Dozens of Eritrean mutineers killed says army deserter

An Eritrean soldier who recently fled to Ethiopia has alleged that many of the dissident soldiers who in January laid siege at the ministry of information building in the capital Asmara have been killed. Over 100 Eritrean dissident soldiers on January 21, 2013 stormed and took control of the ministry of information in Asmara and called for political reform and a return to the country’s 1997 constitution. The day-long mutiny ended after Special Forces loyal to President Isaias Afeorki surrounded the building and the mutineers agreed to release hostages and to peacefully return to their base. The Eritrean army deserter who refused to be named for fear of reprisal against his relatives back in Asmera, said most of the mutineers were arrested days after their failed mutineer.According to the former Eritrean soldier, Special Forces took many of the dissident soldiers from their base and detained them in a secret detention facility where they were subjected to torture and inhuman treatment.“To my knowledge 26 of the mutineers were brutally murdered by secret agents”, he told Sudan Tribune.As to the fate of the others he said “I don’t know what happened to the others but I am sure their fate won’t be different”.He said he fled to Ethiopia after a military official warned him that his life was in danger after he was accused of disobeying military orders.President Isaias Afworki who has ruled Eritrea since independence from Ethiopia in 1993 has zero-tolerance for dissent and criticism.The red sea nation has no legally functioning opposition political party and has since independence been a one-party state.The army deserted said dissatisfaction within the Eritrean military has increased. January’s mutiny was seen as the latest challenge to the Eritrean president and an indicator of growing discontent in the military.It is estimated that Eritrea has up to 10,000 political prisoners.  source ( Suadn Tribune )

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Ethiopia could face “large-scale” attacks from Somalia’s al-Shabaab: opposition

An official from Ethiopia’s biggest opposition group, Medrek, said on Saturday that Ethiopia could face a similar attack to this weekend’s assault on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi that has killed at least 68 people and injured hundreds others. Ethiopia and Kenya both have deployed their armies to neighboring Somalia to address what they said was a threat to regional security caused by the al-Qaeda-linked Somali Al-Shabaab movement, the group which has claimed responsibility for the attack. This weekend’s attack is the worst since 2010 when suicide bombers in the Ugandan capital,  At the time, al-Shabaab said the twin attack was in response to Uganda’s involvement in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) that is fighting the Islamist militants.

The assault on the popular Nairobi shopping centre began on Saturday lunchtime when between 10 and 15 attackers stormed the mall. Witnesses who escaped said that the attackers let people they identified as Muslims leave the building, while an unknown number have been kept hostage or are in hiding. “Unless Ethiopia pulls out its troops from Somalia it could have severe consequences” an opposition official, who asked anonymity, told Sudan Tribune. “Ethiopia could come across large-scale retaliation attacks from al-Shabaab similar to what was carried out in Nairobi”. “The more time Ethiopia government keeps its forces in Somalia the more risks of terrorist attack it poses against its own people”, he said, adding that the attack in Nairobi was a wakeup call.

The opposition official said his political organization will soon release an official a statement with regard to the situation. Al-Shabaab said the attack was in retaliation to crimes committed by Kenyan forces that entered Somalia in 2011. The group has repeatedly threatened to carry out attacks in Kenya. “The attack at Westgate Mall is just a very tiny fraction of what Muslims in Somalia experience at the hands of Kenyan invaders” Al-Shabaab said on its Twitter feed. It added: “For long we have waged war against the Kenyans in our land, now it’s time to shift the battleground and take the war to their land #Westgate” Ethiopia first sent its troops to Somalia in 2006 and redeployed in 2011 after it withdrew in 2009 to back the weak Somalia interim government, which is trying to prevent Al Shabaab which sought to establish Islamic rule. Al-Shabaab has also been threatening to attack Ethiopia. So far not attacks have materialized. Despite the threats, Addis Ababa pledged this week that it will remain in the war-ravaged horn of Africa nation until durable peace and security is maintained. Ethiopia has around 8,000 troops in Somalia.

(ST)

 

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15 Countries out of DV Lottery , Ethiopia remains ( enteries opens October 1 and closes on Novomber 2, 2013)

For DV-2015, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories,and Vietnam”.

The department listed African countries that are eligible for the DV-2015 to include people from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt*, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger,Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles and Sierra Leone.

Entries for the DV-2015 opens on October 1 and closes on November 2.  Source ( Dire News )

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በአዲስ አበባ አንበሳ የሰው ህይወት አጠፋ ::

አዲስ አበባ በተለምዶ አንበሳ ግቢ ተብሎ በሚጠራው የአንበሶች ማቆያ ማእከል ውስጥ ዛሬ ከጠዋቱ 1:30 ላይ የሞት አደጋ ተከሰተ። አደጋው የተከሰተው በዛሬው እለት ተረኛ ተንከባካቢ የነበሩት እና አቶ አበራ ሲሳይ የተባሉት የአንበሶቹ መጋቢ፥ የአንበሶቹን ማዳሪያ እያጸዱ ባሉበት ወቅት ነው ከጥንቃቄ ጉድለት ባልተዘጋው በር የገባው ቀነኒሳ የተባለው አንበሳ ለህልፈተ ህይወት የዳረጋቸው። የግለሰቡን ህይወት ለማትረፍ በወቅቱ በስራ ላይ የነበሩ የግቢው ሰራተኞች ጥረት ቢያደርጉም ሳይሳካ መቅረቱንም ለማወቅ ተችሏል። የሟች አስከሬን ከመንከባከቢያ ስፍራው ወጥቶ ወደ ምኒሊክ ሆስፒታል ተወስዷል።

የዚህ አይነት አደጋ ከዚህ በፊት በ19 89 ዓ.ም መከሰቱ የሚታወስ ነው።

ምንጭ፡(ፋና ብሮድካስት)

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Mo Farah beaten by Kenenisa Bekele in Great North Run thriller

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele saw off double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah's late surge to win the Great North Run in a thrilling sprint finish. Farah chased down Bekele in the final 400m to set up a nail-biting finale but the Briton had to settle for second.

Another Ethiopian, Haile Gerselassie, was a distant third after falling behind in the last of the 13.1 miles. Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo came close to breaking the course record as she ran magnificently to win the women's race.

Jeptoo, this year's London marathon winner and the reigning Olympic marathon silver medallist, clocked a time only nine seconds slower than the 65 minutes 40 seconds which was recorded 10 years ago by Britain's Paula Radcliffe.

Defending champion Meseret Defar broke the Ethiopian record as she crossed the line behind Jeptoo but ahead of compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba, the reigning world and Olympic champion over 5,000m.

David Weir, who was inaugurated into the Great North Run Hall of Fame this week, won the men's wheelchair race for a fifth time.

Britain's Shelly Woods also claimed her fifth title after winning the women's wheelchair race. Source ( NewsDire)

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Unknown Ethiopian man smashed the picture of Saint Mary

 

Metropolitan police arrested an Ethiopian man after he allegedly smashed a picture of St. Mary at a church in Northwest on Sunday. The man reportedly grabbed a painting from a shelf outside an Ethiopian Orthodox church on Buchanan Street near 14th Street. Ethiopian Orthodox is a Christian religion that is the predominant religion in Ethiopia, NBC Washington says.

St. Mary is also known as the “Virgin Mary” and is considered in Christian religions to be the mother of Jesus.
The man also reportedly said, “Mary has no power over us.”
Shocked parishioners watched it happen and called the police. The suspect was not a member of the church, according to witnesses. Source ( WTOP)
click the  link here  for the video footage 

 

 

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መልካም አዲስ አመት:: Happy Ethiopian New Year

Dear friends and netters of Ethiopian This Week.com , We wish you a happy , prosperous and peaceful new year , መልካም አዲስ አመት::

ETW  Chief  editor  and  Admin

Please click  here

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A couple convicted over the death of Ethiopian teen age girl

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - A U.S. couple was convicted of manslaughter Monday in the malnutrition-and-hypothermia death of a teenage girl they adopted from Ethiopia.

A jury found Larry Williams, of Sedro-Woolley, Washington state, guilty of first-degree manslaughter and his wife, Carri Williams, guilty of homicide by abuse as well as manslaughter.

The jury also convicted them both of assault of a child for abusing a younger boy they adopted from Ethiopia at the same time as the girl.

The jury couldn't reach a decision on the homicide by abuse charge for Larry Williams, and the judge declared a mistrial on that count.

Larry and Carri Williams face a maximum life sentence, the Skagit Valley Herald newspaper reported.

Hana Williams died in the backyard of the family's home in May 2011. Prosecutors said she was starved, beaten and forced outside as punishment.

Defence lawyers argued that questionable parenting practices don't necessarily amount to a crime. Lawyers for both the husband and wife said an appeal is likely.

Hana is believed to have been 13, but no documentation of her birth in Ethiopia was available. The trial was postponed several times and her body was exhumed in January. Tests on her teeth and bones gave varying estimates and experts were unable to agree on her age.

Her age was significant because the homicide by abuse charge applies only if the victim was younger than 16. Hana Williams was adopted in 2008.source ( The Gazette ) 

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Minyahel Teshome fires Ethiopia to victory

Ethiopia are through to the playoff stages of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers after coming from a goal down to beat Central Africa Republic (CAR) 2-1 in their final Group A clash played in Brazzaville on Saturday. Menyahel Teshome was the hero for the Walia Antelopes firing in the winner to seal an historic moment for the East African nation. It was a special moment for the midfielder as it was his fielding against Botswana that saw the side docked three points by Fifa as he was ineligible to play. Following the win, Ethiopia top Group A with 13 points, two ahead of South Africa who beat Botswana 4-1 in Durban. Needing a win to stay to seal progress, Ethiopia suffered a blow before kick off after striker Getaneh Kebede failed to shake off a knock with Omod Okwury Omod taking his place. The nerves were evident early on as Ethiopia struggled to settle against a lively CAR side.They then found themselves a goal down after 20 minutes when Salif Keita scored from close range to stun the group leaders.  Source (supersport.com)

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Ethiopia denies crackdown on Semayawi opposition

Some 100 members of Ethiopia's opposition Semayawi (Blue) party were arrested and some badly beaten over the weekend, the party says. Party chairman Yilekal Getachew said equipment such as sound systems were confiscated ahead of a rally on Sunday which was banned. Communication Minister Shimeles Kemal denied there had been a crackdown. The government said the venue had already been booked by a pro-government group condemning religious extremism. The governing EPRDF maintains strict control over public life in Ethiopia. The public protest Semayawi organised in June was the first major demonstration on the streets of Addis Ababa since 2005 when hundreds of protesters were killed in violence. It was called to demand the release of jailed journalists and activists. The rally planned for Sunday was to call for political reforms. Mr Shimeles said that any group which wanted to organise a public protest had to seek a permit. He said the authorities could not refuse to grant a permit but could insist that the event be held at a different time or place to that requested. Hailemariam Desalegn took office as prime minister a year ago, following the death of long-time leader Meles Zenawi.

Ethiopia is a US ally against Islamist militants in the region.  Source ( BBC)

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