Eritrea-Ethiopia border tensions persists due to US meddling - President Afwerki

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has accused the United States of being the architects of the borderline tension between them and neighbouring Ethiopia.

In a letter addressed to selected heads of states, Afwerki urged his peers to force the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address what he called “injustices perpetrated against Eritrea.”

“Washington feverishly worked at the time, through the State Department, to drive a wedge between the two peoples who have deep historical and strategic ties in order to foment a crisis and micro-manage the affairs of the Horn of Africa,” he is quoted by state-owned media to have said.

Washington feverishly worked at the time, through the State Department, to drive a wedge between the two peoples who have deep historical and strategic ties in order to foment a crisis and micro-manage the affairs of the Horn of Africa.

He further alleged that despite the border issue having been adjudicated as per the Algiers agreement of 2003, the US continued to interfere unduly with its implementation going as far as to use the UNSC in 2009 to impose sanctions on Eritrea under the pretext that it supported Somalia’s Al-Shabaab insurgents.

On April 13, 2002, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) communicated its decision to officially demarcate the border between the State of Eritrea and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The EEBC had been established as part of the Algiers peace agreement overseen by President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika and signed by the leaders of Eritrea, President Isaias Afwerki, and Ethiopia, late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, in Algiers, Algeria on 12 December 2000.

The European Union (EU) signed as a witness alongside the host country, the United States of America, the United Nations and the African Union (then known as the Organisation of African Unity.)

Eritrea got independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of armed struggle. In 1998, the two neighbouring countries fought a two-year long war over their disputed border which claimed the lives of at least 70,000.

The two countries have had tense relations as a peace deal signed in 2000 to end the war has never been fully implemented.

Addis Ababa accuses Asmara of accommodating persons behind the Amhara and Oromia protests that have swept through the country since November 2015 through to much of 2016. Ethiopia is currently under a state of emergency which was imposed to quell the unrest.

Eritrea often rubbishes claims by Ethiopia – the most recent being an accusation that rebels who set out to attack construction of a flagship dam in Ethiopia were backed by Eritrea. Read more here

Ethiopian businessman shot dead.

Armed robbers shot and killed an Ethiopian businessman at his shop at Mphaila village.

Mr Tekele Abosa Albojo (27) was shot on Thursday afternoon (8 June). According to the police, three armed men arrived at the shop and demanded money from Abosa. When he told them that he did not have money, they shot him and he died on the scene. The suspects took money, airtime vouchers and cigarettes from the shop.

The police, working together with the community and a tracking helicopter, later arrested two suspects at Tshirenzheni village. They were allegedly trying to escape using forest paths. A third suspect is still on the run.

The two suspects appeared in court on Monday. Joshua Sithole (19) is from Zimbabwe but currently resides in Pretoria, and Vhutshilo Mudau (27) is from Dopeni village. The court case was postponed to 31 July and the suspects remain in custody.

The SAPS’s Capt Mamphaswa Seabi confirmed that the police are still looking for the third suspect. He warned business people to be extra careful and to remain alert at all times. He also recommended that, should suspicious-looking customers be spotted, they watch out for distinguishing marks such as scars. Read more here

Temperature changes make it easier for malaria to climb the Ethiopian highlands

The highlands of Ethiopia are home to the majority of the country's population, the cooler climate serving as a natural buffer against malaria transmission. New data now show that increasing temperatures over the past 35 years are eroding this buffer, allowing conditions more favourable for malaria to begin climbing into highland areas.

That is the conclusion of a new study by researchers from the University of Maine and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University in New York.

Malaria is a climate sensitive disease, and while the biology of malaria transmission is complex, sufficiently low air temperatures inhibit the development of the malaria parasites that cause the disease.

Dr. Bradfield Lyon, a research professor at the University of Maine and lead author on the study, indicates "Air temperatures below approximately 18°C and 15°C, respectively, effectively stop the development of the Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax parasites responsible for the majority of malaria cases in Ethiopia." Low temperatures also impede the development rates and population density of the Anopheles mosquito, which transmits the disease.

"While locations of sufficiently high elevation have temperatures below these thresholds, our research examined how these "threshold elevations" have been changing with time across the highlands."

The study, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, utilized a newly developed national temperature dataset for Ethiopia, which combines hundreds of surface station observations with climate model output that incorporates satellite data and other information. The new dataset provides a detailed view of maximum and minimum temperatures across Ethiopia going back to 1981.

The study identified statistically significant increases in elevation for both the 18°C and 15°C thresholds in highland areas between 1981 and 2014. "The elevation at which the temperature thresholds are met has risen by more than 100 meters since 1981. While a 100 meter increase may appear modest, we estimate that more than six million people currently live in areas with statistically significant increases in threshold temperature."

The researchers point out that exceeding the minimum temperature thresholds necessary for malaria transmission does not in itself point to an increase in the prevalence of malaria.

"While the dynamics of malaria transmission are complicated and control efforts may significantly limit the impact of these temperature changes, our study shows a clear softening of the climate barrier to transmission in the Ethiopian highlands, potentially putting more people at risk," said study co-author Dr. Madeleine Thomson, a senior research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

"Until quite recently, undertaking this type of study was not possible owing to a lack of quality controlled and sufficiently high spatial resolution climate data," said Lyon. "These new data allow us to examine the climate of the highlands in much more detail and confirm some of the anticipated changes of a warming Earth." Read more here

10 Ethiopians charged with terror acts

ADDIS ABABA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Ten Ethiopians have been charged before an Ethiopian court with committing terror acts between 2015 and January 2017 on behalf of Patriotic Front and Ginbot7 rebel groups.

According to a report by state affiliated media Radio Fana on Wednesday, the defendants are accused of committing bombing attacks and inciting unrest in Gondar city, 731 kms north of capital Addis Ababa.

In particular the charge alleges that the defendants were responsible for throwing bombs on January 9 and 10 this year at a public park and a hotel in Gondar city, leading to the death of one person and injuries to 19 others.

The defendants are also alleged to have agitated for disturbance at an Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity festival in Gondar city and tried to organize illegal strikes in regions surrounding Gondar city.

The charge further reads that the defendants recruited seven other Ethiopians to plot attacks on public transportation vehicles in Gondar and its surrounding regions with the help of Ethiopia's bitter rival Eritrea.

Ethiopia's Amhara region which Gondar is located in was convulsed in unrest for most of the second half of 2016, after a festering disgruntlement of reallocation of a district to neighboring region Tigray 25 years ago, burst into months of protests and strikes.

Eritrea had been a province of Ethiopia from 1952 to 1993, until a bitter 30 year armed struggle followed by a referendum in 1993, gave the Red Sea nation its independence from Ethiopia.

However Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over contested border areas between 1998 and 2000 which left tens of thousands of people dead from both sides.

Since then, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been locked in a state of uneasy armed standoff with each side blaming the other for supporting rebel groups as proxies. Enditem Read more here

State Department Issues Travel Warning for Ethiopia

PHOTO: In Gondar, the castle complex of Emperor Fasilidas, who reigned in Ethiopia from 1632 to 1667. (photo by David Cogswell)

The U.S. State Department has issued an updated travel warning for Ethiopia, alerting U.S. citizens to the risks posed by civil unrest and arbitrary detention. 

The Ethiopian government extended a state of emergency in March and unrest continues to be reported in the East African nation, including in popular cities like Gondar and Bahir Dar.

Located in northern Ethiopia, Gondar is an ancient historical city that's home to a slew of castles while Bahir Dar is the capital city of Ethiopia's Amhara region located on the south shore of Lake Tana. Popular attractions here include medieval monasteries and the nearby Blue Nile Falls.

The State Department warns that the Government of Ethiopia restricts or shuts downs Internet, cellular data and phone services on a regular basis, making it difficult for the U.S. Embassy to remain in communication with American citizens. 

What's more, the government does not inform the embassy of detentions or arrests of U.S. citizens in Ethiopia.

Tuesday's warning urges travelers to steer clear of demonstrations and large gatherings and to keep aware of their surroundings and safety level.

"Remember that the [Ethiopian] government may use force and live fire in response to demonstrations and that even gatherings intended to be peaceful can be met with a violent response or turn violent without warning," the warning states.

If travelers must visit Ethiopia the U.S. government encourages them to have contingency and alternate communication plans in place ahead of time.

"The Department of State strongly advises U.S. citizens to register your mobile number with the U.S. Embassy to receive security information via text or SMS, in addition to enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)."

Although travelers often confuse travel alerts and warnings or mistake them for the same thing, William Cocks, a spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, reminds Americans that they are very different.

"We issue travel warnings when we want U.S. citizens to consider very carefully whether they should go to a country at all because of a chronic threat," Cocks told USA Today last year.

READ MORE: Ethiopia Seeks American Visitors

Tuesday's updated warning comes just months after Ethiopia was named one of Lonely Planet's top 10 countries to visit in 2017. New airline routes and a concentrated effort to lure more North American travelers of late have helped to propel the country's tourism industry. read more here