Peace negotiations (per 31 October)

  • The peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigray regional government have been extended to Tuesday.
  • According to a diplomatic source talking to The Continent, the peace talks are complicated by the absence of Eritrea.
  • The Continent writes: “Conspicuous by its absence is Eritrea, whose soldiers have been heavily involved in the fighting on behalf of the Ethiopian government.”

Situation in Tigray (per 31 October)

  • Tigray Military Command says that 49 Ethiopian and Eritrean divisions were deployed on the Adwa front in two directions, aiming to control Hawzien.
  • “Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) have inflicted vast amounts of damage on enemy forces in their counteroffensive in Felafil,” added the statement.
  • The Command also said that 5 Eritrean infantry divisions, 2 Ethiopian infantry divisions and one Eritrean mechanised division were defeated while moving from Adwa towards Mariam Shewito.
  • The statement highlighted that there are battles underway in Endabaguna, Selekleka, Wukro-Maray and other areas in northwestern Tigray.
  • Sources state that EDF forces are advancing towards Wukro from Berhale; artillery can be heard close to the city.
  • Sources state there have been repeated attacks on the Berahle front, especially via the Dessia forest, which have been held back by TDF. Dessia forest is at the border between Afar and Tigray.
  • EthiopiaMap says that it has been confirmed that ENDF forces and Fano militias now control the entirety of the B30 Highway from May Tsemre to Shire.
  • Fighting around Zalambessa is said to be intense by sources, in any case since yesterday, as the ENDF/EDF try to break the TDF defense line to enter Adigrat. The defense line has so far been holding.
  • According to Tigrai Television, artillery shelling by Eritrean forces killed 5 and injured 8 people in the town of Adigrat in Eastern Tigray on 29 October.
  • UNICEF report says that over half a million people in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions have been displaced since fighting resumed in late August.
  • The report said that, in the Tigray region, over 210,000 people have been newly displaced since the restart of the fighting in late August due to continued airstrikes and shelling on multiple fronts.
  • Witnesses from Shire, Axum and Adwa tell AP News that Eritrean soldiers are continuing to kill civilians during the negotiations. An aid worker from Axum said civilians were being killed there by Eritrean forces. An NGO worker from Shire described looting of vehicles and household items.
  • There have also been reports of Eritrea troops burning crops in occupied areas as well as looting everyday items from occupied territories in Tigray.
  • According to Tigrai Media House, extrajudicial killings have occurred in Waja, Lambadina, Korem and Alamata, without further specification of the perpetrators.
  • Dr Kibrom G/Selassie warns that Ayder referral hospital is bound to collapse soon if left without support – with only 9% of medical facilities operational according to the World Health Organisation.
  • Fasika Amdeslasie, ex-Dean of the Medical School, Tigray, reports that multiple patients with drug resistant tuberculosis have been out of treatment for 17 months, creating fear of the strain spreading.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 31 October)

  • The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) condemns the killing of one of its ambulance drivers and patients carried by the ambulance by members of unspecified armed forces in Amhara region.

Regional Situation (per 31 October)

  • A double explosion killed at least 120 people in Mogadishu on 30 October. Over 300 others are injured. Somali authorities blame terrorist group al-Shabab for the attack.
  • The car bomb attacks targeted the building of the Ministry of Education. Sources state that a nearby college campus was also damaged. Children, students and teachers were among those killed.
  • South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and the Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Sudan, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, have pledged to move forward on the resolution of the status of the Abyei region.

International Situation (per 31 October)

  • A report signed by Lord David Alton, member of the UK House of Lords, details extortionary practices of the Eritrean government towards its diaspora in the UK. The report calls on the UK to launch a full and formal investigation into the diaspora tax and stop the collection or reduce its harm.
  • The report states the taxes are collected through coercion and threats and are therefore illegal.

Links of interest

Peace talks on Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict are extended: AP

Peace talks shrouded in secrecy

Tigrai Television: Statement by Tigray Military Command

መግለፂ ወታደራዊ ኮማንድ ሰራዊት ትግራይ 19 ጥቅምቲ 2015 ዓ/ም

Twitter: Tigrai Television says artillery shelling killed 5 and injured 8

UNICEF Ethiopia Humanitarian Situation Report No. 9 – September 2022

Witnesses allege Eritrean abuses during Ethiopia peace talks

Twitter: Ethiopia Map ENDF+Fano met up with forces in Shire and control the whole B30 highway

Twitter: Tigrai Media House Extrajudicial killings reported in waja,Lambadina, korem and Alamata.

Tigray’s largest hospital “doomed to collapse soon” due to lack of medical supplies

Twitter: Fasika AmdeslasieMulti-drug Resistant Tuberculosis patients on treatment have stopped treatment

Ethiopian Red Cross Society condemns killing of on duty ambulance driver, injured patients onboard

Somalia car bombs death toll up to 120, some still missing

Kiir, Burhan to prioritise final status of Abyei, says official

Security forces disperse fresh anti-coup protests in Sudan

Eritrea’s 2% Diaspora Tax and its impact in the UK

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