South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Ethiopia denies ethnic cleansing allegation by US in Tigray conflict
KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ethiopian government is disputing charges of ethnic cleansing in the Tigray conflict, calling allegations by the United States “unfounded.”
“Nothing during or after the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can be identified or defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone in the region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday.
Allegations of ethnic cleansing amount to “a completely unfounded and spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government,” it said, accusing Washington of “overblowing things out of proportion.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted Wednesday that ethnic cleansing has happened in western Tigray, the first time a top official in the international community has openly described Tigray’s alleged atrocities as such.
Blinken told the foreign affairs committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that the U.S. is “seeing very credible reports of human rights abuses and atrocities that are ongoing” in Tigray, a region in the north of Ethiopia that is the base of a party that dominated Ethiopian politics for decades before the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The leaders of that party, known by its initials TPLF, are in hiding as federal forces and their allies — including fighters from Eritrea — hunt down fighters loyal to the local administration in Tigray.
The conflict began in November, when Abiy sent government troops into Tigray after an attack there on federal military facilities.
No one knows how many thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict.
While Ethiopia’s government says a federal investigation of the alleged crimes is underway, critics say the government cannot effectively investigate itself. They want an international probe, ideally led by the United Nations. The latest government statement suggested an openness to a probe featuring outside groups.
NZ remembers tragedy: New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman.
Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also livestreamed. A similar service planned for last year was canceled at the last minute due to the sudden spread of the coronavirus.
In the March 15, 2019, attacks, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 44 people at the Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more.
Last year Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.
Sri Lanka to ban burqas: Sri Lanka on Saturday announced plans to ban the wearing of burqas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.
Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara said he signed a paper on Friday seeking the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to ban burqas — outer garments that cover the body and face worn by some Muslim women.
“The burqa has a direct impact on national security,” Weerasekara said during a ceremony at a Buddhist temple Saturday, without elaborating.
The wearing of burqas was temporarily banned in 2019 after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 260 people. Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group have been blamed for the attacks
Weerasekara also said the government will ban more than 1,000 Madrassas, saying they are not registered with the authorities and do not follow the national education policy.
Bolivian ex-leader arrested: The conservative interim president who led Bolivia for a year was arrested Saturday as officials of the restored leftist government pursue those involved in the 2019 ouster of socialist leader Evo Morales, which they regard as a coup, and the administration that followed.
Jeanine Anez was detained in the early morning in her hometown of Trinidad and was flown to the capital, La Paz, where she appeared before a prosecutor.
The arrest of Anez and warrants against numerous other former officials further worsened political tensions in a South American country already torn by a cascade of perceived wrongs suffered by both sides. Those include complaints that Morales had grown more authoritarian with nearly 13 years in office, that he illegally ran for a fourth reelection and then allegedly rigged the outcome, that right-wing forces led violent protests that prompted security forces to push him into resigning and then cracked down on his followers, who protested the alleged coup.
Other arrest warrants were issued for more than a dozen other former officials.
Health minister resigns:
Jordan’s health minister stepped down Saturday after at least seven patients in a hospital COVID-19 ward died due to a shortage of oxygen supplies, state media reported.
Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh ordered an investigation into the deaths early Saturday morning at the hospital in the town of Salt, 13 miles north of the capital Amman.
King Abdullah II has ordered the hospital’s director also suspended, according to Al-Mamlaka TV, which added that all of the dead were coronavirus patients.
Disturbing photos: A hospital system in western Michigan has launched an investigation after photos posted on Instagram appeared to show doctors posing with fibrous tissue and an organ removed during an operation.
A patient appears to be on an operating room table in the fibrous tissue photo, WOOD-TV reported Saturday.
Members of the group behind the posts described themselves as 35 obstetrics and gynecology residents training at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. The health system, which has more than a dozen hospitals, said it has launched an investigation.
Colorado storm: Nearly 2,000 flights were canceled over the weekend at Denver International Airport as a major snowstorm bore down on the region.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, saying it expects 18 to 24 inches of heavy, wet snow to fall in Denver and Boulder through Sunday night.
Some areas along the Front Range foothills were expected to receive up to 30 inches.