Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. The Gumuz have traditionally been grouped with other Nilotic peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the collective name Shanqella (Pankhurst 1977). The Gumuz speak the Gumuz language, which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family (Bender 1979). By foregoing action to investigate crimes and ensure accountability, the signed agreement has also neglected the issue of justicea foundation of sustainable peace. 1986. Concerning religion, 44.98% of the population were Muslim, 33.3% were Orthodox Christians, 13.53% were Protestant, and 7.09% practiced traditional beliefs. Eastern Africa: Millions displaced, amid growing hunger, 'unprecedented It was the latest of several bloody outbursts over the past year in the western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, along the border with Sudan, where ethnic tensions are running high. Benshangul/Gumuz Region/ - Ethiopia Peace Observatory By drawing a bad lesson, other groups may also end up emulating similar measures. Egypt's population of 109 million is projected to grow significantly in decades, further straining the demand for water in the region. Ethiopian army 'kills militants' behind village massacre - DW Thousands have been killed and buried in mass graves, forced out of their homes, and properties looted and set ablaze. In 2019, the Metekel conflict began. Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati said in a statement April 18 that Cairo submitted15 different proposals for the filling and operation of the GERD over the past years, so as to meet the Ethiopian demands without causing any damage to Egypt and Sudan. The stories the refugees are bringing they are fleeing attacks from their opponents, Baloch said. [7] According to the 1994 census 44.1% of inhabitants were Muslim, 34.8% Orthodox Christians, 13.1% followers of traditional religions and 5.8% Protestants. There have been reports that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces took measure on up to 500 youths reportedly coming from Sudan with training and armament. Turmoil blocks aid as communal conflict rages in gold-seamed Metekel Zone, located in Benishangul Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, is home to many ethnic groups, such as the Gumuz, the Amharas and the Shinashas. With widespread instability and difficulty reaching IDPs, victims of violence are out of arms reach from humanitarian assistancewhether from the regional government or from national and international non-governmental organizations. The access situation in Benishangul-Gumuz and parts of western Oromia has evolved since OCHA's map from late January - some improvements but still large areas "hard-to-reach" due to the security situation & related restrictions. I think Marx has correctly identified the weakness of this article. Even heavily guarded transport vehicles traveling to the GERD site, escorted by troops of armed personnel, are not safe from militia attacks. In the absence of justice, peace cannot prevail. The militias want to protect the Gumuzs 30-year rule of the region. But a day later, armed men attacked a village, leaving at least 100 people dead, according to human rights groups. Bashanga, das Strafrecht der Baga-Gumuz. In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 460,459 of which 233,013 were men and 227,446 were women. Finds attributing them to the Berta date from the 17th to 20th centuries and are mainly located on mountains, hills and in rocky areas that are easy to defend. However, Ethiopia Insight will correct clear factual errors. In the end, the violence in western Ethiopia is a confluence of local, regional, national and, possibly, foreign interests. Comparative Komuz grammar. The five largest ethnic groups in Benishangul-Gumuz were the Berta (27%), Gumuz (23%), Amhara (22%), Oromo (13%) and Shinasha (7%). This is a good article. The reconciliatory act has also aggrieved those who have suffered in the process of the conflict and who have been waiting for justice. The most obscure of Ethiopia's regions, practically never visited by tourists, is Benishangul-Gumuz, which runs for about 2,000km along the Sudanese border to the east of Amhara, but is on average no more than 200km. The question of Eritrean troops is extremely sensitive, so we dont get the clear answer about the whereabouts or magnitude of the Eritrean troops, he said. Read more: Ethiopia's new party is welcome news, but faces big hurdles. Main photo: PM Abiy Ahmed and Benishangul Gumuz regions president Ashadli Hassan at a public conference in Benishangul on peace and security situation in Metekel; 22 December 2020; Office of the Prime Minister. It criticised Sudan's 1 May claim of sovereignty over Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region, where the dam is being constructed. Benishangul-Gumuz | Ethiopia About Ethiopia - EthioVisit.com The other communities are not well represented in the local leadership framework. The Gumuz also hunt wild animals, such as duikers and warthogs, and gather honey, wild fruits, roots and seeds. Lauren Blanchard on Twitter: "The access situation in Benishangul-Gumuz [4] On 28 July 2009, the Regional Rural Roads Authority reported that over the previous year almost 600 of the 800 kilometers of local all-weather roads had been upgraded at a cost of 11.5 million birr, and an additional 447 kilometers of roads constructed. . PDF Challenges and Boons of Refugee on the Host Communities - ResearchGate The parliamentary defense committee affirms the Egyptians right to resort to all means so as to preserve their rights, and that all options are available in countering the Ethiopian intransigence.. Hence, the regional and the federal government should collaboratively work to investigate the situation and bring the perpetrators to account. Guba is the closest district to Sudan. Sudans recent claim to Metekkel and particularly to Guba district has shocked the region. Benishangul - ethiodemographyandhealth.org The massacre in Benishangul-Gumuz region, along the border with Sudan, is the latest challenge to the regime of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 promising to unite Ethiopia but has struggled to contain a growing wave of ethnic violence. At least 80 people were killed on Tuesday when unidentified gunmen stormed through a village in western Ethiopia in the latest of a series of ethnically driven massacres in the area, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and witnesses said on Wednesday. Separately, a European Union envoy warned the crisis in Tigray appears out of control, after visiting Ethiopia on behalf of the bloc. [18] In 1898, Asosa became the political and economic capital. Why Ethiopia's new leader could be a game changer. The Ethiopian Prime Minister called out his neighbors for fueling the recent round of violence in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is located. In a statement on 1 May, the government of Sudan claimed Benishangul-Gumuz as potentially its territorya provocation which the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly condemned. Egypt has long been called the "gift of the Nile" as it has historically depended on the river for survival. While the world is focusing on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia caused by the war between the federal government and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, brutal repetitive attacks have taken place in the Metekkel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz state in western Ethiopia. Many of those who are still in the region are not getting humanitarian aid. 1234 Sudan Streat Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Since 2019, a cross-border collaboration programme has been implementing activities aimed to develop and enhance income-generating opportunities in the border area of Benishangul-Gumuz Region (Ethiopia) and Blue Nile State (Sudan), as a means of strengthening the population's resilience to instability and displacement and to improve overall living conditions. Sudan: Blue Nile State Profile (Updated March 2022) - Sudan The attacks have been aggravated by recent land grabs by Amhara and other non-indigenous investors who want to control the zones agricultural and mining sectors. UNHCR, COR and partners are also responding to their needs. info@moh.gov.et. Days later, the national army regained control of the town, but the event laid bare a deteriorated security apparatus, leaving many civilians with the impression that they have little hope for proper protection. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. But the region is also home to minority Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans and Agaws a source of escalating tension. On Dec. 22, Mr. Abiy took time out from the campaign in Tigray to visit Benishangul-Gumuz and calm tensions in the area. Rocket fire from Gaza after Palestinian hunger striker dies, At 75, Israeli society faces sharpening divisions, 75 years after the Nakba, Palestinians still long for return, Former Sudan advisor to US government Cameron Hudson says US sanctions on Sudan's rival generals could have averted conflict. On Wednesday, Ethiopia said its military had killed three senior members of Tigrays former ruling party, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, including Seyoum Mesfin, a former foreign minister of Ethiopia. The Blue Nile region is situated in the south-eastern part of Sudan, bordering Ethiopia and South Sudan. Over 10,000 militia members were recruited and received government-sponsored military training in all weredas of the Metekel Zone. Ethiopia: Joint situation assessment mission to Benishangul-Gumuz It has been over six months since more than 207 people were massacred in a single day on 24 December 2020 in Bakuji, a small kebele in Bullen Wereda. Abiy, the winner of the Nobel 2019 Peace Prize, declared victory after federal forces entered the regional capital of Mekelle in late November, though the TPLF pledged to fight on and clashes have persisted in the region, hampering efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance. In other words, the upcoming election will be conducted in 46 regional constituencies, and will not take place in 53 constituencies due to security reasons. The dam is in Guba, one of the six districts in Metekkel. TV host Ahmed Moussa, who is close to security quarters in Egypt, broadcast on Sada el-Balad channel on April 25 video segments of Ethiopians chanting slogans against their prime minister and tearing up his photo. Though a transit road has been built and commercial farms established in the lower basin the Gumuz people were seen in 2018 as politically "peripheral" in regard to the Ethiopian highlands that hold the power in the country. What are the policies of neigbouring states toward the BSG region? Negotiations over an agreement between the three nations over the filling of the dam have stalled recently. For the umpteenth time, we call on the federal and regional authorities to scale up security in Metekel, he said, referring to the district of Benishangul-Gumuz where the killings took place. Still, the killings should have been condemned in the strongest terms possible, and the agreement should have included an attempt to do so. The region shares a border on the west with Sudan and is also the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ahmad, Abdussamad H. 1995. 1994. 1980. Unseth, Peter. 2023 Al-Monitor, LLC. 03 Untangling Ethiopia and Sudan's shared cross-border issues By the middle of the century, the wawi, the descendants of Arabs and Berta, had become the new ruling class. High-ranking officials including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the area and discussed with representatives of the people in December 2020. Bambasi has a longitude and latitude of 945N 3444E with an elevation of 1668 meters above sea level. Since its establishment under the 1995 constitution, questions about who has rights in the region have been contested. I Preniloti: unarcaica provincia culturale in Africa. Ethiopia-Sudan border tensions must be de-escalated to Over 80 killed in attack in Ethiopian border region with Sudan - state They fired their guns and used swords to attack anyone they came across women, children, elderly people.. Isnt your residence enough for identity and language service purposes? But attacks and tensions remain high. What's causing the violence in western Ethiopia - The Conversation The regional government announced the signing of an agreement with the militia group on 18 May in Gilgel Beles town. Like other regions in Ethiopia, Benishangul-Gumuz is subdivided into administrative zones. Klausberger, Friedrich. The area comprising Benishangul-Gumuz formally became part of Ethiopia under the terms of a Nile-focused 1902 treaty signed by Emperor Menelik II with Great Britain, which ruled Sudan. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. UNHCR is working to install basic. Regardless, some efforts were tried and they all failed. The hazardous intersection of thrice-rescheduled elections, the issue of a second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and emerging conflicts with regional neighbors make the countrys future increasingly unpredictable. Violence in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region is separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopias northern Tigray region, which has sent more than 61,000 Ethiopians into Sudans provinces of al-Qadarif and Kassala since fighting erupted in November. But if the ethnic federal framework is altered by the Prosperity Party, that would affect the interests of the majority Gumuz community profoundly. Assosa Zone makes less than half of constituencies, which does not guarantee the establishment of a regional government. [13], According to Negasso Gidada, Oromo penetration into the region began in the mid-18th century. The Amhara claim should be handled through constitutional means; not by force. The name of the region comes from two peoples Berta (also called Benishangul) and Gumuz. "Folks have never actually went to war just because of water. Despite this fact, the regional government immediately incorporated the strategy of civilian defense as part of conflict prevention and peace-building. [17], In the first quarter of the 19th century, Arab traders arrived from Sennar, which was occupied by Ottoman Egypt from 1821. Benishangul-Gumuz is also home to the government's prestige $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. All the cooking and brewing is carried out in earthen pots, which are made by women. As of 2007, there were around 159,418 Gumuz in Ethiopia. Analysts say the campaign in Tigray has hampered Mr. Abiys ability to stem clashes like the recent one in Benishangul-Gumuz, because it has forced him to divert soldiers from across Ethiopia to Tigray. They encouraged attacks on non-Gumuz inhabitants who they felt would gain the upper hand in the administration of the Metekkel zone if the current federal arrangement were to be altered. The Gumuz have traditionally been grouped with other Nilotic peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the collective name Shanqella (Pankhurst 1977). The Bega (Gumuz) of Wellega: Agriculture and subsistence. On 21 May, the National Election Board of Ethiopia confirmed that the election, which will take place on 21 June, will not take place in both Metekel and Kamashi zones, indicating that registration of voters did not occur due to security reasons. In the absence of any official Egyptian comment on the developments in Benishangul-Gumuz and the Ethiopian accusations, Egyptian media outlets lashed out at Addis Ababa and backed the rebellion in the region. The region has 20 weredas and two Special Weredas making three Zones of the region. James, Wendy. The committees head, Abdallah Hamo, said that the committees investigation found that Sudan and Egypt support violence in the region, and that the armed groups received training and illegal weapons at the border with Sudan. To do so, its necessary to assess the success and failure of the previous strategies attempted by the command post in an effort to end fighting. The incumbent parliament has 99 seats. As such, one could go so far as to argue that even bothering to conduct an election in Assosa while postponing elections in Metekel and Kamashi is effectively pointless. These regions served as slave-hunting grounds since Aksumite times, and their Nilosaharan-speaking inhabitants were pejoratively called Shanqella (anqlla, also Shanqila, Shankella) by the highland Ethiopians. Severe climate shocks Globally, floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, severely. The threat of famine is very real in Somalia and South Sudan and urgent action is needed now to avoid a catastrophe, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday. The growth in needs here mirrors what we see happening around the globeand we implore the world not to turn its back on this region and, in particular, the extremely vulnerable communities of refugees who have limited access to livelihoods and rely on WFP to survive.. The growth in refugee numbers has not been matched by a growth in resources, forcing WFP to make difficult decisions about who receives food assistance and who goes without. Sorghum is used for cooking porridge (nga) and brewing beer (kea). This indicated an inability of the government to provide security and maintain law and order in the region. Millions of displaced families across eastern Africa will fall deeper into hunger as food rations dwindle due to humanitarian resources being stretched to the limit as the world grapples with a toxic cocktail of conflict, climate shocks, and COVID-19, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday. [14], Little is known about its history before the 19th century. The Indigenous World 2023: Ethiopia - Academia.edu Unfortunately, in the last two years, the people in Metekel are enduring terrible shortages, and famine looms ahead due to a manmade crisis. 21 The dam, Africa's largest, began generating electricity in February 2022, after 11 years of construction work. [22], Over 60% of this region is covered with forest, including bamboo, eucalyptus and rubber trees, incense and gum forests as well as the indigenous species. Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -, Eastern Africa: Millions displaced, amid growing hunger, unprecedented needs, FAO ramps up support to Sudan farmers as starvation threat grows in East Africa, Hunger still rising across East Africa, says new UN-backed report, Battle not yet over against locust invasions in East Africa and Yemen, Humanitarians urge action to avert famine in Somalia and South Sudan, Sub-Saharan Africa under threat from multiple humanitarian crises. Built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region, just 30 km from the border with Sudan, the GERD is nearing completion, with the Ethiopian government announcing in March 2023 that 90 per cent of the dam was finalized. The Gumuz (also spelled Gumaz and Gumz) are an ethnic group speaking a Nilo-Saharan language inhabiting the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in western Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region in Sudan. The spiraling situation in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region Killings were committed by representatives of different ethnic groups, each seeking revenge for violence suffered. The Gumuz are one of the indigenous groups in Metekkel. In several parts of the Gumuz area, the settlers' economy dominated by 2018. James, Wendy. Cite Ethiopia Insight and link to this page if republished. With the stalled negotiations on the filing and operation of the GERD, discontented youth might be attracted to seek support from either Sudan or Egypt. Time is not on Ethiopias side;it is on the side of Egypt and Sudan.I suspect that they may have hands in almost all conflict areas in the country. Benishangul-Gumuz (Amharic: , romanized:Benangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia bordering Sudan. The number of refugees arriving per month has been steadily reducing and in May only 159 new arrivals were registered in Kassala and Geraref and another 162 new . From Dust to Dollar: Gold mining and trade in the Sudan-Ethiopia Trading in slaves in Bela-Shangul and Gumuz, Ethiopia: border enclaves in history, 1897-1938. Weekly A.I. La Trib dei Gumus. "It will determine the impact of this disruption and the reduction to the volumes of water that goes to Egypt," he said. If you dont influence it now then the circumstances will build so that there are more and more refugees coming.. Dessalegn, Beza. Getting people out of harms way and shielding them from serious protection risks also requires that their food needs are adequately addressed.. Both countries are opposed to the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without negotiation. Gumuz: a dialect survey report. Ethiopias former ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front. Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy, did not respond to questions about the violence. UNHCR says most of the asylum seekers who fled ethnic violence in Benishangul-Gumuz region have been living among Sudanese host communities. As it used to be among the Sudanese Uduk, marriage is through sister exchange. The violence might have ethnic undertones but this is a political conflict at heart. In the absence of effective responses and with such a weak negotiation, popular trust in regional authorities, the command post, and government institutions has been diminished. The sun rises behind the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and its Nile river island of Manial, Nov. 3, 2022. Often the Gumuz' lands were allocated to transnational or domestic investors. Its main inhabitants are the Gumuz, Oromo, Awi, Amhara, and Shinasha communities. The diplomatic dispute with Sudan and Egypt should be solved through dialogue and the dam negotiations should proceed amicably. Egypt is not the only country that depends on the river -- it's shared by 11 African countries. On 2 April, unnamed Gumuz militias claimed control of the administrative center of Sedal Wereda in Kamashi, very close to the construction site of the GERD. Several investors previously engaged in commercial farming where a variety of cash cropslike seasame and groundnutswere produced for export. Gumuz who have had to flee their villages due to targeted violence from communities who cast blame en masse are not getting needed support. Ethiopia has accused both Sudan and Egypt of sponsoring Gumuz militia attacks to jeopardise the construction and filling of the dam. The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Benishangul-Gumuz had a total of 307,820 head of cattle (representing 0.79% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 65,800 sheep (0.38%), 244,570 goats (1.88%), 1,770 mules (1.2%), 37,520 asses (1.5%), 732,270 poultry of all species (2.37%), and 166,130 beehives (3.82%). The number of hungry people in the Sahel and West Africa hasquadrupledover the last three years, currently reaching41 million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday. Topographically, the . Tsega Etefa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. UNHCR, partners rush to aid thousands of refugees in Benishangul Gumuz "Center -Periphery Relations in Ethiopian Empire: the Case of Alessandro Triulzi, "Asosa", in: Siegbert Uhlig (Hrsg.). Survivors and refugees of the Benishangul-Gumuz massacre walk through the displaced persons camp in the city of Chagni, Ethiopia, Dec. 31, 2020. Dessalegn Chanie, an Amhara opposition politician, said there had been signs in recent days that armed men from the Oromo and Gumuz ethnic groups were preparing an attack, particularly in areas where there was little federal security presence. Benishangul-Gumuz conflict - Wikipedia

New Construction Homes In Dallas, Tx Under $300k, Kylestrome Hotel Ayr Lunch Menu, Articles B

benishangul gumuz sudan Leave a Comment