ESAT News (October 30, 2018) President of Ethiopia’s Oromo region warns rebel forces in the south and western regions of the country saying the government has a responsibility to protect the safety of citizens. Lemma Megersa told local journalists today that elements who are armed and operating under the name of OLF should cease their destructive activities. He said the ...

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 ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 29, 2018) Ethiopian government forces clashed with combatants of the separatist Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in Borena, Southern Ethiopia on Friday. According to ESAT sources, at least five government forces were killed in the fight while about 30 OLF soldiers were injured. It was not immediately clear how many, if any, combatants were killed ...

ESAT News (October 25, 2018) Protests continued for the fifth day in the towns of Alamata, Qobo and Mohny, towns predominantly Amhara but under the administration of the Tigray region. The residents in these northern towns have been protesting the forceful takeover and redrawing of their boundary by the Tigray region. On Sunday, security forces of the Tigray region shot ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 25, 2018) The government of a reformist Prime Minister in Ethiopia, which had appointed half women in its cabinet last week, has elected a female as the country’s president. Ethiopia’s bicameral parliament today appointed Sahle-Work Zewde, a career diplomat that served her country as an ambassador and later with the United Nations in different ...

ESAT News (October 24, 2018) Security forces of the Tigray region detained over 200 people in Raya Waja and Raya Qobo. The whereabouts of most of the detainees is not known, according to residents who spoke to ESAT. Ninety of the detainees have reportedly been held at the Maichew prison. On Sunday, Tigray region special police killed five residents of ...

ESAT News (October 24, 2018) Ethiopia will on Thursday appoint a new president to replace Mulatu Teshome, who will be resigning a year ahead of his first term limit. Parliament appoints presidents every six years, which is mostly a ceremonial position with no executive power. It has a two-term limit. Teshome took over from Girma Woldegiorgis, who served two-terms. Dr. ...

ESAT News (October 23, 2018) Seven Ethiopian migrants drowned when a boat carrying 13 people capsized off the coast of Tanzania while en route to South Africa, Reuters quoted Tanzanian police commander Edward Bukombe as saying today. “Of the people onboard, 12 were Ethiopians and another person, who was the boat captain, (his) nationality has not been identified because he ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 23, 2018) A U.S. congressman who wrote a letter to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury calling for the imposition of the Global Magnitsky Act on a former Ethiopian spy chief said he is hopeful the U.S. administration would find it necessary to do so. Representative Mike Coffman of Colorado’s ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (October 22, 2018) A congressman wrote a petition urging the United States to apply the Global Magnitsky sanctions against a former Ethiopian spy chief who is implicated in a wide range of crimes and human rights violations. In a letter to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Representative ...