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The study aimed to conduct an assessment of the damage caused by the two year war in Tigray on some of the cultural heritage from Eastern Tigray. Field surveys and interviews with local inhabitants were used to collect relevant data. The gathered data were analyzed and interpreted using a qualitative approach. The survey results showed that churches, monasteries, mosques, towns, and villages were frequently shelled by combatants and that there was significant and deliberate destruction of built heritage sites and looting of sites and treasures. These data suggest that the aims of this destruction were to (1) dominate local historical narratives and identities, (2) suppress communities, and (3) exploit resources for personal gain. The hate speech engraved on the walls indicated that cultural heritage in Eastern Tigray was targeted with intention. This intentional destruction of important cultural heritage was expressed in the horrific massacre of civilians and religious leaders. The current preliminary assessment overall shows that iconic cultural resources were heavily damaged and historic documents and treasures were looted following the two-year war in Tigray. We conclude this study with an urgent call for recovery projects aimed at preventing further loss of cultural heritage in Eastern Tigray. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence generated on utilization of maternal health services during times of conflict can inform the development of targeted interventions. The deadly war in Tigray caused the health system to collapse. However, utilization of maternal health services is not well documented that might help in design effective interventions applicable during armed conflict. Thus, this study aimed to assess maternal health service utilization and bridge the gap in healthcare provision and support during conflict.. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among mothers of children under the age of 1 year in six accessible zones of Tigray from August 4–20, 2021. The study participants were selected through a random sampling method. The study was conducted during the armed conflict where the access to health services was limited due to the damaged and looted health facilities. A descriptive study was used to characterize the study population and data were presented using proportions and percentages. A Chi-square test was used for categorical variables and a P-value of 0.05 was considered significant.. Results: A total of 4,381 participants were included in the study. Modern contraceptives were used by 1002 (22.9%) of women, and injectable contraceptives were the most common method used by 472 (47.1%) women. Likewise, only 830 (36.5%),1956 (47.1%), and 623 (15.0%) respondents reported the use of optimal antenatal care (ANC), skilled delivery, and postnatal care (PNC) in the first 24 h by mothers, respectively. About 34% of women received comprehensive abortion care services. Most delivery services took place in hospitals. Residence has shown a significant difference in using maternal health services at p-value < 0.001. Conclusion: The conflict in Tigray has had a profound impact on maternal health services, resulting in a significant disruption that is disproportionately high in rural areas. Immediate action is required to provide access to lifesaving interventions for basic maternal health services. The timely initiation of these services is crucial in addressing the pressing needs of pregnant women and their infants. By implementing comprehensive and targeted interventions, we can mitigate the potential long-term consequences and ensure that maternal health services are effectively reinstated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial "The Responsibility to Protect at an Inflection Point" reflects on the 20th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine and its relevance in the face of ongoing mass atrocities globally. The article discusses debates surrounding the effectiveness of R2P, challenges to its implementation, and the need for deeper research into atrocity prevention and human rights violations. The editorial also highlights the journal's efforts to publish quality scholarship, promote inclusivity, support early career researchers, and facilitate conversations between scholars and practitioners. The incoming editorial team is expected to continue advancing innovative research on preventing and halting mass atrocities. [Extracted from the article]

The political and military weight of clans, foreign interventions, the relations between the local, provincial and federal levels, the strength of the national idea and attachment to political islam have historically been determining factors behind either success or failure of state policy in Somalia. 2021 was an annus horribilis in Somalia's annals, marked by an electoral crisis, mutiny, tensions between the president and prime minister, a conflict between the federal state and Puntland, the departure of the last American soldiers, intensifying crisis with Kenya and Djibouti and attacks of the capital by al Shabaab, which are on the offensive since 2019. 2022 however saw the stars aligning for the strengthening of the state and the recovering of Somalian sovereignty: election of president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, nomination of PM Hamza Amdi Barre, appeasement of the wars in Tigray and Yemen, setting of ATMIS to give the former AMISOM a clear mandate to support the Somali Transition Plan. Despite the new president's willingness to address the Shabaab menace not only militarily but ideologically, calls for dialogue and the appointing of a Shabaab co-founder as religion minister, 2022 also saw the deadliest engagements ever recorded by NGO ACLED in the country during an offensive that seemed to gain momentum in the second half of the year with the support of ATMIS and other foreign partners. This paper therefore aims to explore the new paradigms behind Somalia's foreign relations under her new leadership, to evaluate how much they help or hinder Somalia's war effort against al Shabaab and state consolidation and to explore possible scenarii in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child mortality is one of the key indicators of the Sustainable development goals. The Ethiopian healthcare system in general and Tigray's healthcare system in particular has shown a remarkable progress in terms of reducing maternal, neonatal, and under-five mortality in the last couple of decades. However, the war erupted in November 2020 caused the healthcare system to collapse and little is known about the status of child mortality in Tigray. Thus, this study aimed to examine the magnitude and causes of under-five child mortality in the embattled Tigray region was conducted from October 2020 – May 2022. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based survey was employed. The study included all zones except the western zone and some areas of eastern and north western Tigray bordering Eritrea. These areas were skipped for security reasons. Based on multistage cluster sampling, 121 tabiyas in districts were selected. Census was conducted to survey 189,087 households in the 121 Tabiyas. A locally developed household screening tool and the latest world health organization verbal autopsy instrument were used. The Verbal Autopsy data was processed using the Inter-VA–5.1 (probabilistic modeling) to assign the cause of death. Under-five mortality rate (U5MR) was calculated per 1000 live births with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: In the present study, out of 29,761 live births, 1761 under-five children died giving an under-five mortality rate of 59(95% CI, 57–62) per 1000 live births. Deaths in the neonatal period and post-neonatal period accounted for 60% and 19.9% of the deaths respectively. Overall, the top 3 causes of under-five child mortality in the present study were: Perinatal asphyxia (n = 277,18%,) prematurity (n = 235,16%) and diarrheal diseases (n = 162, 12.5%). In those who died after first month of life, diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory tract infection, sever acute malnutrition and HIV were the main causes of death. Concerning the place of death, 61.6% of the children died at home. Conclusion: The present study revealed the doubling of under-five mortality in Tigray from where the figure stood in the pre-war period. The leading causes of death in under-five mortality are potentially preventable in situation where the healthcare system is functioning. Restoring the healthcare system and its apparatus, improving access to skilled institutional delivery, smooth perinatal transition, improving nutrition status of children, access to full course of vaccines could ameliorate the staggering under-five mortality rate in the war in Tigray. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide were committed in the war in Tigray. This article focuses on the use of sexual violence as an instrument of war. It narrates the scale, nature, and intentions of the sexual violence perpetrated on Tigrayan women, girls, men and boys. It showcases the extreme cruelty, dehumanization and intent to sterilize and inflict maximum damage from stories of victims and witnesses. It compares them with the rape crimes committed in other cases and concludes the nature of the crime was genocidal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Tigray region of Ethiopia, which has been affected by civil war from 2020 to 2022, is facing an increase in tuberculosis in the damaged health system. Our study employed mathematical modeling to predict the incidence of tuberculosis and its trends during the war and in the post-conflict setting of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: We predicted the incidence of tuberculosis from 2020 to 2025 in Tigray using the SEIRD model in the context of the recent war and compared it with its counterfactual trend in the absence of war. The counterfactual trend was forecasted using an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for stationary time-series data. We performed rolling origin cross-validation for ARIMA and sensitivity analysis for the SEIRD model. The initial tuberculosis data and model parameters were obtained from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the literature, respectively. Results: Between 2000 and 2017, the incidence of tuberculosis in Tigray decreased at an annual rate of 3.0%. Shortly before the war, the incidence of tuberculosis in the region was 178 per 100,000 people. In a counterfactual scenario where there was no war, the incidence was projected to decrease to 144.3 in 2022 and 126.3 in 2025. However, owing to the war and siege, the SEIRD-projected incidence of tuberculosis would have increased to 965.5 (95% CI: 958.5– 972.7) in 2022 and 372.4 (95% CI: 367.7– 376.6) in 2025. Over 800 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people were attributed to the war in 2022. In the postwar period, the incidence is projected to decrease by 30% by 2023. Conclusion: The Tigray War reversed a two-decade decline in tuberculosis cases, causing a five-fold increase compared to the no-war scenario. Urgent interventions are needed to support tuberculosis prevention, testing, and treatment, particularly in key and vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Due to the war in Tigray, 2.1 million people (31% of the total population) were internally displaced. Epidemiological evidence shows that the burden of mental health is higher in war/conflict and post-conflict areas of the world compared to non-conflict places, especially for those who have experienced targeted ethnic violence as a result of civil and political unrest. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the common psychiatric disorders experienced during war. Thus, this study aimed to assess the level and aggravating factors of PTSD during the war in Tigray. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 2132 IDP family heads in Tigray from August 6–30, 2021. Study participants were recruited using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. The PCL-C checklist, derived from DSM-IV criteria, was used to assess the magnitude of post-traumatic stress disorder. The entered data were exported to the SPSS version 26 statistical package for analysis. Summary statistics were computed, and logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with developing PTSD. Results: A total of 2071 IDPs were surveyed with a response rate of 99.7%. The survey revealed that the level of PTSD among community-hosted IDPs was 57.7%; 95% CI 55.5%-59.8%. Older age (> 50) (AOR 3.1, 95% CI 1.497–6.421), primary and secondary school attendance (AOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.344–3.279; and 1.697, 95% CI 1.067–2.7) respectively, internally displaced persons with a family size of > 6 members (AOR 1.821, 95% CI 1.124–2.95), disability due to the war (AOR 1.702, 95% CI 1.077–2.69), and loss of contact with family members (AOR 1.472, 95% CI 1.032–2.099) were significantly associated with PTSD. Conclusion: The overall level of PTSD among cIDPs was found to be high (57.7%). Almost every other IDP developed this serious mental health syndrome. Immediate psycho-social health intervention is needed by local and international organizations in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental institutions based on the study's findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the difficulties faced by individuals in need of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) during times of war and armed conflict. It focuses on the impact of ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, and Israel-Hamas on funding, patient numbers, dialysis modality, and the availability of supplies. The article emphasizes the vulnerability of individuals with kidney disease during these times and the importance of support and prioritization of their specific needs. It also highlights the need for coordination, preparedness, and advocacy from the kidney community, industry, and professional societies to mitigate the effects of armed conflicts on kidney care. [Extracted from the article]

À travers une analyse de la guerre au Tigray, Semhal M. Zenawi revient sur les principaux tournants de la politique économique éthiopienne qui ont alimenté les clivages au sein de la coalition de l’EPRDF. Elle replace le conflit dans le cadre des transformations économiques et sociales structurelles du pays et observe les conséquences de la libéralisation sur la construction nationale. En revenant sur les luttes factionnelles qui ont secoué l’EPRDF dans les années 2010, elle analyse de manière critique la façon dont les élites politiques, même si elles ont mis du temps à l’admettre, ont démantelé le modèle de politique économique singulier de l’État développemental. Cet entretien marque le début d’une prise en compte, encore timide, de l’économie politique de l’actuelle guerre civile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the number of civilian war casualties in armed conflicts is difficult because various factors complicate accurate counting. Many deaths go unrecorded, and injuries sustained in conflict can result in delayed fatalities. The true scope of civilian deaths, compounded by indirect deaths resulting from famine, starvation, disruptions to healthcare services, and psychological trauma, is nearly impossible to gauge. Since direct counting is unfeasible in most cases, statistical methods can be employed to estimate civilian casualties, but different data collection methods, survey methodologies, sample sizes, and time frames produce varying estimates. Political motivations can also substantially influence the number of civilian casualties reported, since warring parties and their allies manipulate figures to further their political agendas. This article examines the widely cited figure of 600,000 civilian casualties in Ethiopia's Tigray war from November 2020 to November 2022 as reported by Jan Nyssen. Despite methodological problems, an absence of transparent data, and a lack of research objectivity, Nyssen's number has been widely accepted by the mainstream media as a legitimate statistical estimate of civilian war casualties in Tigray. Sensationalism, reporters' political leanings, and an implicit media alignment with the US government's stance on the conflict may have determined the acceptance of the number. Using data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), this article provides interval estimates of direct civilian deaths at three confidence levels; the results reveal substantial discrepancies with the figure reported by Nyssen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of an ethnically and politically motivated armed warfare in Tigray in 2020, spread to the Amhara and Afar regions in Ethiopia, wreaking havoc on civilians. This armed conflict has had a significant impact on the lives of women who have been uprooted from their homes and are now living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges faced by women living in two IDP camps in Dabat and Debark, Ethiopia. In-depth interviews were used to gather data from 13 participants. Challenges emerged that relate to three major themes: systemic (gender-based violence, family separation/disintegration, human trafficking, and genocide); psychological (trauma and stress; loss of home/personal belongings); and social (lack of social security and stability, reintegration and resettlement problems, unmet basic needs [physiological and physical health], and maladministration of supplies. The results of the study suggest that internally displaced women in Ethiopia are a group of targeted and victimized civilians suffering from a wide range of atrocities that are rooted in their gender identity, marginalized status, and extreme vulnerability. Lawmakers, politicians, advocacy groups, social work practitioners and women's activists must all advocate for stronger sanctions for those who perpetrate violence against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethiopia has initiated a national dialogue process to address political tensions and regional conflicts in the country. However, critics argue that the dialogue is already doomed to fail. The government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is struggling to quell insurgencies in the Oromia and Amhara regions, even though the Tigray war ended 19 months ago. While some political parties have joined the dialogue, the opposition has largely rejected it, and it remains uncertain if the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) will participate. Critics argue that the dialogue lacks inclusivity, impartiality, and independence, and that it is controlled by one party. The success of the dialogue is contingent on the cessation of conflict, the return of displaced people, the release of political prisoners, and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Ethiopia. The dialogue process will continue in the regional states and among diaspora communities. Additionally, parliament has passed a law allowing political parties engaged in violence, such as the TPLF, to re-register. The delisting of the TPLF has hindered the implementation of the peace deal signed in November 2022 to end the civil war in Tigray. [Extracted from the article]

American troops are set to withdraw from Niger by September, following demands from the country's military rulers. The withdrawal comes after Niger claimed the presence of US forces was illegal. The decision was reached after talks between the US Department of Defense and Nigerien counterparts. Meanwhile, Russian support in Niger is increasing, with additional military personnel and equipment being sent to the country. Despite the withdrawal of troops, the US will continue to provide development aid to Niger. [Extracted from the article]

One year after a peace deal was reached to end the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, there are concerns about ongoing human rights abuses and the lack of justice for victims. The conflict between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front resulted in the deaths of half a million people, with all sides accused of atrocities. While progress has been made, there are still reports of violence and displacement in Tigray and other parts of the country. The Amhara region has seen clashes between federal troops and the Fano militia, and peace talks with the Oromo Liberation Army have also failed to reach an agreement. [Extracted from the article]

What is the relationship between atrocity denial and emotion in violent ethnic conflict? Atrocity denial is often anchored in instrumental calculations, as it facilitates implicated parties escaping legal and political accountability; yet it is also a phenomenon tethered to personal and mass emotions in important ways. Freud's classic intuition that denial arises from a subconscious desire to suppress painful emotions resonates specifically in the context of atrocity denial, since association with morally reprehensible acts can generate difficult sentiments of shame, guilt, and remorse that perpetrators and their constituents would prefer to avoid. Atrocity denial conventionally understood is thus a defense mechanism, designed to blunt distressing emotions, and its effect on violence is permissive—neutralizing the uncomfortable emotive sentiments that might otherwise constrain conflict in the future. Using the case of the Ethiopian civil war, we argue that this classic conception of the atrocity denial-emotion nexus misses an important dimension. Atrocity denial blunts certain emotional responses, but appeals to emotion as well, including the very emotions that cause and sustain violent ethnic conflict. Careful analysis of two specific alleged atrocities committed in the course of the war—the Mai Kadra massacre and the ethnic of cleansing of Tigrayans in Western Tigray—and the corresponding denial narratives of the various parties to the conflict, highlight the ways in which emotions such as hatred, fear, and resentment are consistently invoked in denial accounts. Atrocity denial is thus not simply an act of defense via emotional supression, but through emotional appeals, constitutive of political violence itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]