News Highlights: Ethiopian PM visits Eritrea, Greece prepares for more refugees amid Turkey tensions, Refugees from the Horn on frontlines in Yemen

In this week’s News Highlights: Visit of Ethiopian PM in Eritrea; Eritrean president travels to Sudan; Amnesty international concerned about political detainees in Ethiopia; Ethiopian and Eritrean government accused of plotting against Tigray political party; Lack of funding for COVID-19 response in Ethiopia; Refugees from East Africa recruited to work in military camps in Yemen; Teenage pregnancies on the rise amid pandemic in Kenya; IOM response to Euronews investigation of returns; Greece prepares for higher number of refugees amid Turkey tension; Conference calls for better prosecution of human traffickers; Number of refugees in French informal camp increases; Protest of Sudanese asylum seekers in the Netherlands; COVID-19 affects mixed migration routes in North Africa; And health center for refugees and migrants re-opened.

Hachalu Hundessa: Ethiopia’s ghost of the past, the present and the future

On June 29th prominent Oromo singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa was murdered by gunmen in the capital of Ethiopia. Hachalu Hundessa’s life, death and the events following his death are deeply tied to the path Ethiopia is taking as a nation. The remnants of the former dictatorial regime, ethnic tensions, in/out group politics, regional versus national power and the power and abuse of state actors delineate the character and struggle of politics in Africa’s second most populous country. When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was elected in 2018 he opened up the political system towards more inclusion for ethnic groups and regional authorities. Powerful political opponents counter these new narratives of inclusiveness with their own narratives of ethnic/regional autonomy and self-rule. The response of Abiy Ahmed’s government after Hachalu Hundessa’s death are illustrative of botched responses that undermine Ahmed’s path towards an inclusive government.

News highlights: Hitsats camp shutdown announced in Ethiopia, Attempt to resuscitate EU-Turkey deal, UNHCR bolsters COVID-19 measures

In this week’s news highlights: Hitsats refugee camp closure in the Tigray region of Ethiopia; UN cancels meeting on Eritrea due to Coronavirus; EU-funded road project in Eritrea allegedly uses slave labour; Natasja Bijl’s novel tells the story of an Eritrean refugee; Eritrean persecution of Catholics reinvigorated; the collective trauma of Eritrea’s youth; Somali and Kenyan officials meet to discuss border dispute; EU leaders and Erdogan meet to salvage EU-Turkey deal; UNHCR strengthens COVID-19 measures; Concerns about EU’s new Africa strategy highlighted by aid groups; Greece’s decision to hold migrants on war vessel criticized by HRW; Several EU member states offer to take children in from Greece; Call for better living conditions for asylum seekers in the Netherlands; Suspicions that arms keep pouring into Libya despite embargo; Ramtane Lamamra as possible next UN envoy for Libya; And Sudanese refugees in Niger sentenced for fire in camp.