In an interview with awate.com, Dr. Mirijam Van Reisen has answered one question that had thus far been made vague by the Eritrean attendants of the Brussels Conference: what was the selection criteria that her organization, the European External Policy Advisory (EEPA), used to assemble the Eritrean “reference group”? According …

On November 12, General Sebhat Efrem, Eritrea’s minister of defense, left Eritrea accompanying a military team that included a cartographer, communication officer (code operator) and an intelligence officer. The destination or the purpose of the visit is unknown: it was not announced in the state-owned media and even senior military officers …

Between November 30 and December 11, 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, will conduct the 6th session of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). As with all other countries, the UPR will review human right reports submitted by the government of Eritrea and other stakeholders, including Awate. …

For several years now, the United States and the European Union have been using divergent approaches to coax the regime of their once-staunch ally, Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki, to come to the fold.  For the most part, Europe was offering the carrot of unconditional development aid and the United States was …

Mr. Saleh Meki, Eritrea’s Minister of Fisheries, died on Saturday morning (October 3) local time of heart failure.  He was 62.  Saleh was in his office in the port city of Massawa when he started experiencing chest pains.  His colleagues called an ambulance to drive him to Asmara.  He passed away …

An upheaval that traces its origins to mid-April of 2009 when a captain challenged his commander’s use of a female recruit as his concubine has expanded to a military skirmish between a rebellious group of 70 gunmen and the army, requiring the intervention of President Isaias Afwerki. The clash is …

Mr. Kibrom Dafla   , the former manager of Himbol and the Inland Revenue, has failed to return from Italy where his wife resides.  Kibrom was a facilitator for the Red Sea Trading Corporation (“09”), the financial arm of the People’s Front for Democracy & Justice (PFDJ), the ruling and …

The Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) is suing Eritrea for Kuwait Dinars 19 million (apx. $65 million) due payments for petroleum delivered to Eritrea.  IPG resorted to the Court of Arbitration in London hoping “to obtain an arbitration award confirming that Eritrea and the Petroleum Corporation of Eritrea… should immediately pay …

News about the escalating tension between Eritrea and Djibouti has caught Eritreans, including strong supporters of the ruling regime, off-guard. Here’s what we know so far: On January 2008, on two occasions, President Isaias Afwerki paid a visit to the port city of Asab and had a meeting with Djibouti …

October 17, 2007 (ASMARA) — Eritrea’s security chief was shot four times on Friday evening by unknown gunmen. He is alive but in critical condition. Simon is the number two man in the Department of National Security, which is headed by Wedi Kassa. The gunmen fled immediately and Asmara is full …

[Republished from the archives] The Eritrean government has arrested two more US Embassy employees last month. Mr Fitwi Gezae, who was the webmaster of the US embassy in Eritrea and Mr Biniam Girmay, who was its Facility Management Assistant, were detained by Eritrean security officials. Fitwi Gezae, who had served in the Eritrean Defense Forces …

[Republished from the archives] For weeks, there have been rumors circulating that the Government of Eritrea was about to expel two Americans, including an employee of USAid, for fraternizing with the Reformers and linking with the increasingly-independent private press. The decision to expel them was reversed under heavy pressure by …