Ethiopia
War is over in Ethiopia
Tigray Rebels Retreat back to Tigray.
Tigrayan forces fighting the central government have withdrawn from neighbouring regions in Ethiopia’s north, a Tigrayan spokesman said on Monday, a step towards a possible ceasefire after major territorial gains by the Ethiopian military.
The 13-month-old war in Africa’s second-most-populous nation has destabilised an already fragile region, sent 60,000 refugees into Sudan, pulled Ethiopian soldiers away from war-ravaged Somalia and drawn in armed forces from neighbouring Eritrea.
« We have just completed the withdrawal of our forces from both Amhara and Afar regions, » said Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party controlling most of the northerly region of Tigray.
Writing on Twitter, Getachew added that the TPLF hoped the pullout would induce the international community to put pressure on the governments of Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea, allies in the conflict, to cease military operations in Tigray.
TPLF head Debretsion Gebremichael called for a no-fly zone for hostile aircraft over Tigray, arms embargoes on Ethiopia and Eritrea, and a U.N. mechanism to verify that external armed forces have left Tigray – all requests that the Ethiopian government is likely to oppose.
« We trust that our bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening for peace, » Debretsion wrote in a letter to the United Nations outlining the TPLF’s demands.
Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and the prime minister’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(source: African INsider)
Israel approves plan for immigration of 2,000 Ethiopian Jews
JERUSALEM: Israel’s government on Monday approved immigration plans for 2,000 Ethiopians whose desire to move to the Jewish state has stirred controversy and faced extended delays. The group are members of the Falash Mura, descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity — many under duress — in the 19th and 20th centuries.
They are not recognized as Jews by Israel’s Orthodox rabbinical authorities, but claim the right to immigrate under family reunification rules.
The government approved about 9,000 claimants in 2015 but then rescinded the decision the following year, citing budgetary constraints.
Some groups in Israel, including members of the Ethiopian community, have opposed immigration of the Falash Mura, citing doubts over their claim to be Jewish.
Netanyahu told his cabinet on Monday that it was time to bring “2,000 of our people, our brothers and sisters from Ethiopia.”
“We will also act to bring all of the rest,” he said.
Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, the first Ethiopian Jewish woman elected to Israel’s parliament, praised the government’s “unanimous vote to bring 2,000 people to Israel who are waiting in Ethiopia to be united with their families.”
The bulk of Ethiopia’s Jewish community was brought to the country between 1984 and 1991 under the Law of Return, which guarantees Israeli citizenship to all Jews.
The Ethiopian-Israeli community has since grown to 140,000-strong, including 50,000 born in Israel.
Many say they faced racial discrimination, notably abuse by Israel’s police.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed on Friday, apprising him of Jerusalem’s plans of airlifting 2,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
« I updated Prime Minister Abiy that I intend to immediately bring some 2,000 people from Addis Ababa and Gondar, as part of our commitment to continuing the Aliyah of Jews to Israel, » Netanyahu tweeted.
About 8,000 Ethiopian Jews Waiting to Immigrate to Israel
TANIKO Madagascar 