Ethiopia, Tunisia, Uganda.

Today's three stories you should know.

Oct 16, 2022

Ethiopia

The African Union (AU) has called for an immediate ceasefire as Ethiopia’s brutal civil war appears to be escalating again. Ethiopian government troops, supported by forces from neighboring Eritrea, are reported to have launched a massive assault on rebels who control the country’s northern Tigray region. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom, who is from Tigray, said today that the region was being carpet-bombed. And the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said over the weekend that civilians were being targeted. The AU statement urged the government and rebels to follow through with a pledge they made last month to take part in negotiations.

Tunisia

Thousands of people have poured into the streets of Tunisia’s capital Tunis to protest against President Kais Saied, who they denounce as a dictator. Supporters of ordinarily completely opposed political groupings coordinated to stage parallel demonstrations that also demanded action to combat spiralling prices. Protesters chanted "down, down", "revolution against dictator Kais" and "the coup will fall." Saied dissolved parliament last year before cementing his one-man powers by pushing through a constitutional referendum, which was boycotted by opposition parties.

Uganda

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has announced a lockdown and the imposition of a curfew on two ebola-hit districts. "These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola. We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time," Museveni said. Authorities say 19 people have died and 53 have been infected since the outbreak began on September 20th.