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.. 21 The area has been under the stewardship of the command post since September 2020. These traders married into the Berta upper class and thus gained political influence. There are a few questions that I wish the author addressed. Unseth, Peter. and militarization in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz Region led to the closure of the . [6] It had a projected population of 1,127,001 in 2018.[2]. 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. Benishangul-Gumuz ( Amharic: , romanized : Benangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia to the border of Sudan. This has received mixed reactions among residents and watchers of the region. Klausberger, Friedrich. Bender, M. Lionel. [13], According to Negasso Gidada, Oromo penetration into the region began in the mid-18th century. As President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier, all options are open in preserving Egypt's right to the Nile waters, and the waters of the Nile River are ared line for the Egyptians., Sisi had warned April 7, No one can take a single drop of water from Egypt [and] all options are open., On March 30, Sisi said during a press conference, We are not threatening anyone, but no one can take a drop of water from Egypt [or] the region would witness a state of instability that no one can imagine., Awadi said, Ethiopia insists on the second filling of the GERD reservoir even before a binding legal agreement with Egypt and Sudan is reached. UNHCR is working to install basic. The Abay River (Blue Nile) divides Benishangul-Gumuz, and there was no bridge crossing it until 2012. I suspect justice means something different to the rebel group than to this author and government. Learn how your comment data is processed. 1993. The national government should safeguard the rights of the indigenous and minority groups who are endangered by mob-minded community members desperate for revenge. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. According to the regions constitution, the Benishangul-Gumuz State Council should have less than 100 seats. 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. " The Benishangul-Gumuz region borders Sudan and South Sudan. [1] Around 67,000 Gumuz also lived in Sudan. Benishangul - ethiodemographyandhealth.org 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. 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. Assosa Zone makes less than half of constituencies, which does not guarantee the establishment of a regional government. Topographically, the . James, Wendy. An aerial view of the Nile is seen during World Water Day in Cairo, March 22, 2023. It has also sounded the alarm over a very critical malnutrition situation unfolding in the Tigray region, citing continuing insecurity, bureaucracy and the presence of various armed actors as major obstructions to the efforts to deliver life-saving aid. This is an escalation of the border dispute between Sudan and. 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. Some of the reasons for the attacks include neighbouring Amhara states claim to ownership of the Metekkel zone. 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. Despite this fact, the regional government immediately incorporated the strategy of civilian defense as part of conflict prevention and peace-building. [13] Besides slaves, gold was traditionally an important export of Benishangul. In the absence of justice, peace cannot prevail. Aside to inserting new jaw dropping territorial claims including Benishangul-Gumuz region, Sudan also announced that it possesses documents confirming Ethiopia's recognition of the disputed . Egypts Al-Bawaba News, which is close to the state, reported in an April 23 article that a civil war is unfolding in Ethiopia due to the poor economic and social conditions in the country and its citizens being marginalized and isolated. [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. These interest groups include actors from the neighbouring Amhara state who claim ownership of the Metekkel zone. The ethnic groups include the Berta (25.41%), Amhara (21.69%), Gumuz (20.88%), Oromo (13.55%), Shinasha (7.73%) and Agaw-Awi (4.22%). 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. Communities have been torn apart. The sun rises behind the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and its Nile river island of Manial, Nov. 3, 2022. The Gumuz see minorities as settlers, the rights group said. 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. [4] Background [ edit] Ethnic tensions [ edit] Benishangul-Gumz Regional Health Bureau; Benishangul-Gumz Regional Health Bureau. 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. In the chaos that followed, houses were torched and an old man was beheaded outside his house, Mr. Sebsibie said. The Gumuz speak the Gumuz language, which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family (Bender 1979). Attempts by the governments of Sudan and Ethiopia to increase control over the circulation of artisanal gold in their borderland regions have largely failed. This figure does not include the uncounted and unreported displacement of Gumuz and Shinasha people that took place within Metekel Zone. Al-Monitor.com is a trusted and award-winning independent source of Middle East news and analysis, founded in 2012. The Berta, Gumuz and Shinasha tend to have more in common with the people of neighbouring Sudan than with other Ethiopian peoples, while the Amhara and Tigrayans, who are known as Habesha (or "highlanders") are recent arrivals, who began to settle in the region during the Derg era. 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. Alessandro Triulzi: "Beni angul" in: Siegbert Uhlig (Hrsg.). Ethiopia started filling the dam, which is over 70% complete, in July 2020 and is getting ready for the second filling in July 2021. Ethnic targeting means minorities are not able to move freely in the region, nor in neighboring towns in the Amhara 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. Egypt has long been called the "gift of the Nile" as it has historically depended on the river for survival. The UNHCR said on Tuesday most of the 7,000 asylum seekers who fled Metekel have been living among Sudanese host communities. Its not hard to see how the situation could spiral, now that a violent and chaotic organization has been officially empowered through a package of incentives. People are not receiving the humanitarian support they need and the attention they deserve. . 1975. They have ritual specialists called gafea. With national and international attention being pulled in many directionsmost notably towards war in Tigraythe problems of Benishangul-Gumuz are being eclipsed. Box 61 Assosa, Ethiopia Telephone: +25125-7-754738 . Severe climate shocks Globally, floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, severely. Grottanelli, Vinigi, L. 1948. EIEP: Marginalization and persecution in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz Returning people to their previous villages without ensuring these preconditions may result in renewed rounds of displacement and devastation. News: Benishangul Gumuz, Blue Nile States hold peace and security The UN says that areas where 80 percent of the regions population live remain cut off from assistance. 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.