News Highlights: Eritrean official declared ‘persona non grata’ in Netherlands, tension Horn of Africa mounts, more Sudanese troops deployed

In this week’s news highlights: Horn of Africa tension update; Sudanese officials have deep-rooted collusion with human traffickers, says Sudanese media organisation; Protests in Sudan met with police violence; Ethiopian opposition leader freed after one year; African high level panel focuses on migration; Dutch government declares head of Eritrean embassy office ‘persona non grata’; ECHR accepts appeals from Sudanese people against Italian police for possibily illegal returns; Hungary proposes taxes over NGOs dealing with migration; 1400 people saved in Mediterranean Sea by Italian coast guard, at least 2 die.

Rising tension in Horn of Africa region

In the initial weeks of 2018, the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir announced the closure of the border with Eritrea which was was followed by the deployment of militia forces to the bordering regions. The reason for the border closing has not officially been made clear and Sudan has denied tension between the two countries. This manoeuvre comes just after the declaration of a six-month state of emergency in the Sudanese regions of Kassala and North Kordofan. The official motivation given for the state of emergency  was the Sudanese campaign against the trafficking of human beings, weapons, and drugs and in those border regions.

News Highlights: Eritrea slave labour lawsuit in Canada, Israel crackdown on refugees, Libya slave market video

In this week’s news highlights: the court case against Canadian mining company Nevsun for use of forced labour and mistreatment in Eritrea can move ahead; Eritrean refugees protest in Ethiopia refugee camp; Israel takes plans to deport or imprison Sudanese and Eritrean refugees to the next level; Africa Monitors reports on fate of deported Eritreans; video of Libyan slave markets sparks outrage; and the African Union and European Union prepare for the third AU-EU summit next week.