Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The Situation Reports can be found here. To receive the situation report in your e-mail, click here. You can unsubscribe at any moment through the link at the bottom of each e-mail.
Situation in Sudan (per 12 August)
- Severe flooding in Kassala, eastern Sudan, has forced families already displaced by civil war to relocate again. Floodwaters hit a school complex where they were sheltering, damaging their belongings and submerging vehicles.
- The UNHCR provided emergency tents and relocated at least 200 families, warning of the massive needs for water, hygiene, and sanitation as more rain is expected in the coming days.
- The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly shelled the Omdurman Maternity Hospital on Friday causing significant structural damage, though no casualties were reported, and patients and staff were safely relocated.
- The attack occurred just one day after the health facility had reopened following repairs from previous damage, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health.
- Renewed violence in Khartoum has caused a sharp increase in consumer goods prices. Residents from various neighbourhoods in Khartoum and Omdurman reported unprecedented price hikes for basic commodities like sugar, flour, and meat, attributing the surge to recent battles in the area.
- Sudanese refugees have been travelling on foot from a forest area in the Amhara region for four days and an additional few days’ walk is ahead of them. The refugees are expected to reach the Sudanese border within three days and are calling for evacuation to a safer country.
- The government of Gedaref State has agreed with the UNHCR to set up three camps for Sudanese refugees returning from Ethiopia in Galabat city.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 12 August)
- The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has declined the request of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to be reinstated with its pre-war legal status and instead offered recognition as a new political party under specific conditions.
- NEBE states that it had based its decision on the newly amended Party Registration and Ethics Reform law under which there is no legal basis for reinstating TPLF’s pre-war status.
- The decision of NEBE has been rejected by Debretsion Gebremichael, chair of TPLF, who is refusing his party to be registered as a new one.
- Getachew Reda, president of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration, will not participate in the announced congress of the TPLF, claiming that it lacks legitimacy and democratic nature as it is being organised without proper process.
- “Attending the event would endanger both the party and the people of Tigray,” said Getachew. He further disagreed with the party’s leadership seeking the pre-war legal recognition status, claiming these are “illegal movements by a group that does not represent the TPLF”.
- Ethiopia signed a new deal to build a four-runway airport that would become Africa’s biggest airport, aiming to transport 100 million passengers a year, confirmed Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. Construction by the Dubai-based firm Sidara should be finished in 2029.
- 1,500 woredas across Ethiopia are affected by various outbreaks of infectious diseases including malaria, measles, cholera, and dengue with 4.26 million cases reported since January.
- The slow detection and outbreak investigation, security problems, as well as imprecise reporting are hampering the response efforts.
- The cost of essential goods such as oil, sugar, and vegetables, have risen significantly in Ethiopia as the country recently shifted towards the market-based exchange rate system. The new system change caused the Ethiopian Birr to fall against the US dollar which immediately impacted the cost of living.
Situation in Kenya (per 12 August)
- Kenyan police fired tear gas against protesters who continued participating in rallies against President William Ruto on Thursday. Ruto’s newly appointed cabinet nominees were sworn in to their function on the same day.
- Kenyan journalists covering the nation-wide protests have been threatened, harassed, arrested, and shot at by rubber bullets and tear gas over the past weeks, said Reporters Without Borders, calling for an immediate stop of these practices by the Kenyan police forces.
Regional Situation (per 12 August)
- South Sudanese security forces and civil servants have not been paid their salaries for months as the country’s economy has been plummeting due to the drop in oil revenues. A crucial oil pipeline ruptured in February, deepening the problems in the economy and the gap in salary payments.
- Somalia’s cabinet approved to change the indirect election system of the country to universal suffrage (direct voting). Under the previous system lawmakers voted for the president, while clan leaders and elders elected lawmakers. The parliament still needs to confirm the bill.
- “(This) will give the citizens the power to vote and elect for the first time after 55 years. It is a historic day”, said Farhan Jimale, spokesperson for the Somali government.
International Situation (per 12 August)
- Delegates of the Sudan’s Sovereign Council travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to consult the US representatives on the agenda for announced negotiation talks in Geneva.
- The Sudanese delegation reportedly left without reaching an agreement on whether the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) or Sudan’s government representatives will participate in the Geneva talks.
- Somali and Ethiopian delegations will meet for a mediation talk in Ankara, Turkey, next week, to discuss their disagreement over Ethiopia’s access to the sea and the controversial Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
- Osman Saleh, Eritrean Foreign Minister, met with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi last week delivering a message on behalf of Eritrean President Isayas Afwerki and discussing bilateral ties and regional issues.
Links of interest
Floods displace thousands of families already in refugee camps in Sudan
RSF shell newly reopened Omdurman Maternity Hospital
Prices soar in Khartoum state amid resurging violence
في اليوم الرابع لرحلة العودة إلى السودان، اللاجئون السودانيون في اثيوبيا: العالم أدار لنا ظهره
News: Electoral Board once again rejects TPLF reinstatement, registers it under special condition
Election Board reinstates TPLF under ‘special circumstances’
News: Getachew Reda boycotts upcoming TPLF congress as military leaders warn against deepening rift
Ethiopian Airlines signs deal for design of ‘biggest airport in Africa’
Malaria, malnutrition drive deadly health crises in 1,400 woredas
News Analysis: Price hikes amid stringent gov’t measures left consumers in Addis Abeba anxious, uncertain
Impact of Ethiopia’s Currency Devaluation on Tigray
Kenyan police fire tear gas at protesters as new cabinet is sworn in
Kenya: RSF calls for accountability as police violently target journalists
South Sudan’s oil revenue drops, Security Forces unpaid for months
Somalia’s cabinet approves bill for universal suffrage
Sudanese consultations with US on peace talks conclude without agreement, Sudan official says
Turkey says Somalia, Ethiopia to resume talks on port deal
X: Yemane G. Meskel
Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.