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Saturday, June 11, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Ethiopia children still missing after cross-border raid
Ethiopia children still missing after cross-border raid - AJE News: "Villagers ask who was responsible for attacks that left 208 people dead and many children still missing.
Charles Stratford
Dozens of children are still missing after a cross-border raid on villages in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia by South Sudanese tribesmen.
Attackers from South Sudan's Merle tribe killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted 133 children and stole more than 1,000 cattle last month.
"Many of those who were killed and the children who were taken were trying to escape," one of the surviving villagers, Chawel Chan, told Al Jazeera. "They were running across the fields."
Around 50 of the children have been released after negotiations with the tribesmen by the South Sudanese government but securing the release of the others is proving difficult.
READ MORE: 'I took my wife and child and ran'
The Ethiopian government has already conducted a cross-border military operation to free the remaining children. The government officials said they may conduct further military operations if the abducted children are not released.
Ten-year-old Gache Debol was trying to rescue his younger sister when he was taken. His sister is still missing.
"I thought they were going to kill me," he told Al Jazeera. "I tried to escape a few times but they caught me and they beat me. I thought I would never see my family again."
Attackers in military uniform
Villagers are still asking exactly who was responsible for the attacks, carried out by about 2,000 armed men.
The Merle tribesmen are feared for their cattle raids against other tribes in the area.
But the Ethiopian government said this time the attackers from the tribe were wearing South Sudanese military uniforms and carrying what looked like new AK-47 rifles.
The South Sudanese government has denied any responsibility and is working with Ethiopia to rescue the dozens of children still missing"
'via Blog this'
Charles Stratford
Dozens of children are still missing after a cross-border raid on villages in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia by South Sudanese tribesmen.
Attackers from South Sudan's Merle tribe killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted 133 children and stole more than 1,000 cattle last month.
"Many of those who were killed and the children who were taken were trying to escape," one of the surviving villagers, Chawel Chan, told Al Jazeera. "They were running across the fields."
Around 50 of the children have been released after negotiations with the tribesmen by the South Sudanese government but securing the release of the others is proving difficult.
READ MORE: 'I took my wife and child and ran'
The Ethiopian government has already conducted a cross-border military operation to free the remaining children. The government officials said they may conduct further military operations if the abducted children are not released.
Ten-year-old Gache Debol was trying to rescue his younger sister when he was taken. His sister is still missing.
"I thought they were going to kill me," he told Al Jazeera. "I tried to escape a few times but they caught me and they beat me. I thought I would never see my family again."
Attackers in military uniform
Villagers are still asking exactly who was responsible for the attacks, carried out by about 2,000 armed men.
The Merle tribesmen are feared for their cattle raids against other tribes in the area.
But the Ethiopian government said this time the attackers from the tribe were wearing South Sudanese military uniforms and carrying what looked like new AK-47 rifles.
The South Sudanese government has denied any responsibility and is working with Ethiopia to rescue the dozens of children still missing"
'via Blog this'
Sunday, May 29, 2016
S. Sudan frees some Ethiopian children, 60 more missing lives lost criminals on run
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 28, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – More Ethiopian children who were abducted by a South Sudanese militia group have been recovered and safely returned to their home.
The number of children so far freed from South Sudanese abductors has reached 63.
Their release comes after South Sudan’s deputy defense minister in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiations with the Murle tribesmen.
Tut said efforts to bring back all the kidnapped children would further be strengthened.
“The agreement between Ethiopia and the South Sudanese government to collaborate in resolving the problem peacefully will guarantee the return of the children and looted cattle” he added.
Officials say at least 60 more children are still missing and their release according to sources is being difficult as unidentified demands of abductors have not yet met.
It is feared that abductors could trade the children to other communities with the exchange of cattle.
A military official, who preferred anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Saturday that Ethiopian defense forces will “certainly carryout punitive military operations” should abductors refuse to free the remaining children.
Ethiopian forces are already in South Sudan to rescue the children but have not yet carried out military action, giving ongoing negotiations a chance to peacefully settle problems.
Critics accused Ethiopia’s government of doing little to immediately rescue the children.
“How could a border of country which prides it self as a militarily strong could be so porous to an extent that thousands of foreign armed men invade the nation” Biniyam Daniel, a politician based in Addis Ababa told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
“Where were the Ethiopian security forces, the Air force while they kidnap them and cross the border on foot? Why haven’t they acted in time?” he added.
Last month, an estimated 2,000 attackers from South Sudan’s Murle tribe armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Ethiopia’s western region of Gambela and killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted over 140 children and stole at least over 2,000 cattle.
Gambella region is a shelter for over 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape the conflict that broke out in the young nation in December 2013.
(ST)
May 28, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – More Ethiopian children who were abducted by a South Sudanese militia group have been recovered and safely returned to their home.
- Ethiopian troops carrying some of the recovered children abducted by Murle armed men, 11 May 2016 (Facebook photo)
The number of children so far freed from South Sudanese abductors has reached 63.
Their release comes after South Sudan’s deputy defense minister in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiations with the Murle tribesmen.
Tut said efforts to bring back all the kidnapped children would further be strengthened.
“The agreement between Ethiopia and the South Sudanese government to collaborate in resolving the problem peacefully will guarantee the return of the children and looted cattle” he added.
Officials say at least 60 more children are still missing and their release according to sources is being difficult as unidentified demands of abductors have not yet met.
It is feared that abductors could trade the children to other communities with the exchange of cattle.
A military official, who preferred anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Saturday that Ethiopian defense forces will “certainly carryout punitive military operations” should abductors refuse to free the remaining children.
Ethiopian forces are already in South Sudan to rescue the children but have not yet carried out military action, giving ongoing negotiations a chance to peacefully settle problems.
Critics accused Ethiopia’s government of doing little to immediately rescue the children.
“How could a border of country which prides it self as a militarily strong could be so porous to an extent that thousands of foreign armed men invade the nation” Biniyam Daniel, a politician based in Addis Ababa told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
“Where were the Ethiopian security forces, the Air force while they kidnap them and cross the border on foot? Why haven’t they acted in time?” he added.
Last month, an estimated 2,000 attackers from South Sudan’s Murle tribe armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Ethiopia’s western region of Gambela and killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted over 140 children and stole at least over 2,000 cattle.
Gambella region is a shelter for over 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape the conflict that broke out in the young nation in December 2013.
(ST)
Friday, May 27, 2016
The search for Ethiopia's abducted children held in South Sudan -
"The search for Ethiopia's abducted children held in South Sudan
By Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Gambella
26 May 2016
Four of Nyardhan Girmal's children were kidnapped from their home in Lare village last month in an attack on Ethiopia's Gambella region that left more than 200 people dead.
They were among 149 children abducted in the raid by members of the Murle community who took them across the border to South Sudan, along with livestock they stole.
Ms Nyardhan's youngest, 11-year-old Jany, has recently been rescued, but her other two sons and her daughter are still being held captive.
"I didn't believe that I would see him ever again," she says, feeding him by hand.
"I am really happy to have one of my children back. It is a blessing and it is thanks to the on-going rescue mission.
"I have been worrying day and night about my children, that I might never ever see them again. I am still waiting for the others."
'Locked in hut'
At least 53 children, the youngest being three months old, have so far been rescued in the Ethiopian army's on-going mission inside South Sudan.
They are from the Nuer community which has a history of ethnic clashes with the Murle - often linked to cattle vendettas.
Image caption
Nyamak Oukuch is looking after her nieces and nephews after her sister was killed in the attack
Jany told his mother how he was locked alone inside a hut, surrounded by heavily armed men, and given only milk to drink during his captivity.
Like many other rescued children, he is now at the guest house of the region's president where they are receiving food and medical attention.
"We have established that these children would have been sold or exchanged for heads of cattle inside South Sudan," says Gatluak Tut Khot, Gambella region president.
"But we are not going to rest until we get them all back home," he adds.
Trauma counselling
Outside the guest house a group of women are sitting under a tree singing and clapping.
Image caption
So far 53 children have been freed during the Ethiopian army's mission in South Sudan
In front of them five boys are going round and round in circles dancing to a popular tune sung by the Nuer of Gambella.
Among them is 27-year-old Nyamak Oukuch, with 18-month-old twins on her lap - her niece and nephew.
Two other children are playing by her side - they are also the children of her elder sister who was killed in the attack on 15 April.
"I don't know where the eldest is. He was also taken and is probably with the Murle," she says.
Many of the freed children are severely malnourished and need urgent medical attention.
Image caption
The rescued children and those caring for them are receiving help from the government and UN
Officials from the UN children's agency and government are jointly providing medical help, counselling and basic necessities for the children, their families and caretakers.
"Whenever children undergo hard conditions like this - separated from their families especially violently, and they are staying with complete strangers for something like three or four weeks - they feel completely let down and some of these experiences last for a lifetime," says Mike Charley, a Unicef child protection specialist in Ethiopia.
Cow dung
Lare was one of dozens of villages attacked by the Murle and is about 70km (43 miles) from Gambella town.
A strong smell of cow dung hits you on arrival.
We were told there used to be thousands of cattle in the area but nearly all of them were stolen in the raid; only a few calves and goats now roam about.
There are several houses in the settlement but nearly all are now abandoned.
Some families have come back to rebuild their lives but most have decided to leave.
Image caption
Nyakuich Both lost her husband in the Murle attack and her two children are still missing
At least 22,000 people have fled their homes and residents say the unprecedented brutality of last month's attack has left them fearful.
"I can never return to my home again. My husband was killed that day and my two children taken," says Nyakuich Both.
"I have nothing left. Why should I go back there?"
On her forehead she has tied a strand of grass which she says is a sign of mourning for her husband, children and home.
"I have heard that one of my children was rescued and is now in Gambella town, but I have not seen him, the other is still in South Sudan. I don't think I will ever see him again," she says.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
UN experts have called for a permanent security presence at the border
Like her, thousands of other villagers have now taken refuge in temporary shacks near the main road where they think it is safer.
Others have moved in with neighbours and relatives in nearby villages.
Two UN human rights experts, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio and Christof Heyns, have said communities on both sides of the border receive little protection from their governments and reported that increasing flows of smalls arms was making raids more deadly.
They said there was an "urgent need for an effective and well-resourced permanent presence at the border in order to monitor the area and prevent incursions".
Mr Gatluak has assured Gambella residents that "they are now safe".
"After we get our children and cattle back, we will seriously work on our border relationships," the regional president says.
"We must teach the Murle that there is a better way of life than cattle rustling and stealing children.""
'via Blog this'
By Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Gambella
26 May 2016
Four of Nyardhan Girmal's children were kidnapped from their home in Lare village last month in an attack on Ethiopia's Gambella region that left more than 200 people dead.
They were among 149 children abducted in the raid by members of the Murle community who took them across the border to South Sudan, along with livestock they stole.
Ms Nyardhan's youngest, 11-year-old Jany, has recently been rescued, but her other two sons and her daughter are still being held captive.
"I didn't believe that I would see him ever again," she says, feeding him by hand.
"I am really happy to have one of my children back. It is a blessing and it is thanks to the on-going rescue mission.
"I have been worrying day and night about my children, that I might never ever see them again. I am still waiting for the others."
'Locked in hut'
At least 53 children, the youngest being three months old, have so far been rescued in the Ethiopian army's on-going mission inside South Sudan.
They are from the Nuer community which has a history of ethnic clashes with the Murle - often linked to cattle vendettas.
Image caption
Nyamak Oukuch is looking after her nieces and nephews after her sister was killed in the attack
Jany told his mother how he was locked alone inside a hut, surrounded by heavily armed men, and given only milk to drink during his captivity.
Like many other rescued children, he is now at the guest house of the region's president where they are receiving food and medical attention.
"We have established that these children would have been sold or exchanged for heads of cattle inside South Sudan," says Gatluak Tut Khot, Gambella region president.
"But we are not going to rest until we get them all back home," he adds.
Trauma counselling
Outside the guest house a group of women are sitting under a tree singing and clapping.
Image caption
So far 53 children have been freed during the Ethiopian army's mission in South Sudan
In front of them five boys are going round and round in circles dancing to a popular tune sung by the Nuer of Gambella.
Among them is 27-year-old Nyamak Oukuch, with 18-month-old twins on her lap - her niece and nephew.
Two other children are playing by her side - they are also the children of her elder sister who was killed in the attack on 15 April.
"I don't know where the eldest is. He was also taken and is probably with the Murle," she says.
Many of the freed children are severely malnourished and need urgent medical attention.
Image caption
The rescued children and those caring for them are receiving help from the government and UN
Officials from the UN children's agency and government are jointly providing medical help, counselling and basic necessities for the children, their families and caretakers.
"Whenever children undergo hard conditions like this - separated from their families especially violently, and they are staying with complete strangers for something like three or four weeks - they feel completely let down and some of these experiences last for a lifetime," says Mike Charley, a Unicef child protection specialist in Ethiopia.
Cow dung
Lare was one of dozens of villages attacked by the Murle and is about 70km (43 miles) from Gambella town.
A strong smell of cow dung hits you on arrival.
We were told there used to be thousands of cattle in the area but nearly all of them were stolen in the raid; only a few calves and goats now roam about.
There are several houses in the settlement but nearly all are now abandoned.
Some families have come back to rebuild their lives but most have decided to leave.
Image caption
Nyakuich Both lost her husband in the Murle attack and her two children are still missing
At least 22,000 people have fled their homes and residents say the unprecedented brutality of last month's attack has left them fearful.
"I can never return to my home again. My husband was killed that day and my two children taken," says Nyakuich Both.
"I have nothing left. Why should I go back there?"
On her forehead she has tied a strand of grass which she says is a sign of mourning for her husband, children and home.
"I have heard that one of my children was rescued and is now in Gambella town, but I have not seen him, the other is still in South Sudan. I don't think I will ever see him again," she says.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
UN experts have called for a permanent security presence at the border
Like her, thousands of other villagers have now taken refuge in temporary shacks near the main road where they think it is safer.
Others have moved in with neighbours and relatives in nearby villages.
Two UN human rights experts, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio and Christof Heyns, have said communities on both sides of the border receive little protection from their governments and reported that increasing flows of smalls arms was making raids more deadly.
They said there was an "urgent need for an effective and well-resourced permanent presence at the border in order to monitor the area and prevent incursions".
Mr Gatluak has assured Gambella residents that "they are now safe".
"After we get our children and cattle back, we will seriously work on our border relationships," the regional president says.
"We must teach the Murle that there is a better way of life than cattle rustling and stealing children.""
'via Blog this'
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Murle community returns 56 abducted children to Ethiopia
Murle community returns 56 abducted children to Ethiopia
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May 20, 2016 (JUBA) – Up to 56 children previously abducted from the Ethiopian Nuer community by armed men from the ethnic Murle community in South Sudan have been recovered and returned to the Ethiopian authorities in Gambella region.
The number is out of about 108 children reportedly abducted when 13 villages belonging to the Ethiopian Nuer ethnic group in Gambella region were simultaneously attacked by heavily armed men from South Sudan.
Thousands of armed men, some in South Sudan’s army uniform and identified to be from the Murle community, crossed into Ethiopia last month and unleashed dawn attack on the unarmed Ethiopian community.
Over 200 Nuer people were also killed in the attack and some 2,000 heads of cattle looted. About 60 of the Murle attackers were also killed during the violent confrontation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, in response declared to deploy his forces into South Sudan to get back the abducted kids.
Thousands of Ethiopian troops have so far crossed into South Sudan through Pochalla and Pibor counties of Jonglei state with tanks, other armoured vehicles and helicopter gunships, threatening to attack inside South Sudan unless all the children were handed over to them.
The report that 56 kids were freed was announced on Friday by the South Sudanese minister of information, Michael Makuei Lueth, who cited that the report was presented to the cabinet meeting on Friday by David Yauyau, deputy minister for defense, also a Murle.
Over 50 other children are yet to be recovered with fears that some who could not walk or run fast, or were too heavy to carry during the retreat of the Murle abductors might have been murdered by their abductors.
(ST)"
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Dozens of abducted Ethiopian children return home
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 16, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian officials on Monday said dozens of children who were kidnapped by a South Sudanese militia group have been recovered and safely returned home following negotiations with the abductors.
- South Sudanese refugee Nyarout Chuol with her children at a UNHCR-run refugee camp in Gambella, Ethiopia (Photo: William Davison)
According to Gambela regional officials 44 children have so far been returned home after being held hostage for weeks.
The regional state and military officials of the Ethiopian Defense Force are receiving the children upon arrival at Gambella region bordering South Sudan.
Helicopters of the Ethiopian Air force are transporting the children from South Sudan to Ethiopia’s Gambella region from where they were abducted last month.
Up on arrival, the children whose ages mostly ranged from 1-5 years are also receiving medical treatment.
The abducted were freed after South Sudan deputy Defense Minister who is also member of Murle tribe; David Yaw yaw in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiation with the abductors .
Arrival of the children follows days after a South Sudanese official said they have recovered 32 of the over 100 kidnapped Ethiopian children.
Ogato Chan, acting governor of South Sudan’s Boma state recently said local chiefs have collected 32 children from three villages in Likuangole County where the raiders had dropped them off.
The children were taken to the state capital Pibor then sent to Juba for repatriation to Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Military was ready to strike against the Murule armed group in a bid to rescue the children however it holdback after the South Sudan government promised to return back the children through negotiation.
According to government officials, efforts to peacefully rescue all the kidnapped children and looted cattle will be strongly continued.
More children are expected to return home in the coming days, regional officials said.
Last week communication minister, Getachew Reda said taking any military action in a sovereign country should be in accordance with the full knowledge and consent of the target country.
He said senior military officials from South Sudan have been negotiating with the Ethiopian Defense Force for the peaceful settlement of the matter.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, a military official who asked anonymity however told Sudan Tribune that the Ethiopian defense Forces will eventually carryout punitive military action to stop the Murules from any future cross-border raids.
“The prime target is bringing back the children alive but perpetrators will be hunted down and punished”, said the official. He however, declined to give further details.
On April 15, 2016 hundreds of members of a South Sudan militia group armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Anuak and Nuer Zones of Ethiopia’s Gambela Region where they killed over 200 people and snatched some 125 children.
The armed Murule militants further looted over 2,000 livestock.
Gambella region is a shelter for more than 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape a conflict in their home country that broke out in December 2013.
Friday, May 13, 2016
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