Missing yacht with 3 Russians, 2 Egyptians reaches safety
April 27, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missing yacht with three Russians and two Egyptians onboard reached safety in Djibouti in east Africa on Thursday, after going missing for days following an attack off the coast of Yemen, its owner said.
UN, others cite new displacement from Ethiopia’s Tigray
April 13, 2023 GMTADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara region have displaced tens of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans from disputed territory in the north of the country in recent weeks despite a peace deal agreed late last year, according to aid workers and internal agency documents seen by the AP.
US: War crimes on all sides in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict
March 20, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Monday that it has determined all sides in the brutal conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Well-known Atlanta nightclub closing after owner’s killing
February 12, 2023 GMTATLANTA, Ga. (AP) — A popular Atlanta nightclub will close permanently after its co-owner was shot and killed last week, the business announced on social media.
Eritrean leader dismisses as ‘fantasy’ alleged Tigray abuses
February 9, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Eritrea’s president in rare public comments has dismissed as “a fantasy” allegations that his country’s forces carried out rape, looting and other abuses in the war in neighboring Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Well-known Atlanta nightclub owner killed in front of club
February 6, 2023 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The owner of a popular Atlanta nightclub was shot and killed Saturday morning in front of his own establishment, authorities said.
Michael Gidewon, who owned the Republic Lounge, was found dead outside the club on Saturday morning, the Fulton County Medical Examiner told news outlets.
Witnesses: Eritrean troops withdrawing from towns in Tigray
January 20, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Witnesses in some towns across Ethiopia’s Tigray region say troops from neighboring Eritrea have started withdrawing in large convoys, a potentially significant development after a devastating conflict in the region ended late last year.
Somali troops returning from once-secret training in Eritrea
December 21, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somalia’s government says the first group of 5,000 Somalis who were sent to Eritrea for military training has returned home, to the relief of parents who had alleged their sons had been recruited under false pretenses.
Eritrean forces still killing Tigray civilians, report says
December 2, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Eritrean troops have continued killing dozens of civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and committing other abuses weeks after the two main warring parties signed a peace deal, according to an official document seen by The Associated Press.
Kidnappings, looting cited in Ethiopia’s Tigray after truce
November 27, 2022 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Allies of Ethiopia’s federal military are looting property and carrying out mass detentions in Tigray, according to eyewitnesses and aid workers.
The accounts raise fresh concern about alleged atrocities more than three weeks after the warring parties signed a truce that diplomats and others hoped would bring an end to suffering in the embattled region that’s home to more than 5 million people.
UN rights body deplores Iran crackdown, establishes probe
November 24, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Thursday to condemn the bloody crackdown on peaceful protests in Iran and create an independent fact-finding mission to investigate alleged abuses, particularly those committed against women and children.
Witnesses allege Eritrean abuses during Ethiopia peace talks
October 29, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Even as Ethiopia’s warring sides attend their first formal peace talks in a devastating two-year conflict, witnesses in the country’s embattled Tigray region tell The Associated Press that forces from neighboring Eritrea are killing some civilians and looting as they and allied Ethiopian forces head for the regional capital.
UN chief: war in Ethiopia’s Tigray must end, Eritrea exit
October 17, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief on Monday demanded an immediate end to hostilities in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and withdrawal of Eritrean forces fighting alongside the government, saying “violence and destruction have reached alarming levels” and “civilians are paying a horrific price.”
Italy: Eritrea fugitive to be prosecuted for human smuggling
October 12, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — An Eritrean fugitive is being extradited to Italy to face human trafficking charges after he was picked up at Ethiopia's airport trying to board a flight for Australia, Italian police said Wednesday.
Ethiopia’s Tigray forces say Eritreans widen war offensive
October 10, 2022 GMTADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels say Eritrea has extended its offensive into their region, as diplomats scramble to convene peace talks to resolve the almost two-year-long conflict.
Satellite images show Eritrea military buildup near Tigray
September 28, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — New satellite imagery of one of the world’s most reclusive nations shows a military buildup inside Eritrea near the border with Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, backing up witness accounts of a new, large-scale offensive.
UN experts detail extensive war crimes amid Tigray conflict
September 22, 2022 GMTGENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed investigators said Thursday they have turned up evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Ethiopian government forces, Tigray forces and Eritrea's military — including rape, murder and pillage — over the nearly two-year war centering on Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.
Eritrea accused of starting offensive on Ethiopia’s Tigray
September 20, 2022 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Eritrea on Tuesday launched a full-scale offensive along the country's border with northern Ethiopia in what appeared to be an escalation of last month's renewal of fighting against Tigray forces.
Kenya’s Moses Kibet wins Sydney marathon in record time
September 18, 2022 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — Kenyan Moses Kibet claimed victory in a fast-paced Sydney marathon which saw the top three finishers all better the previous fastest time in Australia.
Kibet finished the course set around Sydney’s harbour and city center in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 3 seconds on Sunday, two seconds ahead of countryman Cosmas Matolo.
Eritrea mobilizes its soldiers, raising Tigray fears
September 18, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Eritrea is mobilizing its armed forces and appears to be sending them to Ethiopia to aid its neighbor's war in the Tigray region, according to activists and international authorities.
Renewed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region said widening
September 1, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Officials in Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region allege that Ethiopian forces have again teamed up with those from neighboring Eritrea to attack the northern area.
Ethiopia’s government did not comment Thursday after the allegations by the Tigray External Affairs Office and by Tigray forces spokesman Getachew Reda, who said a “massive” offensive had begun in northwestern Tigray.
Scenes of desperation as migrant ship sinks during rescue
August 11, 2022 GMTABOARD THE ASTRAL (AP) — A Spanish maritime rescue group and the Italian coast guard helped pull some 40 people from the Mediterranean Sea to safety after their overcrowded wooden boat capsized during a rescue operation Thursday.
Eritrea’s Girmay takes Giro leg in win for African cycling
May 17, 2022 GMTJESI, Italy (AP) — It’s been a season of firsts for Biniam Girmay, and the Eritrean rider added a stage victory in the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday in his first Grand Tour to raise the profile of African cycling.
For many migrants, the view of Rwanda is often far from rosy
April 28, 2022 GMTKIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Britain's recent decision to send some migrants to Rwanda is questioned by several people resettled in this tiny East African country who say it is not a suitable refuge.
One Eritrean refugee who was deported from Israel to Rwanda in 2015 said he found the country “too difficult” and moved his family to South Sudan, which promised better economic opportunities than Rwanda even though it was gripped by civil war at the time.
Biniam Girmay outsprints rivals to win Gent-Wevelgem
March 27, 2022 GMTBiniam Girmay produced the biggest win of his career by outsprinting his breakaway companions in the one-day Gent-Wevelgem classic race on Sunday.
The 21-year-old rider from Eritrea was part of a four-man group that resisted the peloton's chase in the 249-kilometer (154.7-mile) race through Belgium.
UN blames Russia for Ukraine humanitarian crisis, urges aid
March 24, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday blaming Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.
After dip in Beijing, Olympians ask: What about Africa?
February 16, 2022 GMTBEIJING (AP) — Victory, of sorts, for Eritrea's sole Winter Olympian — one of just six athletes competing for African countries at the Games in China — was achieved even before his feat of surviving two runs in blizzard conditions down a hazardous course aptly named The Ice River.
Unvaccinated Eritrea cyclists excluded from Tour of Rwanda
January 29, 2022 GMTKIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The Eritrea cycling team has been excluded from the Tour of Rwanda race because its members have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Eritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa region, is the only one of the African Union's 55 member states that's yet to vaccinate any of its population.
Nobel body criticizes Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy over war
January 13, 2022 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday issued a very rare admonition to the 2019 winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, over the war and humanitarian crisis in his country’s Tigray region.
China to appoint Horn of Africa envoy amid Ethiopia crisis
January 6, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — China’s foreign minister says his country will appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa region, where Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fighting forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Somalia is in the grip of a political crisis caused by a long-delayed election.
Ethiopian leader called war ‘epitome of hell.’ Now he’s back
November 24, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is already a veteran at surprising the world in just three years in power. He's done it again this week by announcing that, after a year of waging war, he will lead it from the battlefront.
US sanctions Eritrea’s military, ruling party over Ethiopia
November 12, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States on Friday imposed economic sanctions on the military and ruling party of Eritrea over their role in neighboring Ethiopia’s brutal yearlong war, and it warned it would sanction Ethiopia's government and rival Tigray forces if there is no “meaningful progress” toward a cease-fire and talks.
People fleeing Ethiopia allege attacks, forced conscription
November 8, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A new round of deadly attacks and forced conscription has begun against ethnic Tigrayans in an area of Ethiopia now controlled by Amhara regional authorities in collaboration with soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, people fleeing over the border to Sudan tell The Associated Press as the yearlong war intensifies.
UN report says Ethiopia’s war marked by ‘extreme brutality’
November 3, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — All sides in Ethiopia’s yearlong war in the Tigray region have committed abuses marked by “extreme brutality” that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the U.N.
5 Eritrea women’s U-20 soccer players go missing in Uganda
November 2, 2021 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Five players on the Eritrea women's under-20 soccer team went missing Tuesday from a hotel in Uganda during a regional tournament, police and organizers said.
The players disappeared from the hotel in Jinja in southeastern Uganda and “the matter has been reported to the police,” said the East and Central African soccer association, which is overseeing the tournament.
Burundi starts COVID jabs; just North Korea, Eritrea remain
October 18, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — One of the world’s last three countries to administer COVID-19 vaccines started giving out doses on Monday as the East African nation of Burundi launched its national campaign.
US wins seat on UN rights council in uncontested election
October 14, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council that former president Donald Trump denounced and quit, joining 17 other nations elected in uncontested votes Thursday that were criticized for guaranteeing spots to countries with abysmal rights records.
Turkey ratifies Paris agreement ahead of key climate summit
October 6, 2021 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Wednesday ratified the Paris climate accord, joining the global fight against climate change weeks before the start of a key summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Legislators present in parliament unanimously approved the agreement.
UN: Probe in Ethiopia’s Tigray didn’t reach Axum massacre
September 13, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United Nations human rights chief on Monday said a highly awaited joint investigation into abuses in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict was unable to deploy to the site of one of its deadliest attacks, the alleged massacre of several hundred people in the holy city of Axum.
New US sanctions target Eritrea over Ethiopia’s Tigray war
August 23, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States on Monday imposed new sanctions over Ethiopia’s deadly Tigray conflict as hundreds of thousands of people face famine conditions under a government blockade the U.S.
US genocide expert to press Ethiopia on Tigray aid blockade
July 29, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The U.S. official who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide is visiting Ethiopia next week to press the government to lift what the U.S. calls a blockade on humanitarian aid to the conflict-hit Tigray region, where hundreds of thousands of people now face deadly famine.
German official sent home for racist slur at Olympics
July 29, 2021 GMTTOKYO (AP) — A German cycling official has been suspended and will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after using a racist slur during the men’s time trial.
German cycling federation sports director Patrick Moster had been overseeing the cycling squad at the Tokyo Games.
Eritrean refugees under attack in Ethiopia’s Tigray war
July 23, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of Eritrean refugees are increasingly caught in the middle of the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where witnesses and U.N. officials say forces have attacked their camps, abducted or killed some of the residents, and stolen their food and possessions.
US cites China, Myanmar, Ethiopia in genocide report
July 12, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday renewed genocide allegations against China for repression of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in its northwest Xinjiang region. It also warned Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar and South Sudan of possible further sanctions for ethnic cleansing in conflicts they are involved in.
Ethiopia’s Tigray ‘extremely fluid’ as cease-fire in doubt
June 30, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s government on Wednesday said its military could re-enter the capital of its embattled Tigray region within weeks, calling into question the unilateral cease-fire it declared in Tigray just days ago.
Tigray fighters in Ethiopia reject cease-fire as ‘sick joke’
June 29, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The fighters now retaking parts of Ethiopia's Tigray region will pursue soldiers from neighboring Eritrea back into their country and chase Ethiopian forces to Addis Ababa ”if that's what it takes" to weaken their military powers, their spokesman said Tuesday, as a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians looked certain to continue.
Witnesses: Airstrike in Ethiopia’s Tigray kills more than 50
June 23, 2021 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray village of Togoga on Tuesday and killed at least 51 people, according to health workers who said soldiers blocked medical teams from traveling to the scene.
Eritrea blames US support for Tigray’s leaders for the war
June 8, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Eritrea’s foreign minister blamed U.S. administrations that supported the Tigray People’s Liberation Movement for the last 20 years for the current war in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, saying that blaming Eritrea for the fighting was unfounded.
Ethiopians protest US sanctions over brutal Tigray war
May 30, 2021 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the nation's capital Sunday to protest outside pressure on the government over its brutal war in Tigray.
Protesters at the rally in Addis Ababa carried banners that criticized the United States and others in the international community who are voicing concern over atrocities in Tigray, where Ethiopian forces are hunting down the region's ousted and now-fugitive leaders.
‘Our season’: Eritrean troops kill, rape, loot in Tigray
May 28, 2021 GMTMEKELE, Ethiopia (AP) — Women who make it to the clinic for sex abuse survivors in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray usually struggle to describe their injuries. But when they can’t take a seat and quietly touch their bottoms, the nurses know it’s an unspeakable kind of suffering.
US restricts visas from Ethiopia, Eritrea over Tigray crisis
May 24, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) —
The United States has begun restricting visas for government and military officials of Ethiopia and Eritrea seen as undermining efforts to resolve the deadly fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region, saying it is time for the international community to take action in a conflict that has sparked allegations of ethnic cleansing and fears of famine.
US envoy in Egypt for talks on Ethiopia’s dam dispute
May 5, 2021 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The U.S. envoy for the Horn of Africa on Wednesday met with the Egyptian president as part of Washington's new push to find a resolution to a regional decade-long dispute over Ethiopia's massive dam on the Nile River’s main tributary...
Eritrea’s president visits Sudan amid tensions over Ethiopia
May 4, 2021 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Eritrea’s president arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday for talks with Sudanese officials amid tensions over a longtime border dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia...
Ethiopia says Eritrea agrees to withdraw troops from Tigray
March 26, 2021 GMTKHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Ethiopia's prime minister said Friday that Eritrea has agreed to withdraw its forces from the Tigray region, where witnesses have described them looting, killing and raping civilians...
Ethiopia’s leader says atrocities reported in Tigray war
March 23, 2021 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ethiopia's leader on Tuesday said atrocities have been reported in Tigray, his first public acknowledgment of possible war crimes in the country's northern region where fighting persists as government troops hunt down its fugitive leaders...
Ethiopia’s leader faces intense pressure to end Tigray war
March 11, 2021 GMTKAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ethiopia's government on Thursday faced mounting pressure to withdraw troops from the northern region of Tigray amid growing reports of war crimes in an embattled area that now faces a humanitarian crisis...