On Sunday 7 May 2017, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) helicopter reportedly attacked an Afar fishing boat, killing one person instantly while injuring nine others. According to the Eritrean Afar State in Exile (EASE), a second person succumbed to his injuries last weekend, bringing the total death count to two. The eight remaining victims are reportedly being treated at Duhtum Hospital in Assab.
In this week’s news highlights, new possible negotiations on the UK-France border controls in Calais and the Eritrean community protested against the Eritrean government meetings in Frankfurt. The International Criminal Court announced the start of investigations on crimes against migrants in Libya. In the Horn of Africa, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demands more access to Ethiopia to investigate on the deaths during protests; furthermore, these are the issues the London-Somalia Conference 2017 should address according to the Institute for Security Studies.
Less than one month after the outbreak of protests that led to the ban of the annual Eritrean youth party congress in the Netherlands, the Eritrean community is again protesting the Eritrean regime. The German section of PFDJ organised a series of seminars which will be held in May in several German cities: Mannheim, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Köln and Kassel. On the 7th of May the seminar was held in Frankfurt. Specifically, it was the Hizbawi Mekete Seminar – the campaign of “national rebuff” of the International Community’s accuses – run by Eritrean government through the diaspora groups.