Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US State Department in Washington on Thursday to demand an end to the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where the UN has documented hundreds of cases of gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.
The protest at the agency took place on the same day an Ethiopian governmental delegation was due to arrive.
Other Tigray demonstrations were held across the US this week in New York, Colorado and Florida, among others.
The Ethiopian government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, with the help of Eritrean troops and allied militias, launched a military offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front in November.
Since then, more than two million civilians have been internally displaced and 5.2 million people in Tigray are in urgent need of food aid.
Mahlet Woldemariam, who left work to join Thursday's protest, said she wanted to bring attention to the worsening situation in the region.
“There’s a genocide ongoing, friends and family are at the brink of death because of weaponised starvation, women are being raped,” she said.
Ms Woldermariam told The National that the Ethiopian government, aided by militias, had looted and ransacked her uncles' farms in Tigray in a campaign of weaponised starvation.
The UN now estimates 350,000 people in Tigray are facing famine, including 30,000-plus children that are now considered malnourished.
Human rights organisations such as Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International have reported aid restrictions as well as attacks on medical facilities and food sources in the region.
These organisations have also reported incidents of sexual violence, extrajudicial killings and massacres.
Thursday's protest was attended by members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, who said Christians in the region have suffered greatly during the conflict.
Kiflemariam Gebreselassie, an Orthodox priest, told The National he was protesting against attacks that have occurred on priests in Tigray.
Abune Mathias, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, said last month he believes a "genocide" is happening in the region.
Michael McCaul, the top Republican congressman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Wednesday also raised the question as to whether conditions in Tigray amounted to a genocide.
In its latest report on the region, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday stated that “the security and access situation in Tigray remains complex and extremely fluid, with active hostilities impeding people’s access to aid and the movement of aid workers".
The UN agency said “more than 500 cases of gender-based violence, including rape" were reported in May, with “about 70" cases perpetrated against girls under 18.
The US and EU have been pressuring Mr Abiy's government to remove all aid restrictions, ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and enforce a ceasefire.
At the State Department, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, met the Ethiopian delegation, which included Special Adviser to the Prime Minister Mamo Mehretu and Tekeda Alemu, the former state minister of foreign affairs.
Mr Abiy has yet to follow through with his commitment from last February to ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
