Saturday 9,Nov 2024 {HMC} Toronto – In the latest string of drone attacks against civilians in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, at least 50 are reportedly killed. Elders, children and women were among the victims. And one of the victims is reported to be a pregnant woman.

Twenty-one others were reportedly wounded and the conditions of some of them are life-threatening. Those with serious injuries were referred to a hospital in Durbete.

A day before the attack, there was a reported aerial survey in the area. “

The incident occurred Tuesday this week in the small town of Arge – which is about 40 kilometers from Achefer district’s seat of administration – Durbete, North Gojjam.

BBC Amharic has confirmed the incident from residents in the area.

According to the report, the drone strike was launched around 7:10 a.m. local time. It targeted an open air market, a primary school and health center. All the targets are said to be in close distance ; they are within a radius of 300 meters.

The source also cited the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as saying that it has received information about it.

Children, elders who were reportedly gathering for a mediation, patients who were in maternity care and daily laborers are among the victims of the attack.

Pregnant woman who was in the health center for maternity care was killed in the attack, according to the source. The source cited a staff at the health center who confirmed it.

Another pregnant woman is also killed with four other family members while having breakfast in their own home, according to residents who spoke to BBC Amharic.

13 children who were killed in the attack were playing soccer in the premises of their school.

“It felt like the aim was to destroy the entire city,” a resident told BBC Amharic.

Another resident who reportedly arrived at the scene of the attack after hearing an explosion said “I saw littered bodies.” He described it as “shocking.”

“We have not seen something like these in our long life,” another resident said.

The Ethiopian government has not remarked about the incident, as has always been the case since it officially launched what it called “law enforcement,” operation in the Amhara region in August 2023.

BBC Amharic said it reached out to the zone and district authorities but it was not a success.

The Ethiopian government has been undertaking relentless drone strikes in the Amhara region since it launched what it calls the “final” stage of the war against “extremists” – as it refers to Fano forces.

SOURCE

Saturday 9, Nov, 2024 {HMC}  North Korea has staged a Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming attack, Seoul’s military has said, an ongoing disruption operation that has affected several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Saturday warned ships and aircraft operating in the West Sea area, also known as the Yellow Sea, to be cautious of North Korea’s GPS signal jamming.

“North Korea conducted GPS jamming provocations in Haeju and Kaesong yesterday and today [November 8-9],” the JCS said in a statement, adding that several vessels and dozens of civilian aircraft were experiencing “some operational disruptions” as a result.

GPS relies on a network of satellites and receivers that allows for global positioning and navigation.

The JCS also called on North Korea to immediately halt the interference and warned it would be held accountable for its actions.

Between May 29 and June 2, an estimated 500 planes and hundreds of ships experienced GPS problems due to North Korean interference, South Korea’s government said at the time. Seoul complained to the United Nations aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which warned North Korea to stop the jamming.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Saturday that the latest GPS “jamming attack” involved a weaker interference signal compared with the widespread interference North Korea perpetrated in May and June.

South Korean military operations and equipment have not been affected, Yonhap said, citing the JCS.

Tension between the two Koreas has escalated in recent months amid missile tests by Pyongyang, North Korea’s destruction of transport infrastructure connecting the North with the South, the recent dumping of rubbish over South Korea from balloons launched in the North, and the reported deployment of North Korean troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

Aviation experts said North Korea’s rubbish balloon campaign, numerous ballistic missile launches and the emergence of GPS “spoofing” – where a signal is transmitted to override a legitimate GPS satellite signal – have increased risks in South Korean airspace, complicating airline operations as tensions rise between the rival nations.

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told the AFP news agency that the reason for the jamming operation needs to be analysed.

“It remains unclear whether there is an intention to divert the world’s attention from troop deployments, instil psychological insecurity among residents in the South, or respond to Friday’s drills,” Yang said, referring to South Korea’s test firing of a missile.

“However, GPS jamming attacks pose a real risk of serious incidents, including potential aircraft accidents in the worst-case scenario,” he said.

South Korea fired a Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile into the West Sea on Friday, which the military said was to show Seoul’s “strong resolve to firmly respond” to any North Korean threats.

Hyunmoo missiles are key to the country’s so-called ‘Kill Chain’ preemptive strike capacity, which would allow Seoul to launch an attack if there are signs of an imminent North Korean attack.

Source Al-Jaziira 

Saturday 9, Nov, 2024 {HMC} The 28th Ethio-Djibouti held “Joint Border Administrators and Commissioners Meeting” in Debre Zeit (Bishoftu) – about 44 kilometers south east of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

Ethiopia’s Immigration and Citizenship Service Director General, Selamawit Dawit, and Djibouti’s Ministry for Interior, Souleiman Moumin, co-chaired it.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strengthening bilateral cooperation in border management, security, and economic development were the key focuses of the meeting.

Selamawit Dawit described the relations between the two countries as ““a bond bound by blood beyond common border management.”

As much as Djibouti has been vital for Ethiopia’s import and export trade, it has also been a country through which human traffickers have been smuggling hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian youth.

The issue of human trafficking was part of the conversation during the meeting.

The news update from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited Selamawit as saying that “the need for coordinated efforts to combat transnational organized crimes including human trafficking, terrorism, and illicit trade along the border, ensuring the protection and welfare of citizens from both nations.”

Souleiman Moumin has reportedly affirmed the Ethiopian position. He is cited as saying that he is confident about the “shared vision of enhancing cross-border cooperation, particularly in infrastructure, peace, and security, to ensure mutual benefits.”

In the past one year or so, there were unconfirmed reports of signs of tense relation between the two countries after Abiy Ahmed publicized his “Grand Narrative” in which he claimed access to the Red Sea. The rhetoric brought Ethiopia in a collision course with Somalia and Eritrea (who turned out to be allies against Ethiopia.)

Recently, Djibouti had reportedly offered the Tadjoura port Ethiopia as part of the effort to ease tension between the latter and Somalia. However, there was no official remark from Ethiopia nor a follow up step on the part of Djibouti.

Source Hiiraan Online