News & Horn Highlights: Tigray forces withdraw and call for peace, Resolution on rights probe in Ethiopia adopted, 164 people drown off Libya

Dear readers, as the year draws to a close, the News and Horn highlights will take a break. We will return in the second week of January. We wish you happy holidays to those that celebrate, and we express our sincerest hope that 2022 will start with concentrated efforts for peace building and negotiation.

This week news highlights: Tigray forces announce withdrawal in a bid for peace; Reports of bombings in Tigray; UN Human Rights Council adopts resolution to implement human rights probe in Ethiopia; Experts call for renewed international pressure on Ethiopia; Allegations of rape during Sudan protests; Hamdok may resign; Refugees drown in shipwrecks off Libya; UN team was unable to enter restricted Belarus-Poland border zone; Increase in asylum applications by Syrians in Europe; Migrants in Germany important for the labor market says study; Failure of rescue operation may have contributed to channel deaths; Empathy and safe passage for refugees arriving in Britain; Call to protect children on the move; Refugees in UK hotels cannot distance amidst Omicron; and IOM says Female migrants face more challenges reintegrating than men

News Highlights: Borrell frustrated by lack of EU action on Ethiopia, Libya expels asylum seekers, France/UK coordination of rescues fails

In this week news highlights: New joint report on atrocities in Western Tigray; EU top diplomat says Ethiopia is his biggest frustration, as some member states block decisive action; More journalists arrested in Ethiopia; NYT reports on how Abiy planned the war; UNHCR face funding shortfall in Ethiopia; UN Human Rights Council to meet on Ethiopia; Over 800,000 affected by South Sudan floods; Asylum seeker and refugees forcefully expelled from Libya; 78 migrants rescued by Tunisia navy, one person dead; Refugees calling back and forth between UK and France to ask for rescue; Pregnant refugees not been seen by doctors in the UK; Refugees trapped in a freezing forest without aid between Poland and Belarus; EU proposal could see more border closures in EU; Berlin to accept 500 Afghan refugees in 5 years; Report calls for protection of orphans from human trafficking.

News Highlights: Ethiopia ramps up war efforts, Frontex’s role in returns to Libya, International call for vaccine equality in Africa

In this week news highlights: Ethiopian government recaptures ground; The Elders call for ceasefire; Report on spreading of sexual violence beyond Tigray; Arrests of nuns and deacons in Addis; Secondary schools in Ethiopia to close to assist war efforts; Tensions at Sudan/Ethiopia border; Hemedti warns EU and US to support government or face refugee influx; Millions displaced due to heavy floods in South Sudan; Report on Libya detention centres; NGOs find Frontex collaborated in returning migrants to Libya; 32 Somalis returned from Libya through voluntary return mechanism; Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum put in hotels in UK; NGOs urge restoration of human rights and dignity at European border; Austrian authorities arrest 15 suspected smugglers; Refugees facing hunger in Greek camps; Amnesty International accuses Greece of illegally detaining migrants and refugees; 120 refugees transferred to Italy through humanitarian corridor; International academics and leaders call for vaccine equality; and UNHCR calls for greater protection of displaced women and girls.