Wazema Daily News , Jan 9
Once in a day, stories from Wazema newsroom and other sources.
1) The central security command of the historic city of Gondar in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara State said Monday evening that the Federal Government forces foiled the attempts of the Fano militia to capture the city last weekend. The Fano militia attempted to enter two kebelles (sub districts) of the city and another on the outskirts, the security command disclosed. Wazema reported on Monday morning that there were armed clashes in kebelle 18 of Gondar city and the nearby Azezo town, among others, between government troops and the Fano militia on Saturday. However, it did not say if there were any casualties or injuries in the clash. The Fano militia have been battling government troops in many parts of the state for several months.
2) Gunmen burnt three heavy vehicles in an attack at a place called Ilala in East Shewa zone, Oromia State, midmorning Monday, Wazema has learnt. Sources said they were not aware of the casualties or injuries from the attack. According to the sources, the vehicles that were attacked had violated a “state-wide transport strike” allegedly called by the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) last week. Wazema reported earlier that the movement of public passenger vehicles and trucks had been severely restricted on several key roads in Oromia State following the alleged call for strike. Sources also said government security forces threatened and beat up local residents, accusing them of harbouring members of the rebel group.
3) The Addis Ababa City Administration announced Tuesday that over 40 percent of its public service employees and managers passed the recent competency assessment test. The Administration said that only 6,517 out of the 15,151 employees, experts and managers scored the pass mark. Only 34 percent (i.e. 1,422) of the 4,213 managers, passed, the City Administration revealed. According to the results, nearly 50 percent (5,095) of the 10,257 workers who took the test, passed. The pass mark for the workers was 50 percent, and 60 percent for the managers. The City Administration plans to lay off or demote those who failed to attain the pass mark.
4) The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it had received several complaints of unlawful detention of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, Ethio FM reported on Tuesday. The Commission’s Director of the Department for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs Rights, Enguday Meskele, said they had received repeated complaints of detention of Eritrean refugees, the report indicated. The report also quoted Enguday as saying that the Commission has been conducting investigations into the complaints and promised to announce the results upon completion.
5) Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki and his Somalian counterpart Hassan Mohammed held “extensive and profound talks on bilateral, regional and international issues”, Eritrea’s Ministry of Information said in a statement on Tuesday. The two leaders agreed to “work vigorously, through bilateral and complementary cooperation and within the framework of a wider regional complementarity, with patience and constructive spirit, while refraining from a re-active posture to various provocative agendas”, the ministry added. According to the statement, the Eritrean government will issue “extensive statements in the near future” on bilateral and regional issues. [Wazema]