ETHIOPIA-SOMALIA: An uneasy relationship - Hopes are fading for a fresh chapter in the often stormy relationship between Horn of Africa rivals, Ethiopia and Somalia. [IRIN, Jan 2, 2001]

U.S. Wants End of Arms Ban on Ethiopia, Eritrea - The United States has introduced a resolution to lift the arms embargo against Ethiopia and Eritrea because of their recently-signed peace accord to end their two-year old border war. [Reuters, Dec 29, 2000]

Partial list of Oromo students of Finfinne University Detained by TPLF

TPLF's All Out War On the Oromo People - The barbaric, inhuman and racist action taken on Oromo students of Finfinne University is another dimension of the planned war on the Oromo people. [OLF, Press Release, Dec 28, 2000]

OLF claims victories in Moiale - The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) said it had killed a government commander in Moiale District on 20 December. [IRIN, Dec 28, 2000]

DJIBOUTI: Security forces arrest over 5,000 "illegal immigrants" - Interior Minister Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil announced on state television last Saturday that "more than 5,000 illegal aliens" had been arrested in a massive identity check and search operation carried out jointly by the army, the paramilitary Gendarmerie Nationale and the police in Djibouti-town. [IRIN Dec 26, 2000]

Update on TPLF's terror against Oromo university students - The Voice of America Amharic and Afaan Oromo broadcasts of December 26 have reports on TPLF's terror against Oromo university students. The students' claim that more than 50 of their friends have been rounded up has not been disputed by the government. The president of student union at the university , not an Oromo himself, has condemned the persecution of students simply because of their names and national origin. Meanwhile, the TPLF security forces have charged 18 students of leading "the rebellion" and "causing damage to property." Click HERE to listen to the VOA reports, which begin at about 10 minutes and 53 minutes into the program in Amharic and Afaan Oromo, respectively.

Breaking News: The government of Ethiopia is terrorizing Oromo University students - Up to 50 students have 'disappeared' since December 22, 2000 - [Addis Ababa University Students Press Release, Dec 23, 2000]

Somali militia leader retakes town - There has been fierce fighting near a town north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after it was briefly taken by forces loyal to the newly-established government. [BBC, Dec 19, 2000]

World Bank loan under scrutiny - [T]he main armed Ethiopian opposition groups, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), has issued a statement branding the loan as "rewarding tyranny". [IRIN, Dec 18, 2000]

[Kenyan] Government rules out Ethiopian involvement in northeastern clashes - The government yesterday ruled out external aggression in the ongoing clashes in Isiolo, Wajir and Mandera districts that have claimed hundreds of people. [BBC Monitoring Service , Dec 18, 2000]

Oromo Action Group protests World Bank loan to Ethiopian government - We call on the World Bank to refrain from directly awarding any financial and technical support to the government of Ethiopia. [OAG letter to World Bank president, Dec 15, 2000]

Two journalists flee the country citing harassment by security agents - The chief editor of one of the oldest newspapers in the history of Ethiopia's free press, has fled the country. [BBC Monitoring Service - Dec 15, 2000]

OLF says peace agreement "a positive step" - "We feel this is a good step, but we would like the Ethiopian government to also look at the internal situation," OLF spokesman Lencho Bati told IRIN. [IRIN, Dec 14, 2000]

Ethiopia's rebels jump on the peace wagon - "The peace agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea can be a good lead to address the chronic political problems of Ethiopia," the OLF said in a statement from Washington DC. [Independent Online, Dec 14, 2000]

Ethiopia rebels call for national peace talks - Ethiopia"s rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) appealed on Thursday for a national dialogue to build on Ethiopia"s peace deal with Eritrea and seek a comprehensive peace in the country and region. [Reuters, Dec 14, 2000]

Oromo rebels say over 40 Ethiopian troops killed - The statement said the Ethiopian troops were backed up by helicopters and heavy artillery. OLF forces destroyed an army lorry together with a load of antiaircraft weapons. [BBC Monitoring Service , Dec 14, 2000]

Eritreans sceptical of agreement - News of the signing of the peace agreement with Ethiopia was conveyed in Eritrea over the state radio but there was no visible reaction in Asmara to the news. [BBC, Dec 12, 2000]

Full Text of Agreement Between Eritrea and Ethiopia to be [signed] in Algiers on 12 Dec 2000 - The parties shall permanently terminate hostilities between themselves ... The parties shall respect and fully implement the provisions of the Agreement.

Done Peace Deal For Ethiopia, Eritrea - Ethiopia and Eritrea formally ended their two-year war on Tuesday, signing a peace agreement that halts a bloody conflict between two impoverished nations over a barren patch of land. [CBS, Dec 12, 2000]

Ethiopia And Eritrea Sign Peace Agreement - Ethiopia and Eritrea formally ended their two-year border war Tuesday with the signing of an internationally brokered peace agreement. [Reuters, Dec 12, 2000]

Horn peace deal signed - Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed a peace agreement ending a bloody border conflict lasting more that two years and claiming tens of thousands of lives. [BBC, Dec 12, 2000]

Analysis: Ethiopian System of Domination and Consequences - Just as Haile Selassie's regime used modernization as a code word for consolidation of Menelik's empire, and the Dergue regime tried to use Marxism-Leninism to maintain Abyssinian domination, the TPLF regime found democratisation to have a useful currency as a code word for its agenda of domination. [Abiyu Geleta, Representative of OLF Foreign Affairs Department]

Ethiopia Rules Out Normalisation of Relations With Eritrea - Meles stated that an article on normalisation of relations was left out of the agreement at the request of his government. "It is normal to include such an article on signing peace treaties," he said. [PANA, Dec 9, 2000]

Stop Rewarding Tyranny: Letter from Oromo Community of Minnesota to the World Bank - We are saddened that Meles Zenawi is [not only] escaping responsibility for his criminal role in sending thousands of Oromo youth to their death against their will [but is also being rewarding rewarded lavishly by the World Bank].

Ethnic Clashes Brew Diplomatic Row Between Kenya And Ethiopia - A diplomatic row is simmering between Kenya and neighbouring Ethiopia following last week's massacre of 12 Kenyans. Kenya's minister in the office of the president said Ethiopia's involvement in the killings could not be ruled out. Kenyan administrator in charge of the North Eastern frontier province also accused Ethiopian militiamen of involvement in the attack. [PANA, Dec 8, 2000]

"Armed insurgents" attack police station, free prisoners in west - Reports coming in say that Gida Kiremu police station in Horo Gudru District of eastern Welega Zone [western Oromia], has been raided by insurgents. [BBC Monitoring Service, Dec 8, 2000]

Rewarding Tyranny: World Bank Style - Days after [it was announced that] Ethiopia and Eritrea were to formally end their conflict, the World Bank lavished $400 million on the regime in Addis Ababa. It is strange why the World Bank was so quick to appease a dictator who just oversaw the death of over 100,000 of its subjects for a patch of barren land. [OLF Press Release, Dec 7, 2000]

World Bank approves $400 million in loans for Ethiopia - The World Bank said on Wednesday it has approved two loans worth $400 million for Ethiopia to help the East African nation with its post-war recovery program. [Reuters, Dec 6, 2000]

Another Anti OLF, Anti Oromo Military and Political Campaign of TPLF - The TPLF Executive Committee, in this emergency meeting, discussed in detail on the development of OLF’s activities and the general political unrest brewing up in Oromia and reaffirmed that the OLF and the Oromo people are the real threats to their power. [OLF, Dec 3, 2000]

Government blamed over attack - Leaders from Wajir have accused the government of failing to protect residents from attacks by Ethiopian militiamen. They demanded that the government cuts diplomatic links with Ethiopia to show its displeasure at the frequent attacks on innocent civilians. [Daily Nation, Dec 6, 2000]

Over 25,000 Kenyans Flee Clash-Torn Border Area - Over 25,000 people have fled the Wajir area of northern Kenya as fears of further attacks from Ethiopian militiamen mounted Monday, The People Daily newspaper reported Tuesday. [PANA, Dec 5, 2000]

Eritrea: 'Final deal' with Ethiopia - The government of Eritrea says it has agreed with Ethiopia on a final peace treaty to end their two-year border war. [BBC, Dec 4, 2000]

THE COST OF CORRUPTION: How to play the aid game - After three years of drought, humanitarian aid organisations have come to the rescue of the famine-stricken Ogaden in southeast Ethiopia. But this disaster has little to do with nature. Rather, the famine has been cynically staged with the aim of attracting maximum international aid and capturing votes. [Le Monde Diplomatique, November 2000]

Ethiopia, Eritrea Put Formal End to War - Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed to a final peace pact, bringing a formal close to a border war on the Horn of Africa that ended militarily in June after claiming tens of thousands of lives. [Washington Post, Dec 3, 2000]

Human Rights Abuses in Ethiopia - OSG has now reported 2,592 extra-judicial killings and 838 disappearances of civilians suspected of supporting groups opposing the government. Most of these have been Oromo people. Scores of thousands of civilians have been imprisoned. Torture and rape of prisoners is commonplace. [Oromia Support Group, Summary Press Release, November 2000, No. 32]

TPLF Ghost Concentration Camps Exposed - Fiseha  Haile Mariam Tedla, the ex-security chief who recently defected to Eritrea had a lot to say about the several underground concentration camps the TPLF government maintains throughout the country, and the rampant nepotism, corruption and embezzlement of funds within the TPLF rank. [OIN, Dec 1, 2000]