European Council head Charles Michel will attend the Berlin conference on Libyan regulation set to take place on January 19, the European Council's press service informed on Tuesday. [ Ссылка ] #eudebates #eudebate #Borrell #Urpilainen #Africa
Michel’s weekly agenda informs that he will give an address in Berlin at 14:00 local time (16:00 Moscow time).
The international conference on Libya will take place on January 19 in Berlin. The German government’s press service informed on Tuesday that Russia, the US, China, the UK, Italy, France, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of the Congo, along with representatives of the UN, the EU, the African Union and the Arab League are set to take part in the conference.
During a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that in order to make the conference fruitful, its participants must be genuinely interested in facilitating Libyan regulation, pre-approving all its decisions with the Libyan parties.
At midnight on January 12, a ceasefire proposed by Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan entered into force in Libya as part of a larger initiative to achieve peace in the country. The ceasefire’s objective is to stop hostilities between the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) sitting in Tripoli. On Monday, representatives of the parties to the conflict arrived in Moscow for talks, after which GNA envoys signed a ceasefire agreement.
Haftar took a pause to study the agreement. However, later he left Moscow without putting his signature under the document, Arab media outlets reported. In the early hours of January 14, armed clashes re-erupted in the south of Tripoli — the target of a decisive offensive declared by Haftar in December. The LNA issued a statement declaring "readiness and determination to win."
[ Ссылка ] #eudebates
The Ethiopian government's armed conflict in semi-autonomous Tigray threatens the future of federalism in the country. With violence spilling into Eritrea, there's a potential for a security vacuum in the Horn of Africa. [ Ссылка ] #eudebates #Africa #Ethiopia #war #Tigray #Conflict
Deadly fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and the regional government of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has already claimed hundreds of military and civilian lives, according to the scarce reports coming from the region.
Internationally, there are fears that the conflict, which is quickly escalating into a civil war, will threaten regional security in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military operation against the TPLF on November 4, accusing the Tigray militia of attacking a government military base.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia's defense minister, Dr Kenna Yadeta, remained bullish about the government's ability to quickly end the violence.
"All the TPLF's actions testify to their high level of frustration.They have no more strength, capability and time to intensify wars in the region. The Tigray junta has only a very short time left to be captured," according to Kenna Yadeta, who was appointed defense minister in August 2020 as part of a major — and controversial — cabinet reshuffle by Ahmed.
"We can achieve a crushing victory any day from now," Yadeta told DW.
Regional stability under threat
The victory may come at a severe cost to stability in the Horn of Africa, though.
To win it, there is a danger that the federal government's focus on Tigray could weaken its involvement in backing the government in Ethiopia's western neighbor, Somalia, against al-Shabab militants.
Ethiopia has already withdrawn about 600 soldiers from Somalia's western border. However they were not part of the African Union's Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which Ethiopia also supports.
"Now, this is going to severely affect the efforts of the African Union mission that's currently involved in stabilizing Somalia and ensuring there is a functional government, and organize the elections in the next few months,” said Hassan Khannenje of the Nairobi-based think-tank the Horn Institute.
The huge numbers of refugees likely to cross the borders of an already volatile region and the likely proliferation of light weapons and small arms could lead to a "catastrophe," according to Khannenje.
"If Ethiopia goes, then there goes the Horn of Africa region. And that's something they should worry everybody, both regionally and internationally," Khannenje told DW.
