If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. 4 February 2022 Humanitarian Aid 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. The Blue Nile region is situated in the south-eastern part of Sudan, bordering Ethiopia and South Sudan. Communal trauma should not be underestimated. The Gumuz of the Lowlands of Western Gojjam: The frontier in History 1900-1935. Already, reports indicate the presence of training operations for militias in the Ethiopia-Sudan border. 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. In the latest episode, witnesses said that men of the Gumuz ethnic group, armed with rifles and swords, stormed into Daletti village early Tuesday. Since then, death from violence been rampant in the whole region. What are their hopes and their fears? Communities have been torn apart. The region has faced major challenges to economic development, due to lack of transportation and communications infrastructure. 12/24/2020. What are the historical and social contexts? [citation needed] The Gumuz number around 200,000 individuals. The region's capital is Assosa. This was followed by the killing of over 80 people in a place called Daleti in Metekel Zone. This is a good article. Lifelines: exchange marriage among the Gumuz. Unseth, Peter. In 2019, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country should be ready for a war with Egypt over the dispute. The boundary was confirmed in 1902 by Ethiopia and Sudan. James, Wendy. Grottanelli, Vinigi, L. 1948. The command post also tried to deter the militias by declaring that it would make door-to-door hunts and take all necessary measures to apprehend militia members. The claim stems from the belief that Guba was gifted to Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia (1889-1913) by Khalifa Abdullahi, a Sudanese Mahdist leader, in 1897. 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. The OLF tried to incorporate the local population as "black Oromo", but met with little support. UNHCR, COR and partners are also responding to their needs. 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. While the world is focusing on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia caused by the war between the federal government and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, brutal repetitive attacks have taken place in the Metekkel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz state in western Ethiopia. More than 80 civilians were killed in an attack on Tuesday in the Benishangul-Gumuz region on Ethiopia's border with Sudan, the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday. The dust of the violence in Metekel has not yet settled and threatens to spread into neighboring zones, raising fears of escalating conflict. 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. Bashanga, das Strafrecht der Baga-Gumuz. The New Humanitarian | Anger, fear run deep after months of ethnic In. Attempts by the governments of Sudan and Ethiopia to increase control over the circulation of artisanal gold in their borderland regions have largely failed. 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. I have no confidence in the proposed solution. BDP also expressed frustration over the regional governments willingness to share power with militias while imprisoning and persecuting legally organized political parties in the region. As of 2007, there were around 159,418 Gumuz in Ethiopia. Major roads are still closed. 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. 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. As time passes, the Gumuz militias are strengthening their holdings and capacity, expanding and imposing their presence into Kamashi and Assosa zones. Ethiopia's new party is welcome news, but faces big hurdles. I do not think the article addressed why the Gumuz rebel. Opposition political parties, like the Boro Democratic Party (BDP), rejected the 18 May agreement between the regional government and the leaders of the militias, which included power-sharing elements, as illegitimaterecalling that the only way to assume power should be through an election. The Gumuz have traditionally been grouped with other Nilotic peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the collective name Shanqella (Pankhurst 1977). Simmoons, Frederick. La Trib dei Gumus. 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.. In a Twitter thread, he said, It is clear that there is a plot designed to thwart our efforts and undermine our very existence. "The sea is rising in the Mediterranean Sea, and the land is sinking in the Nile Delta. The diplomatic dispute with Sudan and Egypt should be solved through dialogue and the dam negotiations should proceed amicably. 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. In 2019, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country should be ready for a war with Egypt over the dispute. Although Mr. Abiy declared victory in Tigray last month, United Nations officials say the fight continues. But it has lots of control over its internal problems through understanding and negotiations. Climate change, population growth and a regional fight for water resources are all contributing to the risk of water imbalance, experts say. Although the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) confirmed that elections in Kamashi and Metekel zone will be conducted on 6 September, it is not clear if that is possible in light of continuing security crisis, mounting fear escalation in neighboring zones, and several people displaced. But the region is also home to minority Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans and Agaws a source of escalating tension. With mounting grievances against the regime, on 12 October 2020, the then chairman of the command post and deputy prime minister, Demeke Mekonnon, strangely and officially called people in Metekel to organize and arm themselves for defense. Al-Monitor.com is a trusted and award-winning independent source of Middle East news and analysis, founded in 2012. Regardless, some efforts were tried and they all failed. driven curation of top business stories accross 12 industries in the region. Thousands have been killed and buried in mass graves, forced out of their homes, and properties looted and set ablaze. 1958. 1981. Haavisto repeated urgent calls from the international community for the Ethiopian government to grant full humanitarian access to Tigray, including areas beyond its control. About 90% of Egypt's population lives along the Nile River, with the waterway providing nearly all Egyptians with drinking water. 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. On the other hand, Egypt considers the dam a major threat to its food security. 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. Ethiopia Atlas of Key Demographic and Health Indicators, 2005." Flag of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. With national and international attention being pulled in many directionsmost notably towards war in Tigraythe problems of Benishangul-Gumuz are being eclipsed. [14][20], Resistance to the Mengistu regime here came mainly from the Berta. What are the policies of neigbouring states toward the BSG region? They have ritual specialists called gafea. Separately, a European Union envoy warned the crisis in Tigray appears out of control, after visiting Ethiopia on behalf of the bloc. EIEP: Marginalization and persecution in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz First, an area needs to be effectively controlled, ensuring the availability of appropriate levels of security, social services, and economic opportunities for returnees. This figure does not include the uncounted and unreported displacement of Gumuz and Shinasha people that took place within Metekel Zone. The dam's impact on the water supply depends on how fast it's filled, according to Elgendy. But it also unleashed simmering ethnic tensions. 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. Returning the displaced people into their villages will bring durable solutions but should be carefully handled. 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. But funding gaps has forced @WFP to make difficult decisions about who receives food and who goes without. Amharas are the second most populous ethnic group in Ethiopia and they have been targeted repeatedly over the last year. This has received mixed reactions among residents and watchers of the region. [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. The remaining four seats belong to the Mao Komo Special Wereda. 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. UNHCR, partners rush to aid thousands of refugees in Benishangul Gumuz According to the regions constitution, the Benishangul-Gumuz State Council should have less than 100 seats. . As "Shanquella", they are already mentioned by Scottish explorer James Bruce in his Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, published in 1790. The Gumuz also hunt wild animals, such as duikers and warthogs, and gather honey, wild fruits, roots and seeds. Now, we could be at the point in history where that changes," says Mohammed Mahmoud, a director of the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Unseth, Peter. Trading in slaves in Bela-Shangul and Gumuz, Ethiopia: border enclaves in history, 1897-1938. While the Blue Nile-Benishangul-Gumuz borderland is not free from conflict, it provides an example of . 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. 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. Abiys visit to the area was, unfortunately, followed by an escalation of the conflict and mass killings. Prioritize your target industries for weekly review: We also offer team plans. The new influx of refugees into Sudan comes amid tensions between Addis Ababa and Khartoum over a border dispute and the deadlocked talks over a massive dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River. People are not receiving the humanitarian support they need and the attention they deserve. The government and its intelligence sector should reassess the routes and ways through which the militias are getting logistical support. 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. There have been repeated episodes of intercommunal violence over the years. Like other regions in Ethiopia, Benishangul-Gumuz is subdivided into administrative zones. Metekkel zone has been placed under a command post that is directly responsible to the prime minister. For the umpteenth time, we call on the federal and regional authorities to scale up security in Metekel, he said, referring to the district of Benishangul-Gumuz where the killings took place. Descendants of Gumuz people taken as slaves to the area just south of Welkite were found to still be speaking the language in 1984 (Unseth 1985). Weekly A.I. However, Ethiopia Insight will correct clear factual errors. Bambasi (also known as Abba Moti) is a town in western Ethiopia. Over 80 killed in attack in Ethiopian border region with Sudan - state "There'll be an imbalance in terms of less water supply and inflated demand," said Mahmoud. Published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. [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. According to their traditions, in earlier times they inhabited the western parts of the province of Gojjam, but were progressively banished to the inhospitable area of the Blue Nile and its tributaries by their more powerful Afroasiatic-speaking neighbors, the Amhara and Agaw, who also enslaved them (Wolde-Selassie Abbute 2004). Concise, actionable scenarios and predictions from top regional experts. [10], Religion in Benishangul-Gumuz Region (2007)[11]. The national government should safeguard the rights of the indigenous and minority groups who are endangered by mob-minded community members desperate for revenge. Live Video Q&A - Hear from our top journalists and regional experts. High-ranking officials including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the area and discussed with representatives of the people in December 2020. Main languages are the Berta (25.15%), Amharic (22.46%), Gumuz (20.59%), Oromo (17.69%), Shinasha (4.58%) and Awngi (4.01%). This is because the Blue Nile, which originates from Ethiopia, supplies up to 80% of the Nile waters. 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. Previously one had to travel through Wollega and Gojjam in the neighboring regions of Oromia and Amhara, a distance of 1,250 kilometers, but it is now around 378 kilometers on the new road and bridge. "Experimenting with Non-Territorial Autonomy: Indigenous Councils in Ethiopia". Returning people to their previous villages without ensuring these preconditions may result in renewed rounds of displacement and devastation. 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. Ethiopia started filling the dam, which is over 70% complete, in July 2020 and is getting ready for the second filling in July 2021. The Gumuz (also spelled Gumaz and Gumz) are an ethnic group speaking a Nilo-Saharan language inhabiting the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in western Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region in Sudan. Uzar, Henning. The country is facing an annual water deficit and is estimated to be categorized as water scarce by 2025, according to the United Nations. Conditions for travel within zones varies, but is often poor and subject to disruption by the rainy season. The risk of domestic violence is rising. No one surrendered per the deadline. In the absence of justice, peace cannot prevail. Ethiopias former ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front. 505 from Sudan 1,054 from Somalia and 25,947 from South Sudan (NRC, 2014). Benishangul-Gumuz Region - Wikipedia #NEWS ALERT The number of #refugees in eastern Africa has tripled in the last decade to almost 5 million. Egypt has long been called the "gift of the Nile" as it has historically depended on the river for survival. 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. 1985. 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. 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. 7,000 seek Sudan asylum after fleeing western Ethiopia violence As a result, the militias are strengthening their holdings and bargaining power. UNHCR, partners rush to aid thousands of refugees in Benishangul Gumuz Government safety-net programs were essentially unknown by the residents. Egypt is not the only country that depends on the river -- it's shared by 11 African countries. It is becoming unsafe to present identity cards that show the holders ethnicity, even at security checkpoints, as this may result in persecution. Ethiopia has accused both Sudan and Egypt of sponsoring Gumuz militia attacks to jeopardise the construction and filling of the dam. 'No other alternative': Egypt worries as climate change, dam project It even considers that it is the only country entitled to the Nile waters, which Egypt totally rejects. The region has 20 weredas and two Special Weredas making three Zones of the region. 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. It is subdivided in several dialects (Ahland 2004, Unseth 1985). 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. Ethiopian army 'kills militants' behind village massacre - DW As the Berta People's Liberation Movement[21] or Benishangul People's Liberation Movement (BPLM), they - like the Gambella People's Liberation Movement of the Anuak in Gambella - were not accepted as full members of the EPRDF, but became regional partners of the new ruling coalition.[13]. The reconciliatory act has also aggrieved those who have suffered in the process of the conflict and who have been waiting for justice. Join over 50,000 readers who access our journalists dedicated newsletters, covering the top political, security, business and tech issues across the region each week.Delivered straight to your inbox. 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. The command post set a deadline for the militias to lay down their arms and surrender on 8 December 2020. But hitherto the default position of both the Ethiopian state and opposition forces is violence. The regional government announced the signing of an agreement with the militia group on 18 May in Gilgel Beles town. Dessalegn, Beza. (Calverton: Macro International, 2008), http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3583/download/50086, "Exhibiting Cultures of Contact: A Museum for Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia", "Ethiopia and the Mahdiyya You Call Me a Chicken? 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. Nilotic ethnic group in Ethiopia and Sudan, https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1275-84, "12 killed in latest attack in western Ethiopia", "Benishangul: At least 60 civilians mostly women, children killed", "More than 100 killed in latest ethnic massacre in Ethiopia", Field recordings from 1980 of traditional music, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gumuz_people&oldid=1144297259, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2008, "Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. It was fighting the government of Ethiopia for more than 17 years and committed hundreds of deaths and huge number of displacements in the region until peace deal . 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.. 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. Millions of displaced families across eastern Africa will fall deeper into hunger as food rations dwindle due to humanitarian resources being stretched to the limit as the world grapples with a toxic cocktail of conflict, climate shocks, and COVID-19, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday. Blood was flooding from his neck, he said. As such, one could go so far as to argue that even bothering to conduct an election in Assosa while postponing elections in Metekel and Kamashi is effectively pointless. Read more: Rural population was 424,432, while the urban population was 36,027. The Benshangul/Gumuz Region lies on Ethiopia's western border with Sudan, and shares internal borders with Amhara and Oromia Regions.