Nations.The consulate headed by Mr. Micael, Eritrea’s only accredited diplomat in Canada, is under investigation over its alleged role in financing the repressive regime and its military in violation of international sanctions.

Although Ottawa warned Eritrea in a diplomatic note last September to stop its “tax solicitation and tax collection activities,” documents and interviews indicate the consulate has continued as recently as two weeks ago.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is weighing how to respond to the apparent defiance, and the TD Bank, which is being used to wire the money to Eritrea’s central bank, said Monday it was investigating.

I think it is our duty to give an information

“TD is committed to complying with all applicable laws and we are currently investigating claims,” a TD spokeswoman said, adding the bank had “rigorous controls to ensure that we comply with Canadian economic sanctions regulations.”

With no measurable economy, Eritrea, one of the world’s least developed and most repressive states, is dependent on money collected from the many Eritreans who have left the country for the West, including thousands in Canada.

Asked about forms the consulate had sent to Eritrean-Canadians in November and January, demanding 2% of their wages and a $300 “donation for national defence against Ethiopian invasion,” he said that was “information,” not solicitation.Mr. Micael said the 2% tax was Eritrean law. But he said the consulate in Toronto was no longer collecting the levy or the defence fee. He said those who pay do so voluntarily. “We don’t force them at all,” the consul said.

“Now look, we can give information, you know. We are not collecting it, but for those they are asking information for me, I am answering, you know. I am trying to give you an information, for those who ask the information I think it is our duty to give an information,” he said.

The fundraising scheme would be illegal because the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on the Eritrean military due to its destabilizing influence in the Horn of Africa, where it has supplied weapons, money and training to a variety of armed groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab.

In addition, the RCMP and UN have reported that those who refused to pay have been subjected to threats, intimidation and coercion. Eritrean-Canadian refugees also complain they should not have to pay taxes to a regime they fled.

Eritrea promised in writing to stop last September, after Canada threatened not to renew Mr. Micael’s diplomatic accreditation. But documents suggest the consulate has been instructing expatriates to transfer the payments from the TD Bank, through Germany’s Deutshe Zentral Consossenshaft Bank to the Housing and Commerce Bank of Eritrea.

The Eritrean-Canadian Human Rights Group provided the documents to the Post as well as to Foreign Affairs, which was already conducting its own investigation into the consulate together with the RCMP.

Mr. Micael said he had an “understanding with the Canadian government, so there is nothing wrong.” He said he had spoken to Foreign Affairs about the dispute since the issue arose last week. “I answered the questions they asked me,” he said.

“We are not insisting to create conflict. We are trying to rebuild, you know, our relations. And things are going on. The Canadian companies are investing there. This is a minor thing what you are asking me.”

National Post

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TD Bank urged to exit Eritrea collection scheme, Bank says it's complying with all applicable laws and is investigating claims

A Canadian chartered bank being used in Eritrea's controversial tax collection scheme is being urged to get out of it, CBC world affairs correspondent Rick MacInnes-Rae reports today from Winnipeg.

The UN says Eritrea relies on threats and coercion to extract two per cent of the income from Eritrean citizens in Canada. In Winnipeg, the money is then funnelled to the East-African dictatorship via Toronto-Dominion Bank, documents obtained by CBC News show.

Hear Rick MacInnes-Rae's report

They show two branches of TD Bank are favoured by the man Eritrea designates to deal with the diaspora.

TD Bank is his vehicle for wiring money to the DZ Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, which routs it to a bank owned by the ruling party in Eritrea, a country under UN sanction for supporting armed insurgents in east Africa, MacInnes-Rae reports.

Ghazae Hagos, of the Eritrean-Canadian Human Rights Group of Manitoba, says Eritrea is moving the money through banks instead of its Toronto Consulate to sidestep Canada's recent ban on moving it through the consulate in Toronto.

Contacted by CBC News, the banks were terse.

TD issued a brief email saying it's complying with all applicable laws and is "investigating the claims addressed by the CBC."

The bank said it has "rigorous controls to ensure we comply with Canadian economic sanctions regulations."

That theme was echoed by the DZ Bank, the bigger link in the chain since it deals directly with Eritrea, even though the German government frowns on the tax collections, MacInnes-Rae reports.

"All the transactions we carried out" DZ says, "were in compliance with the provisions of the European Union and the embargo regulations."

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One Million Years old new fossils of Homo found in Eritrea

The team Italo-Eritrean operating in the region of Buya, in the African country, led by paleoanthropologist prof. Alfredo Cup of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University La Sapienza of Rome, led to the discovery of new fossils of Homo , dating back to about a million years ago, located at the site of Muhuli Amo, which means "sanctuary of the tonsils."

Italian scholars, along with fellow Eritreans, already work in the area, which has always been one of the most important places for the research and study of the remains of early hominids appeared on Earth.

At a depth slightly lower than that of artifacts unearthed in previous excavations, were found more fragments of the skull of an individual who is found to be the same as they belong to other remains recovered in the last two years of the mission.

In particular, a new fragment of parietal bone was found to be of great importance, since it has allowed the reconstruction of the entire skull wall left of Homo and to consider in a much more thorough the morphological peculiarities of the cranium of this individual.

It was thus clarified first of its resemblance to the skull, previously marked by paleoanthropologists with the initials UA31, contemporary and from the nearby site of Wadi Aaza, and second was confirmed the hypothesis that this morphology of the skull called UA31 is representative of a population, not an individual.

" These new findings – says Professor Cup – confirm that the area that we are investigating is one of the areas with the highest potential for research that deal with the origins of the species sapiens, whose direct ancestors appear in the region about four hundred years later » .

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African Civil Society Calls for AU Action On Eritrea

OPINION

In a petition, the organisations say the ongoing widespread and systematic nature of human rights violations in Eritrea underlines the need for continued and urgent action by the African Union

To: Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Africa

CC: Permanent Representatives to the African Union;

Permanent Representatives of African States to the UN Human Rights Council

21st May 2013

RE: African Civil Society Call for Action on Human Rights Situation in Eritrea

EXCELLENCIES,

We, the undersigned representatives of African civil society, present our compliments and congratulations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the African Union and the Organisation of African Unity. Reflecting the overall theme of 2013 as the year of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance, we are writing to call on the African Union to take urgent action to respond to the appalling situation of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Eritrea, especially in light of the commemoration's sub-theme of promoting peace and security in Africa.

We note with appreciation the adoption by consensus of resolution A/HRC/RES/20/20 on the human rights situation in Eritrea at the 20th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2012, on the recommendation of Nigeria, Djibouti and Somalia. It is encouraging to see an important and positive step forward towards the protection and promotion of human rights for the Eritrean people emanating from members of the African Group. The UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, whose mandate was established by the July 2012 resolution, will present a report highlighting the human rights situation in Eritrea in June 2013.

As the report of the Special Rapporteur will no doubt demonstrate, the ongoing widespread and systematic nature of human rights violations in Eritrea underlines the need for continued and urgent action by the African Union. The government officials and independent journalists arbitrarily arrested in September 2001 remain either in incommunicado detention or have since died. Thousands of Eritreans have been arrested and imprisoned without charge or trial for years upon end merely for being critical of the government, belonging to what the government defines as a 'wrong' religious group, or refusing to comply with the indefinite national service imposed on all Eritreans over the age of 18 years. Torture, arrests, killings and forced labour are common. No independent civil society organizations have permission to operate inside Eritrea, and since 2001 there has been no independent domestic media.

At the regional level, the case of Eritrea has been raised repeatedly at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which adopted a resolution in 2005 condemning human rights violations in Eritrea. In two separate decisions in 2003 and 2007, the Commission also found the government to be in violation of fundamental rights contained in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and requested the release of the government officials held incommunicado since September 2001 (250/02 Liesbeth Zegveld and Mussie Ephrem vs. Eritrea) and for at least 18 journalists also held incommunicado to be given access to their lawyers (275/03 Article 19 vs. Eritrea). Although these decisions have been adopted by the African Union, to date Eritrea has not provided any concrete response or acted to implement them.

In this year of golden jubilee commemorations, Eritrean people are not free to celebrate along with the rest of Africa. If the message "One Africa for Prosperity and Peace" is to have real meaning, we believe that now is the time for the African Union and all its member states to kick start sustained engagement on the human rights situation in Eritrea so that its people may benefit from the rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

During the AU Summit to be held in Addis Ababa on 19-27th May 2013, we therefore recommend that the African Union and its member states:

 Encourage the Government of Eritrea to ensure the effective implementation of the ACHPR decisions on Eritrea, and to allow access to the country for the special mechanisms of the ACHPR and UN Human Rights Council;

 Support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea at the Human Rights Council in June 2013;

 Ensure the protection of Eritrean refugees in their states in accordance with the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

Excellencies, we thank you for your attention to these concerns. We remain available to provide further information as may be useful.

Sincerely,

Organisations:

1. Action des Chrétiens pour l'Abolition de la Torture (ACAT-Burundi)

2. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

3. African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)

4. Arry Organisation for Human Rights and Development

5. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa

6. Arusha NGOs Network (ANGONET), Tanzania

7. Association des femmes juristes du Burundi (AFJB)

8. Association Nationale pour l'Alphabétisation et la Formation des Adultes (ANAFA), Senegal

9. Base for Education Dissemination (BED), Tanzania

10. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

11. Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa

12. Centre Guinéen de Promotion et de Protection des Droits de l'Homme (CPDH) 13. Club Union Africaine Cote d'Ivoire

14. Coalition de la Société Civile pour le Monitoring Electoral (COSOME)

15. Coalition Ivoirienne des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CIDDH)

16. East African Civil Society Organizations Forum (EACSOF)

17. East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP)

18. Eritreans for Human and Democratic Rights-UK (EHDR-UK)

19. Forum pour la Conscience et le développement (FOCODE)

20. Forum pour le Renforcement de la Societe Civile (FORSC)

21. Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI)

22. Freedom and Roam Uganda

23. Human Rights Concern - Eritrea

24. Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF)- Uganda

25. Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA)

26. Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU)

27. Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)

28. Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya)

29. Ligue des Droits de la Personne dans la Région des Grands Lacs (LDGL)

30. Malawi Law Society

31. The Multi-Environmental Society (MESO)-Tanzania

32. Mzeituni Foundation-Tanzania 33. Nazra for Feminist Studies 34. Release Eritrea 35. Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale (REDHAC)

36. Réseau de femmes défenseures des droits humains (Togo)

37. Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)

38. Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC)

39. West African Human Rights Defenders Network

40. Zimbabwe Exiles Forum

Individuals:

1. Augustin Kounkinè Somé, Burkina Faso

2. Lilian Chenwi, Cameroon

3. Polycarp Ngufor Forkum, Cameroon

4. Adiam Woldeyohannes, Eritrea

5. Marian Atta-Boahene, Ghana

6. Mandala D. Mambulasa, Malawi

7. Joao Nhampossa, Mozambique

8. Hilary Ogbonna, Nigeria

9. Dejo Olowu, Nigeria

10. Mohammed Farah, Somaliland

11. Freda Apio, Uganda

12. Kitui Barbara, Uganda

13. Moses Karatunga, Uganda 1

4. Salima Namusobya, Uganda

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Sunridge Gold defines sixth mineral resource at Asmara project

Sunridge Gold Corp. (CVE:SGC) has added more good news to an already auspicious month with the completion of a mineral resource estimate for the Kodadu target on the company’s Asmara project in Eritrea, the sixth such mineral resource defined by the Vancouver-based exploration and development company on the property.

The announcement regarding the NI43-101 and JORC compliant estimate comes exactly a week after the mining junior released a feasibility study for the project that succeeded in bringing initial production forward by almost a year.

The freshly-defined resource includes an inferred mineral resource of 990,000 tonnes with an average grade of 1.24 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold and 1.6 g/t of silver, with 39,000 ounces of gold and 51,000 ounces of silver contained metal in the near surface oxide.

As a bonus, the freshly-defined Kodadu resource is less than 25 km from the planned central operating facility, as part of a plan announced a week before Thursday’s statement, when the company published the results of a feasibility study on four of the established deposits at the project that concluded the construction of a single centralized processing plant near the Emba Derho deposit would be the optimum economic scenario.

With deposit and initial metallurgical results suggesting gold from the sixth Kodadu resource could be successfully recovered from the mineralized material by standard heap-leaching methods, it is fortuitous that the mooted facility is already set to include a gold heap-leaching facility, meaning mineralized material from the new resource could also be processed.

With the resource estimate based on 36 drill holes, further drilling is planned to be carried out in 2013, as the resource area is open for expansion.

Indeed, drilling has intercepted additional copper-zinc, gold, and silver mineralization below the oxide zone, which is not part of the resource estimate. Future exploration drill programs are to attempt to further define and expand this zone, with a program of expansion drilling, trenching and local mapping and sampling planned for this year.

The fifth prospect, Adi Rassi, is also to be the target of more exploration in the next phase of drilling. 

“We have always said that the Asmara Project is very prolific and now we have six deposits so far and probably more to go!” said president and CEO of Sunridge, Michael Hopley, in a statement on Thursday. 

“This initial resource at Kodadu, although modest in size at the moment, could well boost our gold production from the planned heap-leach operation in the early years of production at the Asmara Mine.

"This initial mineral resource estimate for Kodadu is just for the near surface gold oxide mineralization based on thirty six drill holes completed by Sunridge and management believes that further drilling will significantly expand and upgrade the mineralization.”

The NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study for the property released mid-May, which was based on just four of the deposits, outlined a net present value of US$837 million, at a 10 per cent discount rate pre-tax, or US$443 million after tax. This compares with a pre-tax net present value of $555 million in the prefeasibility study released in May of 2012.

The internal rate of return (IRR) for the project was pegged at 34 per cent pre tax, or 27 per cent after tax, with a payback period of 4.6 years post tax.

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Hadas Eritrea May 23, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 23, 2013

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Ethiopia Refuses to Cooperate With World-Bank-Funding Probe

Ethiopia’s government said it won’t cooperate with a probe into whether the World Bank violated its own policies by funding a program in which thousands of people were allegedly relocated to make way for agriculture investors.

Ethnic Anuak people in Ethiopia’s south western Gambella region and rights groups including Human Rights Watch last year accused the Washington-based lender of funding a program overseen by soldiers to forcibly resettle 45,000 households. The Inspection Panel of the World Bank, an independent complaints mechanism, began an investigation in October into the allegations, which donors and the government have denied.

Ethiopia, Africa’s most-populous nation after Nigeria, has made 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of land available to agriculture companies. Photographer: Jenny Vaughan/AFP/Getty Images

“We are not going to cooperate with the Inspection Panel,” Getachew Reda, a spokesman for Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said in a phone interview on May 22. “To an extent that there’s a need for cooperation, it’s not going to be with the Inspection Panel, but with the World Bank”

Ethiopia, Africa’s most-populous nation after Nigeria, has made 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of land available to agriculture companies. Investors include Karuturi Global Ltd. (KARG) of India, the world’s largest rose grower, and companies owned by Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi.

There is a “plausible link” between the Promoting Basic Services program, partly funded by the bank to pay the salaries of local government workers, and a resettlement process also known as villagization in Gambella, the panel said in a Nov. 19 report obtained by Bloomberg News. The World Bank confirmed the authenticity of the report.

‘Potential Non-Compliance’

The concurrent implementation of PBS and the resettlement program may raise issues of “potential serious non-compliance with bank policy,” according to the report.

“From a development perspective, the two programs depend on each other, and may mutually influence the results of the other,” the panel said.

Human Rights Watch, based in New York, made similar allegations about the resettlement program in a January 2012 report. Those findings and the Inspection Panel process are part of a “propaganda campaign being waged against the government,” Getachew said by phone from the capital, Addis Ababa. “It’s not a World Bank inspection panel, it’s a panel that likes to impose its mostly fictitious findings on the decision-making process of the World Bank.”

About 35,000 households voluntarily moved over the past three years in Gambella and now have better access to public services and are growing more food, State Minister of Federal Affairs Omod Obang Olum said in a May 15 interview.

‘Unprecedented’

The complaint to the panel was made on behalf of 26 Anuaks now living in neighboring South Sudan and Kenya. Refusal to cooperate with the panel by a World Bank member state is “unprecedented,” said David Pred, a managing associate at Inclusive Development International, or IDI, a California-based human-rights group that assisted with the complaint.

“I don’t see how the bank could justifiably continue supporting Ethiopia if the government simply rejects outright any semblance of accountability,” he said in an e-mailed response to questions.

The complaints should be investigated further “as they pertain to the bank’s application of its policies and procedures,” the panel said. The probe should not look at allegations of “specific human rights abuses” or the “underlying purposes” of the resettlement program, it said.

Donor Aid

Donors provided $3.56 billion of aid to Ethiopia in 2011, which was 11.3 percent of gross national income, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The World Bank said that while officials on PBS-funded salaries may have “responsibilities related” to resettlement, this doesn’t mean the two programs were “directly linked,” according to the panel.

There was no evidence of “forced relocations or systematic human-rights abuses,” according to reports by two fact-finding missions in 2011 and 2012 by donors including the U.K. and U.S. aid agencies. “Half of the people interviewed said they didn’t want to move” and some said public services hadn’t been provided in new sites, the 2012 report found.

PBS “does not build upon villagization, it is not synchronized with villagization, and does not require villagization to achieve its objectives,” the World Bank’s management said in response to the complaint. “Furthermore the bank does not finance” villagization.

Election Violence

PBS began in 2006 after donors stopped “direct budget support” to the federal government because of violence following a disputed 2005 election. The program provides block grants to regional governments that are mainly spent on education, health, agriculture, water and road workers.

A postponed March 19 discussion of PBS by the bank’s board has yet to be rescheduled, Guang Chen, the bank’s Ethiopia director, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Staff are not authorized to comment prior to the board discussion,” he said.

Since 2006, PBS has cost donors and the government $13 billion, the panel said. The ongoing phase is funded by the government, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the U.K., Austria and Italy.

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Hadas Eritrea May 21, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 21, 2013

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Eritrea, Committed to Qatari mediation, and Djibouti provoking the border crisis.

The Eritrean embassy in Riyadh said in a statement published in the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat in response to the dialogue that took place with the President of Djibouti, Ismael Guelleh, “Eritrea did not occupy Djibouti soil. 

The borders of Eritrea are those which were drawn when Italy was occupying Eritrea. This is in accord with the colonial agreements of the Italian government with Ethiopia during the reign of the Ethiopian king Menelik II, and with France which was occupying Djibouti, and with Brittan which was colonizing Sudan, in the period from 1900 to 1908. Therefore the borders of Eritrea with all its neighbors, including Djibouti, are clear. Djibouti has provoked the border crisis upon the urging of Ethiopia and other international parties in order to distract attention from the refusal of Ethiopia to implement the decision of the Commission on Border Drawing. 

The other purpose is to get Eretria involved in a new border war. But how misguided! For Eritrea the way has been blocked, and they did everything in their power to distance themselves from that destructive conspiracy, preserving good relations between the two countries and accepting Qatari mediation. 

Eritrea is still committed and awaiting the outcome of this mediation, something that the Djibouti camp did not indicate in their speech about this sensitive problem, which is highly significant. In any case Eritrea is committed to Qatari mediation and its outcome.

Translated: http://www.adoulis.com/entry.php?id=3581

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Zersenay Tadese Wins Gold at Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Japan

World record holder Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) took down defending champion Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) at Sunday's Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, getting away early to set a new course record of 1:00:31. Leading a pack of six through a 14:14 opening 5 km split, Tadese dropped a 14:04 over the next 5 km to take the race out of the competition's comfort zones and go ahead alone. With a 37-second lead over the chase group of Mathathi, Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) and Cyrus Njui (Kenya/ Team Hitachi Butsuryu) at 15 km Tadese backed off to a 14:34 split from 15 to 20 km, but despite Mathathi and Wanjuki picking it up and closing the gap they were too far away and had to settle for a duel for 2nd, Mathathi proving the stronger as he crossed the line in 1:00:54, two seconds ahead of Wanjuki. Moscow World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), running just a week after going sub-64 at the Sendai International Half Marathon, struggled in to a 14th-place finish in 1:05:05.

The women's race was much closer, with Mestawet Tufa (Ethiopia) and Eunice Kirwa(Kenya) locked together through 20 km and pushing each other on to break the course record. Tufa's last surge was too much for Kirwa to handle, the Ethiopia getting course record honors in 1:10:03. Kirwa, 6 seconds back, also cleared the old record in 1:10:09, with Australian Lara Tamsett rounding out the top three in 1:13:33 after running the entire race alone. Yuko Mizuguchi (Team Denso) was the top Japanese finisher, 4th overall in 1:14:44.

3rd Naoko Takahashi Cup Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Gifu, 5/19/13 complete results

Men

1. Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) – 1:00:31 - CR

2. Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) – 1:00:54

3. Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) – 1:00:55

4. Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Butsuryu) – 1:01:08

5. Abayneh Ayele (Ethiopia/Team Mazda) – 1:01:43

6. Patrick Muwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) – 1:01:57

7. Micah Njeru (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) – 1:02:38

8. Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) – 1:03:45

9. Yoshiki Otsuka (Team Aichi Seiko) – 1:04:37

10. Ryan Vail (U.S.A.) – 1:04:52

—–

14. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) – 1:05:05

Women

1. Mestawet Tufa (Ethiopia) – 1:10:03 - CR

2. Eunice Kirwa (Kenya) – 1:10:09

3. Lara Tamsett (Australia) – 1:13:33

4. Yuko Mizuguchi (Team Denso) – 1:14:44

5. Chika Nakama (Team Aichi Denki) – 1:15:47

6. Rina Asano (Team Yutaka Giken) – 1:16:07

7. Mayumi Nagai (Team Kojima Press) – 1:16:38

8. Shizuka Takatani (Team Aichi Denki) – 1:16:52

9. Maiko Murayama (Team T&F) – 1:17:28

10. Hitomi Ogata (Team Aichi Denki) – 1:17:37

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Hadas Eritrea May 17, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 17, 2013

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UN chief appoints veteran diplomat Haile Menkerios as the new UN envoy to the African Union

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed veteran diplomat Haile Menkerios as the new U.N. representative to the African Union.

U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Friday that Menkerios will also continue his current assignment as the secretary-general's special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He will have the rank of undersecretary-general.

Menkerios, a longtime Eritrean diplomat who is now a South African citizen, will replace Zachary Muburi-Muita of Kenya who completes his assignment on June 30.

Del Buey said Menkerios brings to his new position extensive experience in African issues and with the United Nations, where he was an assistant secretary-general for political affairs from 2007-2010.

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UN human rights expert calls for close scrutiny of Eritrea

The United Nations special rapporteur on Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, said the human rights situation in the reclusive Red Sea nation remained “unacceptable”, calling for the country to be closely monitored.

Keetharuth made the comments following a visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti as part of her mission to assess the human rights situation in Eritrea.

Keetharuth was forced to carry out her mission by talking to Eritrean refugees being sheltered in neighbouring countries, after authorities in Asmara refused her entry into the country.

During a 10-day visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti, Keetharuth collected first-hand information directly from Eritrean refugees, with the UN human rights expert stressing the need to improve the human rights situation in the East Africa nation.

Keetharuth called on the international community to keep Eritrea “under close scrutiny” until one of the world’s most repressive nations brings meaningful change in human rights.

“Blatant disrespect for human rights in Eritrea is unacceptable”, she said.

“Real change would require a fundamental reform process, transforming the current culture of rights denial with one anchored in the rule of law, respect for and realisation of all human rights and human dignity”, she added

In Ethiopia, the UN special rapporteur met with representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), as well as representatives from the African Union (AU).

She also spoke to a number of Eritrean refugees at a reception centre and at two refugee camps in Ethiopia where tens and thousands of refugees are being hosted.

In neighbouring Djibouti, she visited over 200 Eritrean deserters who had been detained at NAGAD Police Academy, as well as urban refugees and those based in the Ali Addeh refugee camp.

Many of the refugees interviewed confirmed to Keetharuth that they want to return home should the government respect and ensure the human rights of its citizens.

She underscored that the return of Eritrean refugees is impossible without an end to the current “brutal and inhumane policies and practices” of the regime.

Eritreans from all walks of life cross the border to Ethiopia and other neighbouring countries on a daily basis to escape mandatory military service, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and political oppression by the Asmara regime, led by Isaias Afewerki.

The spokesperson for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR ) in Ethiopia, Kisut Gebregzabiher, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that there are currently a total of 67,211 Eritrean refugees in different camps in the Tigray and Afar regions near the Eritrean border.

The UN official said on average 1,000 Eritreans cross the border to Ethiopia each month.

“The continuing stream of refugees is of high concern", Keetharuth said.

“I am particularly concerned about the increasing number of unaccompanied children crossing the border without the knowledge of their families”, she added.

Exiled Eritreans in Ethiopia told Sudan Tribune that many young Eritreans are shot dead by border guards, while trying to flee the country.

Those caught fleeing are reportedly subject to torture and face charges of treason, which carries a life sentence or possible death penalty, refugees say.

According to Eritreans in Ethiopia, the families of those who do escape are often forced to pay a hefty fine of 50,000 Nakfa (over $4,000) to avoid being imprisoned in one of the country’s notorious prison facilities, which are often located underground or in shipping containers.

(ST)

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Sunridge brightens Asmara's economics

Sunridge Gold (SGC-V) has outlined stronger economics in the feasibility study for its prized Asmara copper-zinc-gold project project in Eritrea, outshining last year’s prefeasibility study (PFS).

The latest study envisions mining Asmara’s four deposits— Emba Derho, Debarwa, Gupo Gold and Adi Nefas— as a single integrated operation with a central processing facility near Emba Derho.

At that facility, the company will process gold and silver from Emba Derho, Debarwa, Gupo via heap-leaching, as well as copper and zinc from Emba Derho, Debarwa and Adi Nefas by milling and flotation. All the deposits, except for Adi Nefas, will be mined using open-pit methods.

The study proposes a three-phase start-up, with first production slated for mid-2015, almost a year ahead of what was estimated in the PFS.

Commenting on the benefits of phasing into production, Sunridge’s CEO Michael Hopley said on a conference call: “It minimizes our capital exposure — the amount of money that we Sunridge would need to raise — and it starts cash flow a year earlier.”

This is largely why capital requirements at Asmara have dropped by US$135 million to US$354 million since the PFS, says Hopley, adding the Eritrean National Mining Corp. or ENAMCO — which is acquiring a 30% paid participating interest in the project — will be responsible for covering a third of all the capital and operating costs at Asmara.

The project has a 16.3-year mine life, including one year of construction. In the first phase, from years 1 to 5, Sunridge will mine 116,000 tonnes of high-grade direct shipping ore (DSO) grading 15.6% copper, 2.96 grams gold per tonne and 76.8 grams silver from Debarwa. The ore will be crushed at the facility near Emba Derho before being transported 120 km to the port facility at Massawa, after which it will be shipped to a smelter.

Scott Ansell, the junior’s vice-president of project development, says it should take roughly 30 weeks to mine, crush, and ship all of the DSO product to market.

Also in the first phase, the Vancouver-based firm will start heap-leaching gold and silver from the Debarwa, Emba Derho, and Grupo deposits.

“We have identified a location within the tailings facility that allows us to host a heap-leach facility for the first six years of the mine life,” says Ansell.

Sunridge anticipates churning through 1.4 million tonnes averaging 1.48 grams gold and 8.2 grams silver a year, with recoveries estimated at 67% gold and 38% silver. 

During the second phase, set to start in the second year, Sunridge will mine 2.4 million tonnes of high-grade supergene copper ore from Debarwa and Emba Derho and process it at a central flotation plant near Emba Derho at a rate of 2 million tonnes per year for 1.25 years.

The average grades are estimated at 2.25% copper, 0.76 gram gold and 21.6 grams silver.

The copper concentrate, averaging 25% copper, 4.2 grams gold and 109 grams silver, will then be sent to the port of Massawa for shipping to smelters.

In phase three, slated for years 3.25 to 16.3, Asmara should enter full production. It is scheduled to mine and process via flotation roughly 51 million tonnes of primary copper and zinc ore from the Emba Derho, Debarwa and Adi Nefas deposits at a rate of 4 million tonnes a year for 13 years.

The average grades for phase three are pegged at 0.73% copper, 1.91% zinc, 0.36 gram gold and 12.6 grams silver.

Copper concentrate with gold and silver byproduct along with zinc concentrate that Sunridge produces will be shipped to smelters.

During the first eight years, annual metal production at the project, which shares the same name as the capital city of Asmara, should average 65 million lb. copper, 184 million lb. zinc, 42,000 oz. gold and 1 million oz. silver.

Average operating costs over the life of mine are US$29.42, slightly higher than the PFS.

Initial capital to build the first phase is pegged at US$46 million, while another US$357 million is estimated for the following two phases.

Compared to the PFS, Asmara’s pretax net preset value (NPV) has climbed from US$555 million to US$837 million, and its pretax internal rate of return (IRR) has gone from 27% to 34%, using a 10% discount.

At the same discount rate, the after-tax NPV is US$443, up from roughly US$350 million earlier, notes Hopley. The current after-tax IRR is 27%. Sunridge should be able to recoup its initial capital in 4.6 years after-taxes.

Asked how the company was able to boost economics, given the prefease also took a similar phased approach, Ansell said the improvements came largely from producing gold earlier in the mine life and introducing the DSO production, which wasn’t in the PFS because not enough metallurgical testwork was completed at that time.

“We brought the gold forward 13 years, which has a big impact on discounting. We included the DSO in the first year, which wasn’t in the prefease — it was part of the copper concentrate. And we've improved our mine plan. We’ve approximately improved our head grade for copper reporting by about 15%,” says Ansell, adding the company has also deferred some capital cost expenditures to later in the mine life.

With the feasibility checked off its to-do list, Sunridge is finishing up its environmental studies at Asmara, before applying for a mining license shortly. It expects to get the permit in late 2014, after which it will build the first phase of the mine.

Meanwhile, Sunridge plans to start detailed engineering work and explore avenues for financing. 

Currently, it has a cash balance of US$3.5 million. On the feasibility news, Sunridge gained 3% to close May 16 at 18¢, near its 52-week low of 13.5¢ reached yesterday.

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Hadas Eritrea May 16, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 16, 2013

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Eritrea: UN expert stresses need to improve human rights

Ms. Sheila Keetharuth

New York, US - Ms. Sheila Keetharuth, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, on Tuesday urged the international community to keep Eritrea under “close scrutiny”, stressing the need to fundamentally transform the East African nation’s “current culture of rights denial”.

Ms. Keetharuth made the call at the end of her 10-day mission to Ethiopia and Djibouti to collect first-hand information directly from Eritrean refugees on the human rights situation in their country.

A UN statement issued at the end of the visit, and made available to PANA in New York, quoted the UN expert as saying that blatant disrespect for human rights in Eritrea was

unacceptable.

She stated: 'Real change would require a fundamental reform process transforming the current culture of rights denial with one anchored in the rule of law, respect for and realization of all human rights and human dignity.'

She also warned that the high numbers of Eritrean refugees in neighbouring Ethiopia and Djibouti was indicative of the serious human rights violations in Eritrea, pushing people to take the difficult decision to leave their families and homes behind for an unknown future.

She said an improvement in the human rights situation in Eritrea would be crucial to allow refugees to return to their home country.

Ms. Keetharuth commended the efforts by Ethiopia and Djibouti to host the large Eritrean refugee communities.

“Many of those refugees I spoke to underlined their wish to return, should there be a significant shift from the government’s current brutal and inhumane policies and

practices,' she said.

She also disclosed that since the beginning of the year, close to 4,000 Eritrean refugees had crossed the border into Ethiopia, bringing the number of those living in the three refugee camps in the Tigray region to over 50,000.

“I am particularly concerned about the increasing number of unaccompanied children crossing the border without the knowledge of their families.

'Children regularly mentioned dysfunctional family circumstances due to the long absence of the father, most of the time because of conscription, lack of educational opportunities and the fear of forced conscription into indefinite national service as major reasons for their decisions to flee,' the UN expert said.

She further expressed concern about the indefinite national service, the ongoing practice of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention in inhumane conditions and widespread torture, both physical and psychological, during interrogation by the police, military and security forces.

'Mere suspicion appears to be enough for somebody to be subjected to interrogation and detention without charge or without being brought before a court of law,' she said.

Ms. Keetharuth also heard how Eritreans did not express their views or share their opinions openly for fear of reprisals.

She noted that persecution on religious grounds continued in Eritrea, saying followers of unrecognised religions faced draconian restrictions and were often arrested while worshiping.

“An all-encompassing feeling of fear and distrust, even within families, reflects the pervasive intelligence network the Eritrean government has established throughout the country,' she said.

A lawyer from Mauritius, Ms. Keetharuth was appointed to her current position by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in September 2012.

She will present her first report, which would be strictly limited to the situation inside Eritrea, to the Human Rights Council in June 2013.

Pana 15/05/2013

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Australia's South Boulder strikes Eritrea Potash deal

May 15 (Reuters) - Australia-based South Boulder Mines has handed the reclusive state of Eritrea an increased stake in its Colluli potash mine under the terms of a new joint venture agreement, the miner said in a statement.

South Boulder, which had held a 90 percent stake in the potash project, said it and the Eritrean Mining Corporation (ENAMCO) would now each hold a 50 percent stake of a newly formed company, Colluli Mining Share Company.

South Boulder said last year the asset held 1.08 billion tonnes of 18 percent grade - or 194 million tonnes of contained potash.

In a statement dated May 14, the miner called the agreement a "major milestone" which would help advance discussions with potential investors. No-one from the firm was available to comment.

Long starved of foreign cash and widely considered to be one of the most tightly controlled and secretive governments in Africa, the Red Sea state is now on the threshold of a mining boom which should drive growth in the agriculture-based economy.

In 2008, Eritrea set the government's stake in any mining project at 10 percent with an option to buy a further 30 percent. It was not clear from South Boulder's statement how much, if anything, Eritrea had paid for the additional share.

South Boulder, which requested trading in its stock halt on May 10 ahead of the announcement, said the agreement proposed 70 percent of the project be funded by debt, 30 percent by equity.

Gold companies with projects in Eritrea include Toronto-listed Nevsun Resources and the small explorer Sunridge Gold Corp.

The country, which occupies a strategic strip of mountainous land overlooking the entrance to the Gulf of Aden's busy shipping lanes, has previously exported little to the outside world. (Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by James Macharia and Patrick Graham)

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South Boulder Mines signs milestone JV for Colluli Potash Project

South Boulder Mines (ASX: STB) has reached a major milestone in the development of its Colluli Potash Project in Eritrea with the signing of a binding term sheet agreement with the Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO).

Importantly, the agreement provides significant certainty as to the economic and fiscal basis under which the project can be developed, assisting the company in its ongoing discussions with potential strategic investors.

“The signing of a binding term sheet with ENAMCO is a significant milestone for STB,” South Boulder chief executive officer Paul Donaldson said.

“The agreement establishes clear terms for a partnership with the Eritrean Government through ENAMCO, clearly aligns STB and ENAMCO’s interests in moving project forward with project development and provides certainty which will facilitate interaction with potential financiers and strategic investors.”

Separately, the company has confirmed the Kainite resource at Colluli may be mined and shipped in its own right, which has the potential to improve the financial returns from the project.

Term Sheet

Under the agreement, South Boulder and ENAMCO will incorporate a new Eritrean company, CMSC, that they will each hold a 50% stake in. South Boulder will contribute three members to its board while ENAMCO will have two members.

CMSC will own 100% of the Colluli Potash Project, takeover the Exploration Agreement with Eritrea and assume responsibility for the exploration, development and operation of the project.

It is proposed that project development costs for initial development will be funded 70% by debt sought by CMSC from a third party financier on commercial terms and 30% by equity provided by South Boulder.

To the extent the full 70% of development costs cannot be funded by externally sourced debt, South Boulder will contribute debt to CMSC on arms’ length commercial terms.

It is also entitled to recoup 50% of the equity as a preferential payment from 50% of the project cashflows that would have otherwise been available to all equity holders.

As a result, until such time as the 50% of the equity contributed by STB on behalf of ENAMCO is repaid, STB will be entitled to receive 75% of all free distributable cashflows after debt service obligations.

Pre-production development costs including capital costs, exploration (including past exploration), financing costs/interest, working capital and all other funding required prior to first production

In addition, ENAMCO will provide a stabilisation agreement under which it bears the risk of adverse changes in the Eritrean fiscal regime for 10 years from first production.

Financial Impact

Should CMSC be able to secure the 70% third party debt at an interest rate of LIBOR +5% over a 7 year term, South Boulders IRR for the project will increase to 18.5% from the real, ungeared IRR on a 100% basis of 15.1% that was estimated in its staged development model.

This had examined the potential economics of commencing production from its Sylvinite resource at a rate of 1 million tonnes per annum, and then expanding after 5 years to a production rate of 2 million tonnes per annum by mining and processing the Carnallite resource.

The plan assumes an FOB potash price of US$450 per tonne and excludes the potential to mine and process the Kainite resource, which represents about 60% of the entire Colluli resource

Kainite could potentially be sold as a direct application fertiliser or further processed into conventional potash products as occurs already in nearby markets such as India.

South Boulder is also currently carrying out a study into processing a mixed feed of Kainite, Sylvinite and Carnallite into a single product.

It is also in the process of engaging with processing and product specialists to contribute to scoping studies that will better define this potential and may influence the direction taken in the Definitive Feasibility Study, which started in April 2012.

The Colluli Potash Project hosts a total JORC resource of 1.08 billion tonnes at 17.97% KCl or 11.35% K2O for total contained potash of 194 million tonnes KCl.

Analysis

The binding agreement with ENAMCO provides South Boulder Mines with the certainty required to progress development of the Colluli Potash Project.

It also has the potential to improve the company’s returns from the project, making it more attractive to investors.

South Boulder is trading at 45% cash backing with $16.3 million, or $0.127 per share, in cash as of 31 March 2013. This compares with its market capitalisation of $35.83 million and current share price of $0.28.

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Hadas Eritrea May 11, 2013

Hadas Eritrea May 11, 2013

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Travel Warning U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs Eritrea

The U.S. Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Eritrea and strongly recommends U.S. citizens defer all travel to the country. This replaces the Travel Warning for Eritrea of November 29, 2012, to update information on additional travel restrictions, and to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns in Eritrea.

The Eritrean government continues to restrict the travel of all foreign nationals. These restrictions require all visitors and residents, including U.S. diplomats, to apply 10 days in advance for permission to travel outside Asmara’s city limits. Permission is rarely granted. As a result, the U.S. Embassy is extremely limited in its ability to provide emergency consular assistance outside of Asmara.

Travelers should also be aware that travel permits are valid for the approved final destination only, and do not allow for additional stops along the way to or in the proximity of the approved destination. In addition, travel to religious institutions, for example, monasteries, requires separate travel permission even when such facilities are located in or near approved destination cities. Foreign travelers not adhering strictly to the terms of travel permits have reported being detained by law enforcement authorities, and their drivers have been jailed.

A number of U.S.-Eritrean dual citizens have been arrested and some are currently being held without apparent cause. Once arrested, detainees may be held for extended periods without being told the reason for their incarceration. Conditions are harsh – those incarcerated may be held in very small quarters without access to restrooms, bedding, food, or clean water. The Eritrean government does not inform the U.S. Embassy when U.S. citizens, including those who are not dual nationals, have been arrested or detained. Should the U.S. Embassy learn of the arrest of a U.S. citizen, the Eritrean government rarely allows consular access, regardless of the reason the U.S. citizen is being held.

Starting in 2012, the Government of Eritrea began arming its citizens with automatic rifles, forming citizen militias. These armed civilian militias patrol at night and are ordered to check individuals for documentation. You should carry appropriate documentation with you at all times. Those not carrying documentation of their identity and military status may be subject to round-ups, sometimes by armed persons. U.S. citizens should use extreme caution when encountering armed persons.

In observance of the Independence Day holiday of May 24, travelers will notice an increase in the presence of military and police personnel throughout Asmara during the months of April and May. It is during these two months that military and police personnel most frequently check documentation.

The Eritrean government-controlled media frequently broadcasts anti-U.S. rhetoric, and has done so repeatedly since December 2009, when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) first imposed sanctions on Eritrea. Anti-U.S. messages scripted by the current regime, which often appear as cover stories in the sole English-language state-run newspaper in Eritrea, have grown even stronger since UNSC sanctions were strengthened in December 2011.

Although there have been no specific incidents of violence targeting U.S. citizens, U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution, stay current with media coverage of local events, and be aware of their surroundings at all times.

U.S. citizens are strongly advised to avoid travel near the Eritrean-Ethiopian border and the Southern Red Sea region. U.S. citizens should be aware of the presence of large numbers of Eritrean and Ethiopian troops along the Eritrean-Ethiopian border and of political and military tensions between the two countries. In March 2012, Ethiopian troops attacked three locations approximately 10 miles inside Eritrean territory. In January 2012, a group of tourists was attacked in Ethiopia not far from the Eritrean-Ethiopian border. Five tourists were killed and four others kidnapped. In May 2010, 13 people were injured when a bomb exploded on a bus just over the border in Ethiopia. In April 2010, a bomb near the border in Ethiopia killed five people and injured 20. In January and February 2010, skirmishes between Eritrean and Ethiopian troops resulted in military fatalities. Although Eritrean forces have withdrawn from disputed territory at the border with Djibouti, tensions in this area remain high.

U.S. citizens on ships and sailing vessels are strongly advised not to sail off the Eritrean coast or to attempt to dock in Eritrean ports, refuel in Eritrea, or travel through Eritrean waters. U.S. citizens are also urged to avoid remote Eritrean islands, some of which may be used for Eritrean military training and could therefore be unsafe. The Eritrean government does not issue visas to persons arriving by marine vessel.

Piracy on the Red Sea continues to occur. Recreational vessels are strongly encouraged to avoid the region entirely, and commercial vessels without explicit agreements with Eritrean authorities are urged to avoid Eritrean territorial waters. There have been incidents involving the seizure of ships attempting to refuel at the Port of Massawa by the Eritrean government as late as the spring of 2012. These seizures have resulted in lengthy detentions of international crew members, including U.S. nationals. Though the incidents were ultimately resolved and both ships and crew released, the concern for future seizures is ongoing. U.S. citizens are cautioned that commercial/tourist ships are not allowed to dock at Eritrean ports, even to refuel.

If transit around the Horn of Africa is necessary, vessels should travel in convoys, maintain good communications contact at all times, and follow the guidance provided by the Maritime Security Center – Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA). U.S. citizens should consult the Maritime Administration’s Horn of Africa Piracy page for information on maritime advisories, self-protection measures, and naval forces in the region.

Landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a serious problem throughout the country. There are reports of accidents and incidents in which vehicles or people occasionally detonate mines. Many detonations occurred on relatively well-traveled roads in and near the Gash Barka region of western Eritrea; subsequent investigations indicated that several mines were recently laid. In September 2011, press reported that a vehicle in Senafe, 60 miles south of Asmara, ran over a landmine; five people were killed and another 34 injured in the incident. Vast areas of the country still have not been certified free of mines and unexploded ordnance following the 30-year war for independence and the subsequent 1998-2000 conflict with Ethiopia. You should avoid walking alone and hiking in riverbeds or areas that local government officials have not certified as safe.

U.S. citizens choosing to travel to Eritrea despite this Travel Warning must obtain an Eritrean visa before their arrival. Persons arriving in Eritrea without a visa are generally refused admission and returned on the next flight back to their point of origin. However, the Embassy is aware of persons being jailed for several months after arriving without a visa. The Embassy urges U.S.-Eritrean dual citizens to obtain an Eritrean visa in their U.S. passport before traveling to Eritrea and to enter the country as U.S. citizens. U.S.-Eritrean dual citizens who enter Eritrea with an Eritrean ID card may find it difficult to obtain the required visa to legally exit the country. The Embassy is aware of numerous cases in which U.S.-Eritrean dual citizens have not been permitted to leave the country. The Embassy cautions travelers not to stay beyond the period of time granted at the time of admission by Eritrean Immigration.

Crime in Asmara has increased as a result of deteriorating economic conditions accompanied by persistent food, water, and fuel shortages, and rapid price inflation. The combination of forced, open-ended, low-paying, national service for many Eritreans and severe unemployment leads some Eritreans to commit crime to support their families. Eritrean authorities have limited capacity to deter or investigate crime or prosecute perpetrators.

Modern telecommunications options are limited in Eritrea and cannot be counted upon in an emergency. International cell phone service plans do not work on Eritrean networks. Local cellular phone service is tightly controlled by the Eritrean government and difficult to obtain. When available, international cell phone calls are extremely expensive and only available using pre-paid minutes. Internet cafés are rare and hours are limited. Internet service is limited and slow, and generally does not support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype.

The U.S. Embassy in Asmara strongly encourages U.S. citizens who travel to or remain in Eritrea despite this Travel Warning to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so you can receive the most up-to-date security information. Please keep all of your information in STEP current. It is important when enrolling or updating information to include multiple phone numbers and email addresses to facilitate communication in the event of an emergency.

The consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, though closed for most visa services, is open for all U.S. citizen services between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or by appointment. The U.S. Embassy in Asmara is located at 179 Alaa Street, P.O. Box 211, Asmara; telephone 291-1-12-00-04, available 24 hours in case of emergency; fax 291-1-124-255 and 291-1-127-584.

Current information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444 for callers from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). You can also stay up-to-date by bookmarking our Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains the current Worldwide Caution. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well. You can also download our free Smart Traveler App, available through iTunes and the Google play store, to have travel information at your fingertips.

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