Horn Highlights: Report of mass killing in Afar town, Video shows Ethiopia/Eritrea cooperation, US sanctions Somali officials

In this week’s Horn Highlights: Ethiopian-allied forces accused of killings of Tigrayans; Impact of drone strikes; Tigray report says over 120.000 women and girls raped in Tigray; Video appears to show Eritrean and thiopian military cooperation during a time where it was denied; UAE sends humanitarian aid to Tigray; Analyts says clear links exist between Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia; US sanctions Somali officials over election delays; China appoints a special Horn envoy.

by K. Ochieng
Posted on February 25, 2022March 7, 2022
Abiy Ahmed

In this week’s news highlights: Ethiopian Government on negotiation and the National Dialogue Commission; Aid partners in Tigray forced to downscale further; GERD begins electricity production; UN expert to report on rights violations in Sudan; Sudanese protesters released from detention; Hemedti of Sudan in Russia; Egypt seeking mediation role in Sudan; 300,000 Somalians leave home in search of food; 4 people arrested in Kenya for alleged human trafficking; 129 migrants rescued by Sea Watch off Libya shore; UN calls for “free and fair elections” in Libya; Russia’s invasion drives refugees out of Ukraine; Digital borders to monitor migration; Vulnerable asylum seekers returned from Switzerland to Italy; How two persons died in violent pushback from Greece to Turkey; IOM warns about increasing deaths at EU borders; Alleged smuggler arrested after 7 die at sea; Nearly 600 people rescued by coastguards off Italy coast; UNHCR concerned about human rights violations at European borders; “Milestone” deal on migration policy between EU and Cyprus.

EU’s unsustainable and deadly Libyan migration policy

Between May 24 and May 27 around 400 migrants and refugees have been picked up by the Libyan coastguard and returned to Libya. Two of them drowned during the operation. An additional 90 migrants and refugees have been stopped by a commercial ship and have been returned to Libya as well. The pushback operations are funded and supported by the European Union (EU) and individual member states like Malta and Italy. While Libya has been an unsafe place from the start of the EU’s so called externalized border policy, COVID-19 brings even more risks as detention camps in Libya are high-risk areas for the spread of the virus and rescue operations on the Mediterranean Sea have been minimized. An additional element of danger is the intense civil war in Libya, which has turned into a geopolitical conflict and a proxy war between Russia and The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the one hand and Turkey on the other. The war takes its toll on the civilian population; on June 1 another 5 civilians were killed and 11 wounded in a rocket attack near Tripoli.