Ethiopia: Vigil InSight Situation Report – 29 June 2021

Ceasefire following the fall of Mekelle means that violence will drop over the summer but the murder of three MSF staff shows that access for aid workers will remain difficult and communications limited.

This document provides an analysis of the current situation within Ethiopia and the implications for aid agencies working there. It specifically focuses on Tigray.

SUMMARY

• The opposition TDF (Tigray Defence Force) captured the capital of Mekelle from federal forces on 28 June following a series of earlier advances that began during the 21 June national elections.
  ● The Ethiopian government released a statement declaring a ‘unilateral ceasefire’ to start from ‘28 June, 2021’ that will ‘stay until the farming season ends”. Ethiopia’s main planting season lasts from May to September.
  ● The results of the elections are yet to be confirmed, but there has been little political violence reported, either pre or post elections.
  ● Official statements as well as social media posts should be treated with caution, reviewing both the credibility of the content but also what might be omitted from otherwise factual reports.
  ● The murder of a Spanish MSF staff and her two Ethiopian colleagues West of Mekelle on 24 June challenges the widely held assumption that the presence of foreigners provide a degree of safety.

Source:  Insecurity Insight