benishangul gumuz sudan

The choice may be clear : it may be a bitter pill to swallow: do we want to see one Ethiopia, living in a relative peace ,by changing some agreement on the dam or sticking to our current position and face the eternal infighting and the disintegration of the country? Benishangul-Gumuz (Amharic: , romanized:Benangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia bordering Sudan. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a massive hydropower plant on the River Nile that neighbors Sudan and Egypt, as the dam started to produce electricity, Feb. 19, 2022, in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. The region has faced major challenges to economic development, due to lack of transportation and communications infrastructure. Hence, the regional and the federal government should collaboratively work to investigate the situation and bring the perpetrators to account. Out of this, the Assosa Zone has 42 seats while Metekel and Kamashi zones have 33 and 20 seats respectively. 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. Violence by armed groups, and among ethnic-Gumuz, Agew, Amhara, and other communities in the Metekel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region, intensified in April, causing residents to flee.. Slaves were also smuggled into Sudan across the border, which was established in 1902. This is the viewpoint of the author. On April 19, Ahmed said that Ethiopia will fill the GERD reservoir in July and August, despite objections from the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. The road has a 365-meter bridge that crosses the Abay. Despite efforts to make resources stretch through prioritisation schemes, the agencies are having to prioritize food assistance for the most vulnerable families,they saidin a press release, while the sheer number of refugees in need of support has grown, along with the gap between resourcing and needs. Rising sea levels are prompting saltwater intrusions that are not only affecting water supply but also spoiling agricultural farmland, according to water management experts. Spirits are called mus'a and are thought to dwell in houses, granaries, fields, trees and mountains. There are several people, including children, who have lost their whole family due to the conflict. Besides the country is on the verge of being labeled as a pariah state, due to the conflict it has been ignited with western powers.It could be wise of the government, to step down from its rigid and jingoistic stance and try to accommodate to a certain degree, the interest of these three entities. [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. The diplomatic dispute with Sudan and Egypt should be solved through dialogue and the dam negotiations should proceed amicably. 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. The Blue Nile region is situated in the south-eastern part of Sudan, bordering Ethiopia and South Sudan. 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. Survivors and refugees of the Benishangul-Gumuz massacre walk through the displaced persons camp in the city of Chagni, Ethiopia, Dec. 31, 2020. 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. Survivors of a massacre in December in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. At the epicenter of these complex crossroads is Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State: site of the dam, bordering with Sudan, and cloaked in chaos that will prevent many of its constituents from participating in the upcoming national election. Getting people out of harms way and shielding them from serious protection risks also requires that their food needs are adequately addressed.. The sun rises behind the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and its Nile river island of Manial, Nov. 3, 2022. 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. Violence in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region is separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, which has sent more than 61,000 Ethiopians into Sudan's . Ethiopia has accused both Sudan and Egypt of sponsoring Gumuz militia attacks to jeopardise the construction and filling of the dam. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are rushing life-saving aid to more than 20,000 refugees after they fled clashes in Ethiopia's Benishangul Gumuz region, bordering Sudan and South Sudan. Both Egypt and Sudan argue that the dam affects the flow of the Nile waters into their respective countries. Often the Gumuz' lands were allocated to transnational or domestic investors. Tsegaye is studying for a Peace and Development Work Masters degree at Linnaeus University in Sweden and is a political science lecturer at Assosa University. 1986. Currently, the regional government has some control in towns where administrative offices are located, but not much beyond that. Major roads are still closed. The rights group said the Gumuz set the homes on fire and stabbed and shot residents. 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 unfolding conflict in different parts of the country and the withdrawal of popular political parties from the election has overshadowed the stalled national election. The Gumuz enjoyed administrative rights over Metekkel zone. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he was sending more soldiers to secure Ethiopia's restive Benishangul-Gumuz area after armed gunmen killed more than 100 civilians. I do not think the article addressed why the Gumuz rebel. The regional government announced the signing of an agreement with the militia group on 18 May in Gilgel Beles town. However, Ethiopia Insight will correct clear factual errors. In the past decade the number of refugees in eastern Africa has nearly tripled, from1.82 million in 2012 to almost five million todayincluding 300,000 new refugees last year alone. 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. Isnt your residence enough for identity and language service purposes? The five largest ethnic groups in Benishangul-Gumuz were the Berta (27%), Gumuz (23%), Amhara (22%), Oromo (13%) and Shinasha (7%). Severe climate shocks Globally, floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, severely. The mob killing of a Gumuz man in Chagni, on 12 April, in the heart of the town in front of government authorities, is one of many signs of uncontained chaos. An example is that settlers were attracted to a large irrigation project along the Kusa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has provided scant information on recent violence in Benishangul-Gumuz, particularly in Metekel zone, where Debate is located. Main languages are the Berta (25.15%), Amharic (22.46%), Gumuz (20.59%), Oromo (17.69%), Shinasha (4.58%) and Awngi (4.01%). [19] Until the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the mid-1930s, the area supplied gold and slaves to the central government on a large scale. Read more: [13], According to Negasso Gidada, Oromo penetration into the region began in the mid-18th century. Many Gumuz people have been displaced and they are not happy that the investors are hiring non-Gumuz workers to aid in their occupation of an area that is rich in resources like gold, marble and fertile agricultural land. According to the CSA, as of 2004[update], 27.23% of the total population had access to safe drinking water, of whom 22.35% were rural inhabitants and 58.53% were urban. Amnesty International reported in December that members of the ethnic Gumuz community the ethnic majority in the region attacked the homes of ethnic Amhara, Oromo and Shinasha. Please send an email to [email protected] and we'll onboard your team. 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. The GERD is expected to make the country a major power exporter in the region. 1975. 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. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The Gumuz speak the Gumuz language, which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family (Bender 1979). This has received mixed reactions among residents and watchers of the region. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that spiralling costs of food and fuel were adding to the toxic mix. Dessalegn, Beza. Photo: Benishangul Gumuz communication bureau Addis Abeba - A peace and development conference between senior officials of Ethiopia's Benishangul Gumuz region and Sudan's Blue Nile state has started today in Ad-Damazin city, the capital city of Sudan's Blue Nile state. Terms of the agreement that seemingly aimed at appeasing the militias included, among others, sharing power with militia members at the wereda, zonal and regional levels, creating job opportunities, offering access to financial support services, and giving urban and rural land to the members of the militias. The Berta rebels instead allied with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which overthrew the Mengistu regime in 1991 with the coalition EPRDF. Despite some progress, the humanitarian response remains drastically inadequate compared to the sheer magnitude of needs across the region, the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) said in a report on Saturday. At least 7,000 people who fled escalating ethnic violence in western Ethiopia have sought asylum in neighbouring Sudan, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said, amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries. Regardless, some efforts were tried and they all failed. While the Blue Nile-Benishangul-Gumuz borderland is not free from conflict, it provides an example of . Over 10,000 militia members were recruited and received government-sponsored military training in all weredas of the Metekel Zone. Putting an immediate and lasting end to violence is the first step towards assessing and addressing the heavy impact of unconstrained fighting. Many of those who are still in the region are not getting humanitarian aid. 1234 Sudan Streat Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopia is now at a crossroads. [citation needed]. It is becoming unsafe to present identity cards that show the holders ethnicity, even at security checkpoints, as this may result in persecution. What we need from the Ethiopian government is the green light to the humanitarian community to negotiate access to the Eritrean-controlled areas, to the opposition-controlled areas, he said. 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. Box 61 Assosa, Ethiopia Telephone: +25125-7-754738 . 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. 2023 Al-Monitor, LLC. Do their policies help peace or exacerbate conflict? The Gumuz see minorities as settlers, the rights group said. It was not until the mid-20th century that Berta also settled in the lowlands, as slave hunts and armed conflict had ended. Metekkel residents, including the majority Gumuz community, are opposed to Amhara occupation. The Benishangul Gumuz Peoples Liberation Movement (BPLM) was Sudan based rebel group built its operational zones in Benishangul Gumuz Region around remote areas of Assosa zone. An aerial view of the Nile is seen during World Water Day in Cairo, March 22, 2023. But funding gaps has forced @WFP to make difficult decisions about who receives food and who goes without. 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. With national and international attention being pulled in many directionsmost notably towards war in Tigraythe problems of Benishangul-Gumuz are being eclipsed. Government safety-net programs were essentially unknown by the residents. Disarming the armed group could have been a better solution than arming the unarmed group which will likely fuel further conflict, putting the area into a vicious cycle of conflict. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. More and more children below the age of five years are experiencinghigh levels of stunting and wasting, as they lack the nutrients to grow and develop., Families do not know where their next meal will come from and are taking on huge debt, selling off what they can, or sending their children to work, added the Regional Director. Lifelines: exchange marriage among the Gumuz. They fired their guns and used swords to attack anyone they came across women, children, elderly people.. Muferiat Kemal, Ethiopias minister of peace, now says that the area has become a juncture for different interest groups.. The boundary was confirmed in 1902 by Ethiopia and Sudan. It was previously known as Region 6. Join the Middle East's most notable experts for premium memos, trend reports, live video Q&A, and intimate in-person events, each detailing exclusive insights on business and geopolitical trends shaping the region. Despite this fact, the regional government immediately incorporated the strategy of civilian defense as part of conflict prevention and peace-building. For the entire region 174,445 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.5 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.6 and rural households 4.7 people. On April 22, the government-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commissionannounced that an armed group has taken full control of a county in Benishangul-Gumuz, killing and committing acts of violence against civilians, while security forces could not stop it. It was previously known as Region 6. Join the Middle East's top business and policy professionals to access exclusive PRO insights today. Abiys visit to the area was, unfortunately, followed by an escalation of the conflict and mass killings. The command post set a deadline for the militias to lay down their arms and surrender on 8 December 2020. It borders the Amhara and Oromia states, and Sudan. The UNHCR said on Tuesday most of the 7,000 asylum seekers who fled Metekel have been living among Sudanese host communities. It is the administrative center of Bambasi woreda . 1980. Refugees and internally displaced people are at the centre of the food ration cuts, compounding a desperate situation for millions of people uprooted from their homes and often relying on aid to survive, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UNHCRs Regional Bureau Director for the East, Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes. Egypt's population of 109 million is projected to grow significantly in decades, further straining the demand for water in the region. The attacks further threaten the stability of Africas second-most populous nation at a time when Mr. Abiy is already embroiled in an escalating conflict in the northern Tigray region, where he launched a major military operation on Nov. 4 that he said was intended to capture defiant local leaders. Killings were committed by representatives of different ethnic groups, each seeking revenge for violence suffered. What are their hopes and their fears? The river provides nearly all Egyptians with drinking water. The Amhara state wants the right to administer Metekkel because it wants to control the zones mineral deposits and arable lands. As a result, the militias are strengthening their holdings and bargaining power. UNHCR says most of the asylum seekers who fled ethnic violence in Benishangul-Gumuz region have been living among Sudanese host communities. It needs to change. Immediately following the meeting, Ahmed issued a statement accusing foreign parties, in reference to Egypt, of causing chaos and instability in the country. Various trade routes met in Benishangul, and local gold and Ethiopian amole (salt bars) were exchanged for slaves, cattle, horses, iron, civet, musk, coffee, ivory and honey (which also came from the Oromo areas of Sibu and Leeqaa). If you dont influence it now then the circumstances will build so that there are more and more refugees coming.. Over 100,000 people, mainly a large proportion of Amhara and Agaw people, have been displaced, the majority fleeing into Chagni, Ranch camp. The dam is in Guba, one of the six districts in Metekkel. According to the regions constitution, the Benishangul-Gumuz State Council should have less than 100 seats. [email protected]. Those who supported the agreement argued that negotiation and compromise are positive by their nature and should be appreciated. [7], In the Metekel conflict, starting in 2019, Gumuz militia were allegedly involved in attacks against Amhara, Agaw, Oromo and Shinasha civilians.[8][9][10]. On Dec. 22, Mr. Abiy took time out from the campaign in Tigray to visit Benishangul-Gumuz and calm tensions in the area. May 5, 2021 CAIRO Violence has been ongoing in Ethiopia's western region of Benishangul-Gumuz where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is located, with Ethiopia announcing April 26 that more than 200 people were killed and thousands were displaced in the ongoing clashes between the government forces and armed groups. Bashanga, das Strafrecht der Baga-Gumuz. 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. John Young, "Along Ethiopia's Western Frontier: Gambella and Benishangul in Transition". However, due to increased population which has led to the widespread destruction of the canopy, authorities announced a campaign on 8 June 2007 to plant 1.5 million seedlings over the next two months to replenish this resource. 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 Gumuz practice shifting cultivation and their staple food is sorghum (Wallmark 1981). Concerning religion, 44.98% of the population were Muslim, 33.3% were Orthodox Christians, 13.53% were Protestant, and 7.09% practiced traditional beliefs. 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. Ahmad, Abdussamad H. 1999. The major road that connects the Metekel Zone and the Assosa Zone was built by the China Construction Company in 2012. As time passes, the Gumuz militias are strengthening their holdings and capacity, expanding and imposing their presence into Kamashi and Assosa zones. Bambasi (also known as Abba Moti) is a town in western Ethiopia. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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. Ethiopian officials have insisted that the dam will not impede on both Sudan and Egypt's water supply. Originally, all Gumuz adorned their bodies with scarifications, but this custom is disappearing through government pressure and education. Bambasi has a longitude and latitude of 945N 3444E with an elevation of 1668 meters above sea level. It shares common borders with the State of Amhara in the east, the Sudan in the north-east, and the State of Oromia in the south. 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. . Mr. Abiys decision to open up Ethiopian politics after he came to power in 2018, releasing political prisoners and allowing exiles to return, was widely acclaimed. 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. [4][5][6], Many changes occurred for the Gumuz people from the 1980s through to the 2010s. 28 Apr 2023 16:34:36 Simmoons, Frederick. 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. Rural population was 424,432, while the urban population was 36,027. Egypt's support for the rebels is very probable, as the Nile waters consist of a life or death matter for the Egyptians, and it is possible for Egypt to use all the cards to pressure Addis Ababa in its battle with Ethiopia.. That means the election will only take place in Benishangul-Gumuzs Assosa Zone. But attacks and tensions remain high. By the middle of the century, the wawi, the descendants of Arabs and Berta, had become the new ruling class. [1] Around 67,000 Gumuz also lived in Sudan. The unfortunate reality is that eastern Africa is confronted with a year of unprecedented humanitarian needs, driven by severe climate shocks, ongoing conflict and instability, and surging food and fuel prices, said Michael Dunford, WFPs Regional Director for Eastern Africa. Read more: It even considers that it is the only country entitled to the Nile waters, which Egypt totally rejects. In addition, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) - supported by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, which in the meantime had advanced far south from Eritrea - also fought for the area in the Ethiopian civil war in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The reconciliatory act has also aggrieved those who have suffered in the process of the conflict and who have been waiting for justice. Trend Reports - Deep dive analysis on market updates. This claim gained momentum after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power in April 2018. Unless the government and concerned parties give their attention to Benishangul-Gumuz, the country and the Horn of Africa as a whole is likely to soon feel the awful effects of an out-of-control conflict. Bender, M. Lionel. The hydro-electricity dam is now nearly complete and has begun filling to provide direly needed energy supply to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Emperor Susenyos invaded the area in 1617/18, and it fell to the Funj Sultanate in 1685. The Benshangul/Gumuz Region lies on Ethiopia's western border with Sudan, and shares internal borders with Amhara and Oromia Regions. CAIRO Violence has been ongoing in Ethiopia's western region of Benishangul-Gumuz where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is located, with Ethiopiaannouncing April 26 that more than 200 people were killed and thousands were displaced in the ongoing clashes between the government forces and armed groups. Benishangul Gumuz has an estimated area of 51,000 square kilometers and is located in the north-western part of Ethiopia. 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. Most Gumuz members live in a bush-savanna lowland environment. The country is facing an annual water deficit and is estimated to be categorized as water scarce by 2025, according to the United Nations. People from neighboring weredas of Agalo Meti and Yaso, primarily those representing non-Gumuz ethnic groups, have left their villages in fear of a similar scenario. January 6, 2021, 4:10 AM On Dec. 22, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the vast lowland territory of Metekel in Ethiopia's far western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, the so-called. The Bega (Gumuz) of Wellega: Agriculture and subsistence. Benishangul-Gumuz ( Amharic: , romanized : Benangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia to the border of Sudan. 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. Benishangul-Gumuz Region is one of the peripheral regions of Ethiopia bordering the Sudan. As it used to be among the Sudanese Uduk, marriage is through sister exchange. Thank you author and Ethiopia Insight. All the cooking and brewing is carried out in earthen pots, which are made by women. 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. [16], The area lay as a "buffer zone" or "no man's land" between southern Sennar and Damot in the highlands. The EU has joined the United States in demanding Eritrean troops withdraw. It said it was working with local authorities in the Blue Nile province to respond to the humanitarian needs of the newly arrived, many of whom have arrived in hard-to-reach places along the border. He added, "Despite the plots and pressure, Ethiopia will fill the GERD reservoir on time. I Preniloti: unarcaica provincia culturale in Africa. The Gumuz have traditionally been grouped with other Nilotic peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the collective name Shanqella (Pankhurst 1977). And as a result, the Nile delta becomes the second most susceptible place on earth to climate change impacts in terms of sea level rise," says Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the Chatham Institute think tank. The proposition of arming civilians to curb the violence divided opinions. On the other hand, Egypt considers the dam a major threat to its food security. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed headed a meetingof Ethiopias National Security Council on April 24 to discuss the developments in Benishangul-Gumuz. Photo: Benishangul Gumuz regional government Addis Abeba - The Benishangul Gumuz regional government said it has signed a peace agreement on 10 December with the armed group Benishangul People's Liberation Movement (BPLM) in Khartoum, Sudan. Instead, cross-border trade has increased, away from official pathways. 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. "There'll be an imbalance in terms of less water supply and inflated demand," said Mahmoud. 1985. The most affected states are Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes, Eastern Equatoria (Kapoeta East) and Warrap - more than 80 per cent of those food insecure. The violence might have ethnic undertones but this is a political conflict at heart. In, James, Wendy. But over the next two years, experts say Egyptians could approach a state of "absolute" water scarcity. However, all these measures were followed by an elevated conflict which resulted in dreadful consequences where civilians were brutally killed based on their skin color, their homes and farms were destroyed by fire. Awadi noted that the Ethiopian society is disintegrated, as sporadic demonstrations occasionally erupt in the country, due to the prime ministers policies of marginalization and persecution of several social groups.

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