by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (December 27, 2018) Eight people were killed in violence between the Afar and Issa communities bringing the total casualties to at least 30 in the last four days of fighting. Information reaching ESAT show clashes have been reported today in towns along the Addis Ababa – Djibouti road. Seven people were killed in Gedamaytu while ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (December 26, 2018) Eighteen people have been killed in the past two days of fighting between the Afar and Issa pastoral communities as Afari officials accused the government of Djibouti, special forces of the Somali region, the Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front as well as TPLF of igniting the conflict. Thousands have also been displaced ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (November 21, 2018) As corruption by the Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) continues to be uncovered, sources close to a steam power project in the Afar region say the military industrial complex has wasted $36M, leading to the project to come to a screeching halt. METEC, which took a contract from the government’s Ethiopian Electric ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 29, 2018) Towns in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia have continued protests against the local government demanding reforms and respect for human rights. Several people were reportedly injured yesterday in the regional capital Semera and Rahile town when security forces attempted to disperse crowds. At least ten people were injured when security forces ...

ESAT News (October 17, 2018) Special forces of the Afar region in Northern Ethiopia have shot and wounded eight people in a demonstration that was called to denounce the regional government for failing to respond to public demand for development and respect for human rights. Residents who spoke to ESAT on the phone from Afar said demonstrations were held in ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 2, 2018) Administrators in three peripheral but pivotal regions in Ethiopia have been pushing against changes being made by a reformist Prime Minister; and the old guards in Gambella, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz regions have continued to violet and repress the people in their regions, according to leading rights activists. Obang Metho, Director for the ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (June 8, 2018) Residents of towns in Afar region took to the streets demanding the release of political prisoners and objecting interference by the neighboring Tigray region in the affairs of the Afaris. Video received by ESAT show police firing shots as demonstrators chant slogans denouncing the regional government. It was not clear if there ...

ESAT News (April 11, 2018) Four people were killed in two incidents in the Northern Ethiopian region of Afar, according to the Afar Human Rights Organization. Two members of militia from neighboring Tigray region were killed in a shootout with the Afaris, according to Gaas Ahmed, chairman of the rights group. Injuries were also reported on the Afari side. Two ...

ESAT News (February 1, 2018) Local and foreign businesses engaged in salt production in the Afar region of Ethiopia are using prisoners from Amhara region as laborers in dirt cheap payments. According ESAT sourcers, it was not clear if the company, Yara International was aware that the laborers provided to it were prisoners. The source also said the prisoners, who ...

ESAT News (December 8, 2017) An armed group operating in Ethiopia’s northern region of Afar warns tourists of travelling to the area as fighting with regime forces intensified in the last few weeks. The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) said in a press release that “heavy fighting” has been going on since the third week of November. ARDUF claimed ...