Somalia Archives - Page 44 of 50

26 Jun 2020

News highlights: IOM’s voluntary return initiative under fire, Eritreans raise alarm over food shortages amid COVID-19 restrictions, EU accused of cover-up amid Croatia migrant abuse

In this week’s news highlights: EU-IOM Joint Initiative fails to support migrants, Euronews reports; Eritrean refugees mistreated in voluntary return programme; Shipwreck off Libyan coast kills several people; Refugees released from detention in Libya; Bangladesh arrests 50 people following migrant murders in Libya; OHCHR to vote on extension mandate of Eritrea Special Rapporteur; Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visits Sudan for 3-day meeting; African governments urged to reopen borders; Over a thousand migrants stranded in Djibouti due to COVID-19; BBC Tigrinya: People in Eritrea are starving; Violence and child malnutrition worsen in South-Sudan; Focus on sexual and gender-based violence against women; Refugee rights violated, says Human Rights Commissioner; EU officials accused of Croatian migrant abuse cover-up; Family reunification obstacles for Eritrean refugees in Germany; Data leak threatens hundreds of asylum seekers in the Netherlands; Greek journalist alienated due to migration investigation; UK questions human rights situation Eritrea; Austria backs Germany’s hardline migration policy; UNHCR statement in World Refugee Day; Resumption of resettlement flights; And Refugee groups call for more attention for COVID-19 in refugee camps.

5 Jun 2020

News highlights: Border skirmish between Ethiopia and Sudan, 30 migrants and refugees murdered in Libya, NGO health workers in Somalia abducted and executed

by Shelly De Groote | posted in: COVID-19, ECRE, Eritrea, Libya, Malta, Netherlands, Somalia | 0

In this week’s news highlights: Somalian NGO health workers abducted and murdered; Border skirmish on Ethiopia-Sudan border; Amnesty International urges Ethiopia to prosecute human rights violations of security forces; TPLF calls for elections; Eritrean organisations write to Abiy Ahmed over refugee policy; Reports of deliberate starvation in Eritrea; Dire situation in Eritrea explained 2 years after the peace agreement; Malta and Libya to set up ‘centres’ countering migration; Dutch foreign affairs minister answers parliamentary questions on Eritrea; European Parliament asks the EU to stop forced labour; Local Greeks protest expansion of migrant camp; Asylum seekers in Greece protest eviction; UNHCR concerned over asylum seekers in Greece; ECRE overview of COVID-19 response in Europe; 30 migrants and refugees murdered in Libya by trafficker’s family; UK’s financial support to Libya under judicial review; UNICEF helps displaced families near Tripoli; And Africa needs solidarity amid economic and health consequences of COVID-19

8 May 2020

COVID-19 and LOCUST-20 lead to unprecedented famine in East Africa

by Shelly De Groote | posted in: COVID-19, Environment, Ethiopia, EU funding, European Union, FAO, Kenya, Locust, Somalia | 0

This month, communities across East Africa, which are already unsteady from the impact of COVID-19, are now also forced to fight against new swarms of locusts. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the locust outbreaks in Ethiopia and Somalia are the worst in 25 years and in Kenya the worst in 75 years. The FAO expects that swarms will rise in June and July at the time of harvest and could cause ‘biblical’ famines. David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that urgent action is needed to avoid a catastrophe. The President of the African Development Bank believes that an unprecedented race against time has begun to urgently halt the progression and potentially destructive impact of COVID-19 and the locust swarms in Africa. The European Commission and the FAO have gathered funds to help in the fight against the growing locust swarms but challenges remain due to COVID-19.