Ethiopia War Afar Rebuilds
Metadata
- Ethiopia War Afar Rebuilds
- July 21, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA WAR AFAR REBUILDS HEADLINE: UN Says 295,000 Returning to Homes in Ethiopia’s Afar Region TEASER: International rights groups say homes and services have been decimated by war PUBLISHED AT: 7/21/2022 at 2:45pm BYLINE: Henry Wilkins DATELINE: KONNABA, ETHIOPIA VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, DLJ, Steve Hirsch VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, ZOOM PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO__ TRT: 4:30 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[Ethiopia’s civil war between Tigrayan forces, the federal government and regional forces has left some occupied towns ruined and millions displaced. The United Nations says about 295,000 people are now returning to the towns in a remote corner of Ethiopia’s northern Afar region. A handful of locals have already returned to their deserted towns to try and rebuild their lives. Henry Wilkins reports from Ethiopia’s northern Afar region.]] ((NARRATOR)) In the mountains in Ethiopia’s northern Afar region, the district of Konabba was occupied by Tigrayan forces until late April. Locals say you can still see Tigrayan forces’ positions in the hills that border Tigray. Although the town is still mostly empty, civilians who fled violence are gradually returning to rebuild their lives since forces aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, have gone, leaving a trail of destruction. Among those civilians is Mohammed Abdula Mohammed, a local administrator. ((Mohammed Abdula Mohammed, Konabba Administrator (in Amharic, 24 secs))) “Many people have returned to their homes, but many of the homes have been ransacked of their furniture. Also, there are no shops or markets. There is severe hunger, and many children suffer from hunger and lack of food.” ((NARRATOR)) According to U.N. and local authorities, of around 300,000 people displaced by the conflict in the Afar region, about 295,000 have spontaneously returned to their homes in recent weeks. Stina Abdala returned to the nearby town of Burhale in June, with her son. ((Sitna Abdala, Recent Returnee (in Afar, 26 secs))) “When the TPLF entered the city, we ran away to save ourselves. We left everything behind, our livestock and our homes. We did not find anyone to help us. We ran away. But now we have returned, everything is gone. They took with them everything they could steal and destroyed everything, even the houses.” ((NARRATOR)) Local officials showed VOA many houses and businesses that had been burned or ransacked. The TPLF did not respond to a request for comment on the destruction caused to civilian buildings in Afar, but they have denied targeting civilians in the past. Rights groups accuse all parties to Ethiopia’s conflict of abuses against civilians and infrastructure. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say in other parts of the country, such as the disputed region of Western Tigray, ethnic cleansing against ethnic Tigrayans has taken place. In Afar, the local administrator in the town of Erebti says loss of infrastructure is taking a major toll. ((Mohammed Aliu, Erebti Administrator (in Amharic, 32 secs)) “Also, the electricity is not available. We had a special generator in the past. When the electricity goes out, we work with it. It was destroyed by the terrorist TPLF. The situation is now difficult here, no electricity, no internet, not even a phone. There were associations that served the citizens in this area and provided water extraction equipment and contributed to saving energy.” ((NARRATOR)) In the town of Berhale an administrator says medical services were disrupted because they were targeted and destroyed. ((Kadir Hussain, Berhale Administrator (21 secs, in Amharic))) “There is a lot of damage to health facilities. In total, around 16 health facilities that used to provide services to citizens were destroyed.” ((NARRATOR)) The TPLF says its forces entered the Afar region to break a humanitarian blockade imposed by the government and the Afar regional administration, and only retreated after a cease-fire that allowed aid into Tigray. Meanwhile in Tigray, the humanitarian blockade means access to medical care is a major issue too, with hospitals being forced to close. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration says those returning home in Afar and beyond are in urgent need of assistance. While Tigray is inaccessible to journalists, all indications are that the humanitarian situation is similarly desperate. The World Food Program said last week essential food aid has now been distributed in the region, but government-imposed fuel restrictions still make it difficult for food to reach rural areas. ((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Northern Afar Ethiopia))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA WAR AFAR REBUILDS HEADLINE: UN Says 295,000 Returning to Homes in Ethiopia’s Afar Region TEASER: International rights groups say homes and services have been decimated by war PUBLISHED AT: 7/21/2022 at 2:45pm BYLINE: Henry Wilkins DATELINE: KONNABA, ETHIOPIA VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, DLJ, Steve Hirsch VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, ZOOM PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO__ TRT: 4:30 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[Ethiopia’s civil war between Tigrayan forces, the federal government and regional forces has left some occupied towns ruined and millions displaced. The United Nations says about 295,000 people are now returning to the towns in a remote corner of Ethiopia’s northern Afar region. A handful of locals have already returned to their deserted towns to try and rebuild their lives. Henry Wilkins reports from Ethiopia’s northern Afar region.]] ((NARRATOR)) In the mountains in Ethiopia’s northern Afar region, the district of Konabba was occupied by Tigrayan forces until late April. Locals say you can still see Tigrayan forces’ positions in the hills that border Tigray. Although the town is still mostly empty, civilians who fled violence are gradually returning to rebuild their lives since forces aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, have gone, leaving a trail of destruction. Among those civilians is Mohammed Abdula Mohammed, a local administrator. ((Mohammed Abdula Mohammed, Konabba Administrator (in Amharic, 24 secs))) “Many people have returned to their homes, but many of the homes have been ransacked of their furniture. Also, there are no shops or markets. There is severe hunger, and many children suffer from hunger and lack of food.” ((NARRATOR)) According to U.N. and local authorities, of around 300,000 people displaced by the conflict in the Afar region, about 295,000 have spontaneously returned to their homes in recent weeks. Stina Abdala returned to the nearby town of Burhale in June, with her son. ((Sitna Abdala, Recent Returnee (in Afar, 26 secs))) “When the TPLF entered the city, we ran away to save ourselves. We left everything behind, our livestock and our homes. We did not find anyone to help us. We ran away. But now we have returned, everything is gone. They took with them everything they could steal and destroyed everything, even the houses.” ((NARRATOR)) Local officials showed VOA many houses and businesses that had been burned or ransacked. The TPLF did not respond to a request for comment on the destruction caused to civilian buildings in Afar, but they have denied targeting civilians in the past. Rights groups accuse all parties to Ethiopia’s conflict of abuses against civilians and infrastructure. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say in other parts of the country, such as the disputed region of Western Tigray, ethnic cleansing against ethnic Tigrayans has taken place. In Afar, the local administrator in the town of Erebti says loss of infrastructure is taking a major toll. ((Mohammed Aliu, Erebti Administrator (in Amharic, 32 secs)) “Also, the electricity is not available. We had a special generator in the past. When the electricity goes out, we work with it. It was destroyed by the terrorist TPLF. The situation is now difficult here, no electricity, no internet, not even a phone. There were associations that served the citizens in this area and provided water extraction equipment and contributed to saving energy.” ((NARRATOR)) In the town of Berhale an administrator says medical services were disrupted because they were targeted and destroyed. ((Kadir Hussain, Berhale Administrator (21 secs, in Amharic))) “There is a lot of damage to health facilities. In total, around 16 health facilities that used to provide services to citizens were destroyed.” ((NARRATOR)) The TPLF says its forces entered the Afar region to break a humanitarian blockade imposed by the government and the Afar regional administration, and only retreated after a cease-fire that allowed aid into Tigray. Meanwhile in Tigray, the humanitarian blockade means access to medical care is a major issue too, with hospitals being forced to close. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration says those returning home in Afar and beyond are in urgent need of assistance. While Tigray is inaccessible to journalists, all indications are that the humanitarian situation is similarly desperate. The World Food Program said last week essential food aid has now been distributed in the region, but government-imposed fuel restrictions still make it difficult for food to reach rural areas. ((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Northern Afar Ethiopia))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 21, 2022 14:56 EDT
- Byline Henry Wilkins
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America