SITUATION REPORT – HORN OF AFRICA No. 377, 22 February 2023

Situation in Tigray (per 22 February)

• The Ayder hospital in Mekelle may face a shortage of medical doctors who leave looking for employment where they can be paid, stated Kibrom Gebresellasse, CEO of Mekelle Ayder hospital.
• He said “by the time salary and budget make it to Tigray, I am afraid not so many doctors will still be in their posts. The rate at which our hospital is losing its healthcare workers is alarming. The exodus is hemorrhaging the region. Healthcare is amongst the prime target.” 
• Patrick Youssef, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arrived in Mekelle yesterday, 21 February, for his visit to the Tigray region. He visited Ayder Hospital. 
• He wrote that “the conflict caused immense suffering for the population. The humanitarian consequences are severe. And more aid is needed to protect and assist the affected people”. 
• Youssef visited the Safe House supporting war survivors in Adigrat, reports ICRC Ethiopia. 
• The origin of the Ethiopia Tigray war was “an invasion long in the planning” concludes the Daily Maverick citing Plaut, in his recently published book Understanding the Tigray War: “The ENDF were sent by plane to capture and kill the leadership of the regional government”. 
• Plaut states: “That was the spark that led to the outbreak of the fighting.” The event took place on 3 November 2020.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 22 February)

• A majority of voters voted in favour of the establishment of a new regional state known as “Southern Ethiopia Region” in the referendum on 06 February, according to a statement from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). 
• Five zones and five special districts in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) region participated in the vote. NEBE endorsed the results of the referendum.
• Ethiopia announced that it will host the first continental meeting of African religious leaders on 28 February, reports the Ethiopian Press Agency quoting the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia. 
• Council Secretary General priest Tagay Tadele told press that the continental religious summit aims to increase interreligious harmony, to deliberate on current natural and manmade issues and to create a direct link between Africa and the G20. 
• The Council secretary said: “all religions pursue peace and stability. Therefore, the issue of human rights, peace, and stability across the continent will be the major point of discussion”. 
• Reporters Without Borders condemns the banning by Ethiopian authorities of 15 international TV broadcasters and the arrest of a journalist of one of the TV channels for two days  in the Ethiopian Somali region.
• Reporters Without Borders calls for a reversal of the action of the Somali regional government which acted at the request of the Ethiopian Media Authority. 
• It says the suspension of the TV channels violates the freedom to report news and information and called for a reversal of the decision. 

Regional Situation (per 22 February)

• An al-Shabaab attack in Mogadishu, Somalia,  killed at least 10 civilians yesterday, 21 February. 
• The attack was reportedly aimed at a house where Somali lawmakers were reported to be staying. During the attack, a car bomb was set off, followed by a gun fight.
• Somalia’s information ministry said the fight went on for eight hours between the militants and the security forces, and that four of the al-Shabaab militants were killed in the fight.
• More than 83.000 Somalis including pregnant and lactating mothers, children and elderly people arrived in Doolo area of Ethiopia over the last month, says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) Ethiopia in a report of 21 February. 
• Refugees fleeing  from conflict in the Laascaanood district have been temporarily welcomed by the host communities in the Somali region. 
• UNHCR and RRS called for international cooperation to support humanitarian needs.
• Gen. Mohamed Dagalo, the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling council, said that the 2021 coup d’etat overpowering the civilian-led transitional government was a “mistake”.
• Protest took place in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum in which protesters demanded removal of the current country’s military leadership and called for transition to civilian rule, reports Africa News.  
• A rubber boat with refugees sank yesterday off the coast of  the city of Khoms in Libya in an attempt to cross the sea to Europe. 
• The sinking caused the death of at least 12 Sudanese people and the disappearance of dozens, according to an official of the Voluntary Humanitarian Return program from Libya.

International Situation (per 22 February)

• Ethiopia and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish an investment and economic cooperation working group aimed at jointly boosting bilateral economic and trade relations in strategic fields.
• The Ethiopian Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, and Chinese assistant minister of Finance, Li Fei, signed the MoU during the Joint Economic and Trade Commission meeting in China. 
• The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to discuss the situation in Somalia today in an open briefing, followed by closed consultations.
• The UNSC is expected to discuss the political, security, and humanitarian developments in Somalia.

Links of interest

Twitter: Kibrom Gebresellassie on leaving professionals from a major hospital in Tigray 
Twitter: Patrick Youssef
NEBE reports majority vote in favor of new region in the recent referendum, irregularities in Wolaita zone 
Addis to host a first continental inter-religious summit 
In Ethiopia’s Somali region, 15 foreign TV channels banned, journalist arrested 
Al Shabaab attack kills 10 at officials’ house in Somalia – ministry
UNHCR Ethiopia and Refugees and Returnees Service Ethiopia 
Protesters take to the streets to protest Sudan’s military rule
At least 12 dead, dozens missing after Sudanese migrant boat sink off Libyan coast 
Ethiopia and China sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a Working Group to boost investment and economic cooperation 
Somalia: Briefing and Consultations

Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.