Awate Fearless News, Opinion, Analysis On Eritrea And Beyond

Over 260 Eritrean refugees have been detained in Neged camp for over a year. Djiboutian authorities claim Neged is a Djiboutian police academy. Most of the refugees are ex-soldiers of the Eritrean army who escaped from forceful and indefinite conscription. They are still living in appalling conditions in Neged camp. Djiboutian authorities are determined to…

Gedab News learned that several companies of the Eritrean army are being hallowed at alarming rates. Due to serious desertion of conscripts, many squads ceased to exist and platoons have been downgraded to the level of squads. At the same time, the size of companies has decreased to that of a platoon, in some instances…

Mr. Ahmed Nasser, a prominent leader of the Eritrean opposition, died today in Stockholm, Sweden. He had a stroke after which he was taken to a hospital where he stayed for one day before he died (Wednesday morning in Stockholm). Ahmed was elected chairman of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) at the organization’s second congress…

Brigadier General Amanuel Haile (aka “Hanjema”), Brigadier General Mebrahtu Tekleab (aka “Vaynak”),  and Mr. Desu Tesfatsion were killed yesterday in a car accident on the road to Mahmimet. The three were en route to participate in the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Eritrean People Liberation Front’s (EPLF) victory over the Ethiopian “Wukaw Command”…

Chiefs of Staff The Eritrean regime has announced that it has appointed Major General Philipos Woldeyohannes, one of its zone commanders, as Chief of Staff. He succeeds Major General Gerzgheir “Wuchu” Andemariam, who passed away on March 4th. One of Eritrea’s zone commanders, Wuchu had been sick (illness not disclosed) for some time and he…

On a news item it carried on March 7, 2014, the Sudanese website alrakoba.net stated that “Sudanese police announced that it found a body of a mentally sick young person [identified by some people] at the Thewra neighborhood of Port Sudan.” Several organs were harvested from the body before it was discarded on the street.…

General Sisi’s overthrow of Mohammed Mursi’s government in Egypt has re-aligned Arab politics with many Gulf States in support of Sisi, while Qatar is fiercely opposed.  Consequently, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Bahrain have withdrawn their ambassadors from Doha, Qatar.  In the middle, manipulating or being manipulated, is Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.…

After his last trip to Qatar in April 2013, the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, arrived today in Doha, Qatar. Since his visit last year, a follow up trip had been postponed three times by the Qataris. Unlike other heads of states, Isaias was not received at the airport by the Emir of Qatar but by…

The Eritrean opposition organizations including the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), which has been shedding member organizations since 2011, have agreed to come under one umbrella. Since August 2013, the opposition groups were engaged in discussion in a dialogue forum created for the purpose. On January 29, 2014 the EDA issued an initiative calling for an…

Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir, is the closest and, probably, the only friend that the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, has. The leaders of the neighboring states, both shunned by regional and international governments, find solace in each other’s company. Now, according to our diplomatic sources in Sudan, Al-Bashir’s long-standing proposal to normalize relations between Eritrea and…