Strategic Thinking on East Africa

  By Max Bearak In Eritrea, your last year of high school is also your first year in the army. The nation fought a 30-year war against its much larger neighbor Ethiopia, and because of a continuing land dispute, still considers hostilities active. Although obligatory conscription isn’t exactly unusual around the world, in Eritrea, there […]

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by the Strathink Editorial Team In Part 1 of our series, we look at diplomatic cables on the relationship between among Ethiopia, Eritrea and the United States. Meles believed that there were many in the U.S. government who favored Eritrea over Ethiopia and used a double standard in its relationships with the two countries. […]

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From BBC Image copyrightAFP Image captionMany Eritreans flee to avoid long-term conscription into the army Security forces in Eritrea’s capital Asmara have killed several young conscripts who tried to escape the convoy they were travelling in, according to opposition media outlets. There were also civilian casualties after some of the recruits’ friends and family used […]

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Discredited Danish report on Eritrea human rights leaves refugees stranded on European route. James Rippingale | Refugees stand among the remains of the Kurdish and Eritrean areas of Calais’ ‘the Jungle’ after French authorities bulldozed this part of the camp [James Rippingale/Al Jazeera] Calais, France - Away from the forced conscriptions, enforced disappearances, torture and religious repression […]

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Editors Note: We are presenting Part 2 of our series on Nevsun Resources in Eritrea. In the spirit of balance and fairness, we show you here a Q&A with Mr. Todd Romaine, Vice President for Corporate Responsibility for Nevsun. Mr Romaine’s role is that of a corporate cultural anthropologist for Nevsun, ensuring that the integrity […]

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By the Strathink Editorial Team There have been rumors that Ethiopian airplanes surgically hit five military targets in Eritrea last week. ZAMI Radio in Addis Ababa raised the possibility on its widely popular program, “Political Roundtable.” While there has been no confirmation from either the Ethiopian or Eritrean government of this event, the Strathink Editorial […]

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  GENEVA (11 March 2016) – A new report on South Sudan published Friday by the UN Human Rights Office describes “in searing detail” a multitude of horrendous human rights violations, including a Government-operated “scorched earth policy,” and deliberate targeting of civilians for killing, rape and pillage. Although all parties to the conflict have committed […]

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by the Strathink Editorial Team In this week’s Addis Fortune, an extremely well written and thought provoking article argues for increased engagement with Eritrea. Without debating the merits of this argument here, the Strathink Editorial team would like to direct our readers to one of the comments lined to the article, presumably from an Eritrean. […]

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ASMARA | BY EDMUND BLAIR Passangers wait for public transport at a bus-stop in Eritrea’s capital Asmara, February 20, 2016. REUTERS/THOMAS MUKOYA Eritrea is not prepared to stop forcing its youth into lengthy stretches of work as soldiers and civil servants, a conscription policy that is driving waves of refugees to make the perilous trip across the Sahara […]

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When a small Vancouver mining company Nevsun struck gold in a remote corner of Africa, it started with so much promise. In remote Eritrea, Nevsun built a mine that was generating $700 million in profits in its first four years of operation. But it was also generating a lot of controversy – because Nevsun was […]

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