Horn of Africa - The African Mirror

Nov

2020

African Union chief sacks security head after Ethiopia questions loyalty

GIULIA PARAVICINI THE African Union has dismissed its security head, an Ethiopian national, after the Ethiopian government accused him of disloyalty to the country amid its conflict with a restive region that threatens to destabilize the Horn of Africa. The office of the bloc's chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat, ordered the dismissal of Gebreegziabher Mebratu Melese in a memo dated November 11 that was reviewed by Reuters. The order came after a November 10 letter from Ethiopia's Defense Ministry raising its concerns over his loyalties. An African Union official confirmed the authenticity of the two letters to Reuters. The defence ministry…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Amnesty reports massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray as conflict rages

NEWS

GIULIA PARAVICINI SCORES and possibly hundreds of labourers were stabbed and hacked to death in Ethiopia's Tigray region, rights group Amnesty International has said, as federal troops claimed major advances in their offensive against local forces. "This is a horrific tragedy," Amnesty said in a statement, citing witnesses as blaming local rulers, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), for the killings, which it said took place two days ago. Earlier, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had accused his foes of committing atrocities during a week of fighting that threatened to destabilise the Horn of Africa. Abiy said the Ethiopia military…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

The Somali lab that opened at just the right time

MULTIMEDIA

SOMALI doctor Abdullahi Sheikdon Dini fulfilled his dream of opening Mogadishu's first advanced diagnostics lab in January this year. Two months later, and the coronavirus pandemic had reached the Horn of Africa. https://youtu.be/dZD_hVYTzCA

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia claims ‘liberation’ of west Tigray, humanitarian crisis looms

NEWS

GIULIA PARAVICINI ETHIOPIA’S military has defeated local forces in the west of Tigray state, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced, accusing his foes of atrocities during a week of fighting that threatens to destabilise the Horn of Africa. Air strikes and ground combat have killed hundreds, sent refugees flooding into Sudan, stirred Ethiopia's ethnic divisions and raised questions over the credentials of Abiy, Africa's youngest leader who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. "The western region of Tigray has been liberated," tweeted Abiy, 44, who comes from the largest ethnic group the Oromo and once fought with the Tigrayans…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Stung by the pandemic, Ethiopia boosts health budget 46%

BUSINESS

DUNCAN MIRIRI ETHIOPIA has raised its health budget by 46% this year after the coronavirus crisis exposed the need for more equipment, facilities and personnel, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced. The populous Horn of Africa nation has typically been spending twice its annual health budget servicing its external debt, he said, but it was now shifting priorities. "In many African countries, healthcare is a neglected sector. This pandemic has exposed our dark underbelly," Abiy told the FT Africa conference, which was held virtually. The extra spending has made the health sector the fourth biggest in terms of budgetary allocations,…