Stories under this heading cover the Horn of Africa.
According to UNICEF, the number of children suffering dire drought conditions across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in the past five months. Currently, an estimated 20.2 million children are facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease, which is a stark increase from the 10 million reported in July. Climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages have all contributed to the devastating conditions in the Horn of Africa.
According to UNICEF, the number of children suffering dire drought conditions across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in the past five months. Currently, an estimated 20.2 million children are facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease, which is a stark increase from the 10 million reported in July. Climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages have all contributed to the devastating conditions in the Horn of Africa.
The Associated Press reported that a senior Ethiopian government official claimed that there is no timeline for restoring internet access to the Tigray Region, despite claims from the government in November that it would restore basic services.
The African Union’s chief mediator Olusegun Obasanjo said on Monday (7 November) that the Ethiopian government and the Tigray rebel forces have established a telephone hotline following a truce struck last week.
This comes after the two parties agreed on 2 November to end any hostilities and call a ceasefire to a war that has already killed thousands and displaced millions.
Huge terrorist attacks have hit Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, killing at least 100 civilians and wounding 300. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday (30 October) that among the victims of the twin bombings that took place the day before at a busy intersection in the Somali capital Mogadishu were women, children, and the elderly.
The Ethiopian government stated on Monday (17 October) that they will begin seizing airports and other key institutions in the north of the region that is currently under the control of Tigray rebel forces. Although the government is firm in these objectives, it stated that it was committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict through African Union-led peace talks.
The Somali government announced on Monday (3 October) that a joint drone airstrike has killed Abdullahi Nadir, a top al-Shabab militant in southern Somalia, near the coastal town of Haramka. Since 2012, Nadir had been one of the seven leaders on whom the United States had placed a bounty of $3m for his capture.