Ethiopia, Egypt, DR Congo.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 02, 2022

Ethiopia

Since Proximities launched, no story has featured as often as the ruinous conflict in Ethiopia. Today, huge news. The Ethiopian government and its TPLF opponents have agreed to a “permanent cessation of hostilities” at peace talks in South Africa. The hope now is that aid can finally reach the millions of people in the Tigray region - the center of the fighting - who are in desperate need and have been effectively locked away from the outside world for almost two years. While the deal itself is a breakthrough, challenges remain. Implementation will be the next step and the Eritrean government, also a party to the conflict, did not take part in the talks.

Egypt

More than a dozen Nobel literature laureates have called on the international community to pressure Egypt to release political prisoners ahead of hosting the COP27 climate conference next week. The 15 laureates sent the letter to the United Nations, the European Council and several heads of state urging them to “to bring the voices of the unjustly imprisoned into the room.” Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who came to prominence during the 2011 Arab uprisings, has begun a hunger strike in prison, refusing even water, in the run-up to the conference with supporters saying he could be dead by the time world leaders meet in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The M23 rebel group is continuing to gain ground in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kenyan President William Ruto today announced he would deploy 900 soldiers to the city of Goma, in whose surrounding bush M23 is operating. Congo has accused neighbouring Rwanda of supporting M23 and supplying it with heavy weapons to fuel its advance. The group briefly held Goma in 2012 before retreating to the countryside along the DRC-Rwanda border. It has re-emerged claiming the government reneged on a deal to integrate its fighters into the national army.