Wrote on Ethiopia's war for The @telegraph.co.uk newspaper. Interviewed residents of the Tigrayan capital of Mekele, where war looms large, as well as Fano rebel commander Asres Mare Damtie. Residents describe stocking up on supplies and withdrawing cash months before war broke out.

I went on the BBC to provide some updates and context on Ethiopia's new war and how it broke out in the first place. As I pointed out here, yesterday bank accounts opened in Tigray were collectively frozen, which prevents millions from accessing funds. The situation is becoming increasingly dire.

DRONE TARGETS JOURNALISTS These images from the @afp.com show the aftermath of an Ethiopian drone strike today, on the headquarter TV station of the local Tigrai TV network in the Tigrayan city of Mekele, as war rages on. No info on casualties, Tigrai TV has been off air since the attack.

Done. Will post a link. Coming up, a prerecorded segment with @sbsaustralia.nzcow.com to air hopefully soon.

Zecharias Zelalem@zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 3d ago

Will be on BBC TV momentarily to provide some updates and context on the conflict in Ethiopia.

Will be on BBC TV momentarily to provide some updates and context on the conflict in Ethiopia.

RE: AIRSTRIKES Two reports highlighting aerial crimes vis a vis the new conflict in Ethiopia were published today. First, @hrw.org looked at visual evidence into the Aug 20th Ethiopian airstrike that injured a dozen civilians in the city of Mekele and found no valid military targets.

Ethiopia: Indiscriminate Airstrike in Tigray

An apparent Ethiopian government airstrike on a residential compound in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on August 20, 2026, should be investigated as a possible war crime, Human Rights Watch said to...

hrw.org

⚠️ Confirmed: Network data indicate a subnational internet disruption in northern #Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in #Tigray. The incident comes amid escalating conflict between Tigrayan forces and the national army 📉

UPDATE: As war rages on in Ethiopia, @netblocks.org has confirmed what it calls a "subnational internet disruption," in the country's north. Phone/internet is disrupted across the Tigray region. A very bad sign. Comms blackouts in our region are typically implemented when atrocities are planned.

War breaks out in Ethiopia. Tigrayan forces attack federal government positions on two fronts & capture the region's airports. Tragically, shuttle diplomacy efforts by the international community have failed. Ethiopia is on the brink of being plunged back into all out civil war. It's a disaster.

Tigray forces launch offensive against Ethiopian government

Tigray People’s Liberation Front seizes control of airports, targets government positions in Afar and Amhara regions.

aljazeera.com

Haaretz exposé: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an explicit warning from UAE President bin Zayed days before October 7. He didn't brief Israel's security chiefs. 🔗https://tr.ee/s78NFy

Discussed drone diplomacy with Belgian @MO* Magazine & the devastation caused by cheap Turkish UAVs across Africa. Story comes months after Belgian Queen Mathilde visited the facility of Turkiye's Baykar drone manufacturer as part of a Belgian trade delegation & exchanged pleasantries with its CEO.

MO*Magazine@mondiaalnieuws.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Tijdens de Belgische handelsmissie naar Turkije in mei ging veel aandacht naar de groeiende drone-industrie. Het land is inmiddels een van de grootste exporteurs van militaire drones, die door hun lage prijs en geavanceerde technologie wereldwijd worden ingezet.

My latest for the Middle East Eye: a recent deal by a Canadian mining company to sell a stake in its assets grants a Chinese state company with UAE state shareholders partial ownership of an Ethiopian gold mine near Sudan's warzone. Emirati gold smuggling has fueled RSF bloodshed in Sudan for years.

UAE-backed Chinese company acquires stake in Ethiopian gold mine near Sudan war zone

Deal between Canada's Allied Gold and China's Zijin includes gold site on Sudan-Ethiopia border

middleeasteye.net

There's a journo who produced like 8 bodies of work: podcasts, print investigations, all dedicated to Jason Arday during the 1st week of Aug alone. And those of us spending August on human trafficking or war crimes are supposed to refer to those like him as "colleague" or comrade of the pen. Yeah.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won a landslide victory in last month's elections. I went on the Proximities podcast with the one and only @barrymalone.bsky.social couple of weeks ago, to discuss Ethiopia's democratic backsliding, the threat of war & the geopolitical chaos in the region.

Ethiopia: What happened to Abiy Ahmed? | Proximities

YouTube video by The Proximities Podcast

youtube.com

Africa's* youngest world cup goalscorer of all time, and the fourth youngest in history, 18 years and 143 days. Take a bow kiddo.

Zecharias Zelalem@zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Mbappe becomes France's all time greatest goalscorer seconds after Mbaye becomes Senegal's youngest ever world cup goalscorer. 3-1 France 98'

My primary school teachers in Addis Ababa gave us the day off decades ago, to let us watch Senegal take on France in the 2002 World Cup opener. Senegal defeated the heavily favoured defending champions, a shining moment in African football history. Will a Papa Bouba Diop emerge in 2026? HT: 🇸🇳0-0🇫🇷

One injured as Israel hits southern Lebanon with air raids, artillery https://aje.news/lqe78r

French journalist expelled from Ethiopia "She traveled this month to Tigray. During the visit, the Ethiopian Media Authority told her to return immediately to Addis and criticized her for reporting from an area of political and security instability." www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

This was rumoured for a while, but hard to verify, but weeks later my old newsroom has finally certified the news: Sudan's Armed Forces launched a deadly drone strike in neighbouring Ethiopia, killing 8 civilians including an IOM aid worker on April 29th. Sudan had warned attacks were imminent.

N.B...especially relevant for my American friends here. And if you're American & a journalist covering foreign affairs/Iran...the Ciham story shouldn't be left out. Especially when the Trump administration officially announces it's rapprochement with Eritrea, which could be any day.

Zecharias Zelalem@zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 5mo ago

THREAD: So you may or may not recognize this little girl, but it's timely to learn about her now, as Iran's Hormuz deadlock is pushing desperate regional & global powers towards alternative trade corridors. This is Ciham Ali Abdu, an American citizen. She hasn't been seen or heard from since 2012.

THREAD: So you may or may not recognize this little girl, but it's timely to learn about her now, as Iran's Hormuz deadlock is pushing desperate regional & global powers towards alternative trade corridors. This is Ciham Ali Abdu, an American citizen. She hasn't been seen or heard from since 2012.

Sudan openly lashed out at Ethiopia, accusing the country of allowing Emirati backed RSF forces to use Ethiopian airbases as launching pads for drone strikes. No evidence was provided, but the accusation isn't outlandish & could be accurate. Sudan has hinted that it may retaliate. @aljazeera.com

Sudan accuses Ethiopia, UAE of being behind recent drone attacks

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

youtube.com

I'm way out of my league with this high caliber lineup of trailblazing women, but we're still gonna give it our best shot later today. Wish me luck✌🏿

Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA)@infointegrity.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Rising Threats to Media Freedom and Strategies to Push Back. Join the M20 and CINIA for a live webinar on Tues. 28 April (13:00 GMT / 15:00 CAT) on challenges to press freedom. More information below. Watch live on the M20's social media platforms, or via: www.youtube.com/live/wN9w3Ik...

In this video explainer produced by @thetimes.com, I provide analysis on how conflict in East Africa is being inflamed by geopolitical rivals in the Gulf, who are carving the region apart. The race for the Bab El Mandeb oil corridor pits 🇦🇪 on one side & 🇸🇦 🇪🇬 on the other, but fuels 🇪🇹 🇸🇩 🇪🇷 wide tension

Is This Africa's Next Big Conflict?

YouTube video by Times Originals

youtu.be

Wow. Just wow.

Clara Jeffery@clarajeffery.bsky.social · 5mo ago

People here are being really shitty, including at fellow journalists who've been traumatized, and you will regret those posts. Or should. Also this does not help your political cause, whatever that might be.

The Public Source produce deep dives and essays that really acquaint you with Lebanon. Read this indepth sit down they had with the late Amal Khalil back in January. Che Guevara-esque, a fearless warrior of a journo, chasing the eye of the storms of war since 2006.

Amal Khalil’s Two Decades of Militant Journalism

Journalist Amal Khalil, who stayed on the frontlines throughout the Israeli war on Lebanon, reflects on her experience, work ethic, labor, and politics of journalism.

thepublicsource.org

Next level depravity. Blunt, unapologetic justification for the murder of Lebanese journalists, and a promise to kill more. Rest in power Amal.

IDF Hannibal Brigade@hannibalbrigade.biz · 5mo ago

Before she was murdered, Amal Khalil was sent a threat on WhatsApp by somebody with an Israeli number. Journalist Jeremy Loffredo then reached out to that number and the individual was unsurprisingly unapologetic about murdering journalists.

I wrote about Israel’s forced evacuation, what happens to those who leave and those who stay behind www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

To stay or to go? No good options for Lebanon’s displaced

Residents of southern Lebanon face a stark choice: stay home and risk being killed, or flee and risk deepening poverty.

aljazeera.com

Lebanese francophone outlet L’Orient Le-Jour: the Nakba of South Lebanon. We Lebanese are calling it for what it is: a continuation of the 1948 Nakba. The photo shows a Lebanese village with an Israeli flag on it, planted by the genocidal army.

Thinking of friends in Lebanon, and all Lebanese who have hopes pinned on another "peace deal" being implemented by parties, with a track record of invading territories and violating ceasefires at will with no repercussions whatsoever.