Nowadays it is simple to travel between the regional capital of Assosa and Gilgil Beles, the capital of the Metekel Zone. In a Twitter thread, he said, It is clear that there is a plot designed to thwart our efforts and undermine our very existence. [1] Around 67,000 Gumuz also lived in Sudan. Ethiopia's new party is welcome news, but faces big hurdles. The Gumuz have traditionally been grouped with other Nilotic peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the collective name Shanqella (Pankhurst 1977). Major roads are still closed. Benishangul Gumuz regional authorities have shown solidarity with refugees and identified a new temporary site with capacity to accommodate 20,000 people. Guba is the closest district to Sudan. The Gumuz also hunt wild animals, such as duikers and warthogs, and gather honey, wild fruits, roots and seeds. Data-driven analysis of latest market trends. Full Release https://t.co/366QlfLowm@Refugees pic.twitter.com/3gdeWPfObw. Feuds between clans are common and they are usually solved by means of an institution of conflict resolution, called mangema or michu[3] depending on the region. Climate change, population growth and a regional fight for water resources are all contributing to the risk of water imbalance, experts say. All Gumuz are organized in clans. 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. Published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Attempts by the governments of Sudan and Ethiopia to increase control over the circulation of artisanal gold in their borderland regions have largely failed. Hence, the regional and the federal government should collaboratively work to investigate the situation and bring the perpetrators to account. Are there fears of exclusion? UNHCR and partners move refugees to safety in the Benishangul Gumuz region in Ethiopia. That means the election will only take place in Benishangul-Gumuzs Assosa Zone. 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. It was previously known as Region 6. Survivors and refugees of the Benishangul-Gumuz massacre walk through the displaced persons camp in the city of Chagni, Ethiopia, Dec. 31, 2020. Abiys visit to the area was, unfortunately, followed by an escalation of the conflict and mass killings. Ahmed said that these parties seek to plunge the country into chaos. 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. These traders married into the Berta upper class and thus gained political influence. Isnt your residence enough for identity and language service purposes? As "Shanquella", they are already mentioned by Scottish explorer James Bruce in his Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, published in 1790. I have no confidence in the proposed solution. [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]. 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. Eritrean writer and analyst Shifa al-Afari told Al-Monitor that the Benishangul-Gumuz region is currently seeing unprecedented tension that could be characterized as a state of war. According to him, this is the first time that this armed group, which took control of the county, and these weapons appear in the region. In the chaos that followed, houses were torched and an old man was beheaded outside his house, Mr. Sebsibie said. Egypt is not the only country that depends on the river -- it's shared by 11 African countries. [18] In 1898, Asosa became the political and economic capital. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. The UN says that areas where 80 percent of the regions population live remain cut off from assistance. They said that many of the victims were ethnic Amharas and Agaws, who are a minority in that region. Metekel Zone, located in Benishangul Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, is home to many ethnic groups, such as the Gumuz, the Amharas and the Shinashas. Over 10,000 militia members were recruited and received government-sponsored military training in all weredas of the Metekel Zone. The Benishangul-Gumuz conflict was an armed conflict mostly in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in Ethiopia that started in 2019, until peace agreement signed between the rebel groups and the government of Ethiopia in October 2022. More than 100,000 people have been displaced and 7,000 people have fled to Sudan. 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. Control of the area must be regained. He notes that they hunted with bows and arrows, a custom that survives today. Trading in slaves in Bela-Shangul and Gumuz, Ethiopia: border enclaves in history, 1897-1938. 12/24/2020. Benishangul -Gumuz. Some of ethnic groups native to the Benishangul-Gumuz region are: Five of these ethnic groups (Berta, Gumuz, Shinasha, Mao and Kwama) are granted the exclusive right to non-territorially functioning indigenous councils. 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. Concerning religion, 44.98% of the population were Muslim, 33.3% were Orthodox Christians, 13.53% were Protestant, and 7.09% practiced traditional beliefs. 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. Many Gumuz became sedentary while continuing their agricultural system. This operation has lasted more than three months, and we do not see the end, Haavisto said. This article attempts to investigate and analyze the relationship between Beni Shangul Gumuz and the central government in the period between 1898 and 1941 in the context of center-periphery theories. Business and policy professionals use PRO to monitor the regional economy and improve their reports, memos and presentations. Commenting on the Ethiopian parliament's accusations that Egypt and Sudan are involved in the violence in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Awadi, undersecretary of the Egyptian parliamentary Defense and National Security Committee, told Al-Monitor, Egypt will not keep quiet toward Ethiopias intransigence regarding the GERD. Al-Monitor.com is a trusted and award-winning independent source of Middle East news and analysis, founded in 2012. 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. 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. Grottanelli, Vinigi, L. 1948. Villages have been razed to the ground. Main languages are the Berta (25.15%), Amharic (22.46%), Gumuz (20.59%), Oromo (17.69%), Shinasha (4.58%) and Awngi (4.01%). A sharp increase in food and fuel costs and conflict-caused displacement are being compounded by a worsening climate crisis. Unfortunately, in the last two years, the people in Metekel are enduring terrible shortages, and famine looms ahead due to a manmade crisis. Bambasi (also known as Abba Moti) is a town in western Ethiopia. UNHCR is working to install basic. Metekkel residents, including the majority Gumuz community, are opposed to Amhara occupation. Moussa said that the Benishangul-Gumuz region was part of Sudan in the past, and that there is an Egyptian-Sudanese escalation in light of Ethiopias intransigence in the GERD file. Why Ethiopia's new leader could be a game changer. 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. 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. "Both because of climate change, and also because of socio economic conditions and population growth.". 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.. Often the Gumuz' lands were allocated to transnational or domestic investors. Ethiopia has accused both Sudan and Egypt of sponsoring Gumuz militia attacks to jeopardise the construction and filling of the dam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. Relatively low-lying but with an annual rainfall in excess of 1,000mm, this remote and poorly developed area . UNHCR and partners have moved refugees from Sudan and South Sudan to safety in Ethiopia's Benishangul Gumuz region. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Currently, the regional government has some control in towns where administrative offices are located, but not much beyond that. Ethiopians know that state institutions are weak and can easily imagine how the justice system in a place like Benishangul-Gumuz would be ill-equipped to investigate mass killings and bring perpetrators of atrocities to full account. What are their hopes and their fears? 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. Join the Middle East's top business and policy professionals to access exclusive PRO insights today. And all the ethnic groups in the Metekkel zone should be protected and their issues addressed lawfully. [14][20], Resistance to the Mengistu regime here came mainly from the Berta. Bender, M. Lionel. The Amhara regional state and Amhara activists say that Metekkel was forcibly included under the Benishangul-Gumuz regional state after the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front took power in 1991. Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesmanMansour Bouladresponded to the Ethiopian accusations on March 5, saying in apress statement, Sudan has no intention to invest in violence in its relations with other countries.. Read more: Live Video Q&A - Hear from our top journalists and regional experts. If you dont influence it now then the circumstances will build so that there are more and more refugees coming.. 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.. "Experimenting with Non-Territorial Autonomy: Indigenous Councils in Ethiopia". With the stalled negotiations on the filing and operation of the GERD, discontented youth might be attracted to seek support from either Sudan or Egypt. Those living near the Sudanese borderland converted to Islam and a few are Christians, but most Gumuz still maintain traditional religious practices. The rights group said the Gumuz set the homes on fire and stabbed and shot residents. Alessandro Triulzi: "Beni angul" in: Siegbert Uhlig (Hrsg.). 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. It borders the Amhara and Oromia states, and Sudan. Both Egypt and Sudan argue that the dam affects the flow of the Nile waters into their respective countries. 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. These interest groups include actors from the neighbouring Amhara state who claim ownership of the Metekkel zone. The remaining four seats belong to the Mao Komo Special Wereda. [16], The area lay as a "buffer zone" or "no man's land" between southern Sennar and Damot in the highlands. From aboriginal to frontier society in western Ethiopia. The hydro-electricity dam is now nearly complete and has begun filling to provide direly needed energy supply to Ethiopia. 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. "I believe there will come a point where some level of cooperation has to happen, because there is no other alternative," says Mahmoud. These regions served as slave-hunting grounds since Aksumite times, and their Nilosaharan-speaking inhabitants were pejoratively called Shanqella (anqlla, also Shanqila, Shankella) by the highland Ethiopians. The UNHCR said on Tuesday most of the 7,000 asylum seekers who fled Metekel have been living among Sudanese host communities. Trend Reports - Deep dive analysis on market updates. Finally, the regional government felt obliged to engage in a dialogue and negotiation with the Gumuz militia. Flag of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The dam's impact on the water supply depends on how fast it's filled, according to Elgendy. What is the impact of the expected great economic benefits of the GERD on peoples behavior now? Thank you author and Ethiopia Insight. It was not until the mid-20th century that Berta also settled in the lowlands, as slave hunts and armed conflict had ended. 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. 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. Over 100,000 people, mainly a large proportion of Amhara and Agaw people, have been displaced, the majority fleeing into Chagni, Ranch camp. 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. The officials believe that the Prosperity Party, to which they now belong, wants to eliminate the existing federal arrangement which guarantees self-rule to ethnic groups in the country. Ethiopia may not have control over the behavior of Egypt and Sudan. But it also unleashed simmering ethnic tensions. Survivors of a massacre in December in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. According to the regions constitution, the Benishangul-Gumuz State Council should have less than 100 seats. 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. The proposition of arming civilians to curb the violence divided opinions. Food insecurity is likely to rise by seven per cent across South Sudan in the coming months, compared to last year, according to a new UN report on food security, issued on Wednesday, leading humanitarians to renew their call for more humanitarian and livelihoods assistance to stave off looming hunger and enhance resilience. 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. There are a few questions that I wish the author addressed. 1986. [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. Violence in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region is separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopias northern Tigray region, which has sent more than 61,000 Ethiopians into Sudans provinces of al-Qadarif and Kassala since fighting erupted in November. It needs to change. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. There was resettlement of highlanders to their area, particularly linked to the availability of land and water. Studies in Gumuz: Sese phonology and TMA system. 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. Secondly, taking military measures against the militias was not also effective in resolving or even minimizing the violence. The boundary was confirmed in 1902 by Ethiopia and Sudan. The completion of a mega-dam on the river poses another significant threat to the water supply in the region, critics of the project say. Rising sea levels are prompting saltwater intrusions that are not only affecting water supply but also spoiling agricultural farmland, according to water management experts. Lifelines: exchange marriage among the Gumuz. 28 Apr 2023 16:34:36 Those who supported the agreement argued that negotiation and compromise are positive by their nature and should be appreciated. [14], Under the regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who ruled Ethiopia from 1974, some 250,000 drought- and famine-stricken peasants from the highlandsmostly Amharas from Wollo provincewere relocated to Benishangul-Gumuz from 1979 and especially in the mid-1980s. The problem is not against the principles of a peace dialogue; rather, it is with the points missed and incorporated into the agreement. 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. Ethiopias former ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front. All premium Industry Newsletters - Monitor the Middle East's most important industries. 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. About 90% of Egypt's population lives along the Nile River, with the waterway providing nearly all Egyptians with drinking water. Since 2019, a cross-border collaboration programme has been implementing activities aimed to develop and enhance income-generating opportunities in the border area of Benishangul-Gumuz Region (Ethiopia) and Blue Nile State (Sudan), as a means of strengthening the population's resilience to instability and displacement and to improve overall living conditions. 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. The stories the refugees are bringing they are fleeing attacks from their opponents, Baloch said. Unseth, Peter. But the region is also home to minority Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans and Agaws a source of escalating tension. As it used to be among the Sudanese Uduk, marriage is through sister exchange. 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. [6] It had a projected population of 1,127,001 in 2018.[2]. Until yesterday, 3,364 people from 62 countries entered Ethiopia through Amhara region; 91 people from seven countries received through Kurmuk border crossing point, located in Benishangul-Gumuz region. . [13] Besides slaves, gold was traditionally an important export of Benishangul. Benishangul-Gumuz, for example, is home to five major ethnic groups, mostly from the Berta and Gumuz peoples. Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy, did not respond to questions about the violence. The attacks by armed militia, mainly from the Gumuz people against the Oromo, Amhara, Shinasha, and Awi residents of Metekkel, escalated in September 2020 and continued into March of 2021. Finally, Benishangul-Gumuz local government officials have owned up to orchestrating ethnic targeted killings in Metekkel as push back against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's new Prosperity Party,.
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