In this week’s news highlights: Eritrean forces continue looting and kidnapping in Tigray, Ethiopian forces carry out mass arrests; Aid coming into Tigray fails to match the needs of the population; New talks to begin on Tigray disarmament; No date offered for the end of blackout in Tigray; Al Shabaab militants besiege hotel in Mogadishu; Committee against Torture adopts concluding observations on Somalia; 500.000 more people in South Sudan will need aid in 2023; UN experts call on South Sudan to investigate government official linked to sexual violence; A conference to chart the way towards Eritrean democracy; WFP pleads to world not to give up on drought-stricken Horn of Africa; A migratory route into the Mediterranean reopens from eastern Libya; UN finishes fifth investigative mission in Libya; Spanish government presents bill to fight human trafficking; Spanish authorities insist no death occurred on their soil during Melilla tragedy; Increasing privatisation of migrant rescue work; What next for the Search and Rescue crisis?; Frontex states irregular border crossings have increased by 77%; Commission president and AU chairperson meeting and statement; Hunger, insecurity and underfunding are worsening the risk of gender based violence; and UN seeks 51.5 billion USD “lifeline” for 2023.