Muhamad Yehia JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the …
Read More »Lebanon’s ever-rising toll, M23 talks, and the new UN relief chief
cairo – Muhamad Yehia Israel strikes central Beirut; Lebanon toll passes 1,300 Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut on 10 October killed at least 22 people and injured over 100 others, and two members of the the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured when an Israeli tank opened …
Read More »Under Israeli bombs, civil society fills the void left by the Lebanese state
Muhamad Yehia — BEIRUT “We are in need of two mattresses.” “Does anyone have an apartment for two families that left the south?” “Can someone provide baby clothes and milk? Urgent.” Lebanese social media has been flooded in recent weeks by posts like these from people trying to crowd-source resources, …
Read More »Ethiopia’s unfinished peace deal leaves hundreds of thousands of ex-fighters in limbo
Muhamad Yehia ..ADDIS ABABA As a rebel soldier, 24-year-old Danayit fought in some of the fiercest battles of the recent civil war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, often spending days marching through the mountains without food and losing dozens of friends on the front line. Eventually, a piece of shrapnel …
Read More »‘Horrific’ civilian toll as Ethiopia turns to combat drones to quell local insurgencies
Muhamad Yehia ..ADDIS ABABA The Ethiopian Orthodox priest reached the site of the explosion just minutes after the missile had hit. It was a scene of complete devastation. “It was horrific,” he told The New Humanitarian. “The place was littered with body parts of dead people, intact dead bodies, and …
Read More »Aid workers risk death and kidnap in Ethiopia’s troubled Amhara region
ADDIS ABABA – Muhamad Yehia In late July, Yared Melese, a 30-year-old NGO worker, checked into a hotel in North Wollo zone, part of Ethiopia’s troubled Amhara region. He had gone to assess humanitarian needs on behalf of Action for Social Development and Environmental Protection Organisation (ASDEPO), an Ethiopian non-profit. …
Read More »Dadaab Voices: Kenya’s flagship refugee plan marred by lack of consultation
Muhamad Yehia The Kenyan government has announced a plan that could transform the lives of the more than 670,000 refugees sheltering in the country – ending a three-decade-old policy that has forced them to remain in isolated, overcrowded, and chronically underfunded camps. Launched with fanfare last year, the Shirika plan aims to …
Read More »Tensions rise in Horn of Africa as Ethiopia searches for a route to the sea
Muhama Yehia – ADDIS ABABA Tensions are running high in the Horn of Africa as Somalia continues to demand Ethiopia annuls a controversial port deal with the breakaway republic of Somaliland, or else withdraw its troops from Somali territory. The biggest signal of Somalia’s displeasure with the Ethiopia-Somaliland deal was …
Read More »Peacekeeper sex abuse rife in Central African Republic as survivors stay silent
Muhamad Yehia Women and girls in the Central African Republic are continuing to have their lives ruined by sexual abuse and exploitation committed by UN peacekeepers, and many are not reporting cases to the mission on the ground because they fear reprisals, don’t know who to contact, or lack faith …
Read More »A fool’s mission: Trying to track the impact of EU migration funding in Senegal
Muhamad Yehia.. DAKAR Last year, I set out to investigate the on-the-ground impact of the tens of millions of euros the EU has spent trying to address the root causes of migration in Senegal. The funding for these efforts came from the EU Trust Fund for Africa – a five-billion-euro …
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