World Tuesday, November 17, 2020 07 African leaders mount effort Sudan struggles to shelter to mediate Ethiopia conflict AFP 25,000 Ethiopian refugees ADDIS ABABA AFRICAN leaders attempted on Monday to kickstart some The UN’s children’s fund is providing drinking water and the World Food Programme is handing out sorghum and lentil rations kind of mediation in Ethiopia’s escalating internal conflict, two AFP days after rocket strikes on Eri- UM RAQUBA REFUGEE CAMP, SOUDAN trea’s capital highlighted risks that fighting could spread. IN a sun-baked and dusty Ugandan President Yoweri wasteland in remote eastern Museveni held talks with Ethio- Sudan, crews are labouring to Heat & hunger pia’s deputy prime minister De- rebuild a refugee camp for the meke Mekonnen, while former 25,000 people who have fled Exhausted and terrified men, Nigerian president Olusegun heavy fighting in neighbouring women and children from the Obasanjo headed to Addis Aba- Ethiopia’s Tigray region. conflict zone have struggled ba to make his bid for dialogue. Exhausted and terrified against searing heat and Ethiopian Prime Minister men, women and children hunger to escape ground Abiy Ahmed announced No- from the conflict zone have fighting, air strikes, rocket fire vember 4 he had ordered mili- struggled against searing heat and artillery barrages in tary operations in Tigray in a and hunger to escape ground dramatic escalation of a long- fighting, air strikes, rocket northern Ethiopia running feud with the region’s fire and artillery barrages in ruling party, the Tigray People’s northern Ethiopia. to build shelters. Liberation Front (TPLF). Sudan -- one of the world’s “Our plan is to create three Hundreds of people are re- poorest countries, now faced sectors that can accommodate ported to have been killed so far with the massive influx -- has 8,000 people each. We are go- in the conflict in Africa’s second reopened its Um Raquba ing to use the land of the old most populous country, some camp, 80 kilometres (50 camp and, if we can, we will in a gruesome massacre docu- miles) from the border. The extend it to the adjacent land.” mented last week by Amnesty camp once housed refugees He said “this is the second International. who fled Ethiopia’s 1983-85 time I’ve been involved in the More than 25,000 Ethiopi- famine that killed over a mil- establishment of this camp. In ans have fled into Sudan, Suda- lion people. 1985, I started at the Sudanese nese officials say. For now, though, desper- Refugee Commission and now “A war in Ethiopia would ate families are huddling in the I’m doing this job again as a give the entire continent a bad shade of sparse trees because leader. image,” Museveni wrote on only two permanent build- “At the time I received Twitter after meeting Demeke ings remain from the camp Ethiopians fleeing famine, and in the northern town of Gulu. that closed years ago -- an old now I take them in because “There should be negotia- school house missing a roof they are fleeing the war.” tions and the conflict stopped, and a dilapidated former clinic. In the early 1980s, Ethi- lest it leads to unnecessary loss Others are erecting their opia was hit by extreme of lives and cripples the econo- own basic tents or lying on drought, but that spiralled into my.” plastic sheets provided by aid famine as the hardline Marxist Meanwhile Nigeria’s ex- agencies. Ethiopian migrants gather at the border reception centre of Hamdiyet, in the eastern Sudanese state of Kasala recently. (AFP) government of Mengistu Haile president Obasanjo on Monday “You see I am sitting on Mariam battled Tigrayan re- left for Addis Ababa to medi- the ground with my three lit- told to wait.” UNICEF, has provided drink- Several dozen Sudanese stalled today but it will take bels led by Meles Zenawi, who ate in the crisis, his spokesman tle girls,” said one of the recent So far, only basic emer- ing water and the World Food workers have started digging at least seven to 10 days of toppled the regime in 1991. said. arrivals, 37-year-old Gabriel gency relief has been set up Programme is handing out trenches in the rocky ground hard work to get everything Zenawi went on to lead “Yes he is on his way to Ad- Hayli. at the isolated camp, located sorghum and lentil rations, to lay water pipes and build in place,” said Adam Moham- the country until his death in dis Ababa for talks,” Kehinde “We thought the authori- amid abandoned fields some assisted by the Sudanese Ref- the foundations of wooden mad, one of the workers. 2012, presiding over a precari- Akinyemi told AFP on the visit ties would transfer us here be- 10 kilometres from the nearest ugee Commission. The Red shelters and administration Camp director Abdel Bas- ous and narrowly based stabil- of the former Nigerian leader to cause there are shelters -- but village. Crescent is running a field offices. set Abdel Ghani told AFP that ity, built on Tigrayan political the Ethiopian capital. there is nothing, we have been The UN’s children’s fund, clinic out of a tent. “Electricity has been in- “the most urgent thing today is dominance. “He is going there for me- diation,” he said, without giving further details. Both Abiy’s office and the News African Union said Monday Libya talks end without naming govt but UN vows to continue they did not have information in brief about Obasanjo’s visit. AFP interim Libya envoy Stephanie er 75 delegates selected by the foreign powers, are already vy- the United Arab Emirates, Abiy’s office also denied GAMMARTH, TUNISIA Williams told journalists. UN to represent a broad range ing for power. launched an offensive to seize any talks were taking place in Turkey to send But she said “no names... of constituencies. Libya is currently domi- Tripoli. Uganda. soldiers to UN-LED talks aimed at ap- were discussed” during the They were charged with lay- nated by a unity government But after a year of bloody “The claims by various Azerbaijan pointing an executive to help meetings in neighbouring Tu- ing out a roadmap towards elec- in Tripoli that emerged from stalemate on the edges of the news outlets that Ethiopian of- lead Libya out of a decade of nisia. tions, setting the mandate of an previous UN-led talks in 2015, capital, his forces were repelled ficials are expected to take part TURKISH President Re- conflict ended on Sunday with- Libya has been riven by interim executive and naming and its rival, the eastern-based by pro-unity government forces in mediation talks with TPLF in cep Tayyip Erdogan asked out discussing names, the world conflict since the 2011 NATO- its members. House of Representatives elect- boosted by Turkish military Uganda is inaccurate and not parliament on Monday to body said. backed uprising that toppled But observers have criti- ed the previous year and which support. substantiated,” a government authorise sending soldiers “We have agreed to recon- and killed veteran dictator cised the way the delegates were never recognised the unity gov- Military talks led to a formal statement said. to Azerbaijan to establish a vene in about a week in a vir- Moamer Kadhafi. chosen and cast doubts over ernment. ceasefire deal in October, and TPLF leader Debretsion “peacekeeping centre” with tual meeting (to) agree on the The latest phase in renewed their clout in a country where In 2019, HoR-allied com- recent developments on paral- Gebremichael told AFP Mon- Russia to monitor a truce selection mechanism for the efforts for peace in the North two administrations, as well as mander Khalifa Haftar, who lel economic and political tracks day he was “not aware” of Mu- over the disputed Nagorno- coming authority,” the UN’s African country brought togeth- an array of armed groups and was backed by Russia and have raised hopes for progress. seveni’s initiative. Karabakh region. Erdogan’s request followed two days of talks in Ankara with Rus- sian officials about how the two regional powers intend to jointly implement a Syria’s foreign minister Walid Muallem dies, aged 79 Russian-brokered ceasefire signed last week. Turkey is AFP war was the result of a Western Muallem was wearing a that terrorists or others were Hussein Arnous saluted a “vet- one of Azerbaijan’s clos- DAMASCUS plot. surgical mask and appeared to responsible,” Washington said eran diplomat who capably de- est allies and has strongly Muallem, who had been have lost weight. at the time. fended his country in interna- defended its right to re- SYRIAN Foreign Minister foreign minister since 2006, The late minister was tar- Muallem was one of the tional fora”. claim lands it lost to ethnic Walid Muallem, a stalwart of started his career in the diplo- geted by US sanctions as early most recognisable figures in Russia, long a close ally Armenian separatists in a Bashar al-Assad’s regime who matic service in 1964. In 2012, as August 2011, less than six a Syrian government which of the regime and the main 1988-94 war. (AFP) held his job through a decade he also became deputy prime months after the eruption of remains very isolated interna- foreign broker in Damascus of conflict and several reshuf- minister. protests demanding regime tionally despite recent efforts since its war-changing mili- fles, died on Monday at the age His last public appearance change -- demonstrations that to normalise ties with Gulf tary intervention in 2015, was Tributes pour in of 79.