The UN says that at least five Eritrean refugees were killed earlier this month when armed men attacked a camp in Ethiopia’s north-eastern Afar region, where fighting has continued between the government and rebels from neighbouring Tigray.
Several women were also kidnapped during the raid on Berhale camp and many residents fled and family members lost each other in the chaos, the world body says.
More than 100,000 Eritrean refugees were living in Tigray and Afar regions when the civil war broke out 15 months ago – thousands are now unaccounted for.
For many years, Eritreans fleeing political persecution and forced conscription found safe havens in camps in neighbouring Ethiopia.
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Since the conflict started in November 2020 in Ethiopia, they have often been attacked both by Eritrean soldiers, fighting alongside Ethiopian government troops, and Tigrayan rebels.
Fighting has significantly reduced in numerous areas of Ethiopia’s north but military confrontations continue to be reported in Afar, where the regional authorities accuse Tigrayan rebels of aggression and attacking civilian targets. Tigrayan forces deny targeting civilians.
Mali orders French military exit ‘without delay’
The military junta in Mali has ordered France to withdraw its troops from the country “without delay”.
An army spokesman, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, said France had violated military accords between Paris and Bamako when it announced on Thursday it would redeploy its forces to Niger.
President Emmanuel Macron said the withdrawal would take four to six months, but Mali said that it should happen immediately, under the supervision of their forces.
Relations between France and Mali – a former French colony – deteriorated after the military junta in Bamako reneged on an agreement to hold elections this month.
About 5,000 French soldiers have been in Mali engaged in a multi-nation counter-insurgency operation against Islamist militants.
Source: BBC
