Djiboutian News

31/12/2023

"Djibouti's Balbala/Warabaleh neighborhood faces a third consecutive attack on the Afar communities. Security forces align with Djiboutian Somalis, deepening divisions. Dictator Guelleh prioritizes mediating between Sudanese and Somalis, ignoring the plight at home. Guelleh's regime is not the solution but the problem in East Africa. "

06/12/2023

https://chng.it/d8cQktRHBJ

: Open Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel

06/07/2023

The article from africaintelligence.com ( https://www.africaintelligence.com/eastern-africa-and-the-horn/2023/07/06/the-meteoric-rise-of-ibrahim-zakaria-jnr,110001001-art ) provides valuable insight into the remarkable rise of Ibrahim Zakaria Jnr, highlighting his swift advancement within the military despite lacking a university degree or significant practical experience. This situation starkly exposes the widespread corruption prevalent within the Djiboutian army and the blatant favoritism rooted in nepotism. Such practices not only tarnish Djibouti's reputation but also pose a risk of further destabilizing a country already burdened by various injustices. It is deeply disheartening to observe that despite Djibouti's considerable revenue from international military bases operated by countries such as the USA, France, China, Japan, Italy, Germany, and Spain, as well as the substantial income generated by the port serving as a crucial logistics route for 120 million Ethiopians, over half of Djibouti's population continues to endure extreme poverty.

Moreover, on June 22nd, 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Zakaria was exclusively promoted to the rank of Full Colonel by a presidential decree (refer to the attached document). This promotion serves as further evidence of Djibouti transforming into a privately-owned entity where the ruling family and the Mamassane subclan have unchecked authority to do as they please.

05/07/2023

Several artists and singers, including two actors, four singers, and the secretary-general of the opposition party Rally for Action, Democracy, and Ecological Development (RADDE), have been recently arrested by the Djiboutian police. They are accused of illegally wearing military and police uniforms and allegedly inciting security forces to rebellion over wage demands. The charges include participating in an unauthorized gathering, engaging in a protest that could disrupt public order, and irregular uniform wearing. The RADDE president explains that the event where the arrests were made was a satirical sketch and concert night organized as part of a campaign against high living costs and for wage increases, including for the military. Abdourahman Mohamed Guelleh (TX) criticizes the inconsistency, as public television has previously shown artists wearing uniforms in sketches without any prohibition.

21/05/2023

Djibouti,human rights abuse report on May 21st 2023.
Yasmin Ahmed Guedi, a Djiboutian mother, bravely shared a video addressing the Djiboutian dictator and demanding compensation for her father's death during the terrorist attack at the Historill bar in Djibouti. Accordingly to local djiboutian activists and and free webtv of the djiboutian diaspora, a few days after her public plea for justice on social media, Yasmin Ahmed Guedi, a poor citizen and mother of seven children, was arrested. This incident highlights the severe limitations on freedom of expression and the consequences faced by individuals who dare to voice their rights and grievances openly.

It is indeed a perplexing question how NATO stationed countries like the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain can seemingly support a dictatorship in Djibouti led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (IOG). There have been numerous reports of human rights violations and undemocratic practices under his regime. Some of the reported violations include:

Suppression of freedom of speech: The government has been known to crack down on dissenting voices, arresting individuals who express their opinions or criticize the regime, as exemplified by Yasmin Ahmed Guedi's case.

Lack of political freedom: Opposition parties and political activists face significant obstacles, including restrictions on their activities, intimidation, and harassment.

Electoral irregularities: Elections in Djibouti have been marred by allegations of fraud, manipulation, and limited political competition, hindering the establishment of a truly democratic system.

Human rights abuses: There have been reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, and ill-treatment of detainees by security forces, as well as restrictions on the rights to assembly and association.

Limited media freedom: Independent media outlets face restrictions, and journalists have been subjected to harassment and intimidation when reporting on sensitive issues or criticizing the government.

04/05/2023

Breaking News: Ahmed Ali Mohamed, President of the ARD Federation of Obock, Released from Prison

On Thursday, May 04, 2023, the president of the ARD federation of Obock and the ARD political party's secretary, Ahmed Ali Mohamed, was released from Gabode prison after spending a month behind bars. The court handed down a suspended sentence of twelve months despite releasing him.

A photo taken this afternoon shows Mr Mohamed second from the left with a big smile on his face, surrounded by supporters and well-wishers.

In response to Mr Mohamed's release, the ARD federation of Obock has issued a statement demanding the immediate release of all political and civilian prisoners who have been detained for several months, and in some cases, more than two years. The statement specifically named Barkat Ali Oudoum and Fouad Ali as prisoners who have been held in the notorious Gabode prison.

Mohamed Abakari, the communications secretary for the organization, expressed the organization's relief and joy at Mr Mohamed's release. He emphasized the urgency of releasing other prisoners who have been detained without trial or access to legal representation.

The ARD federation of Obock is expected to continue to push for the release of all political and civilian prisoners in the coming days and weeks.

26/04/2023

Paris, April 17, 2023, press release from CTD.

The CTD, Charter for Democratic Transition in Djibouti, condemns the crackdown on the opposition in Djibouti. Not content with having expelled two mission chargés from the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) in mid-March 2023, the Djiboutian government has just decided on April 11, 2023, to arrest the Secretary of Organization of the ARD and President of the Federation of Obock, Ahmed Ali Mohamed, followed by the arrest on April 13, 2023, of the MRD Coordinator for Europe, Moustapha Ahmed Ali, who was passing through Djibouti.

Ahmed Ali Mohamed was remanded in custody at Gabode prison, while Moustapha Ahmed Ali was intercepted upon his plane's landing and taken by the SDS, the national security documentation service. The arrest of Ahmed Ali Mohamed is said to follow his denunciation of the violence perpetrated on March 28, 2023, by the police against Eritrean refugees in the Markazī camp in Obock, but no motive is advanced concerning the arrest of Moustapha Ahmed Ali.

The CTD condemns the continued repressive madness of the Ismael Omar Guelleh regime and demands the immediate release of Ahmed Ali Mohamed, Moustapha Ahmed Ali, and all prisoners of conscience in Djiboutian prisons.

20/04/2023

Djibouti , April 12th,2023
"Arbitrary Arrest of ARD Member Following Denunciation of Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Obock Refugee Camp".
On April 12th, 2023, the political opposition group in Djibouti, the Republican Alliance for Development (ARD), which is a signatory of the Charter for a Democratic Transition in Djibouti (CTD), announced that their colleague Ahmed Ali Mohamed, who serves as the organization's secretary and president of the ARD federation in Obock, was summoned to the central office of the national police commissioner earlier that day. Subsequently, he was transferred to the criminal brigade and immediately put into custody.
The reason for his arrest is believed to be his condemnation of the violence carried out by law enforcement officers against Eritrean refugees at the Markazi camp in Obock.
Meanwhile, on April 4th, 2023, the Obock administration formally denied the incidents that took place on March 28th, 2023, at the Markazi refugee camp.
According to reporters without borders , the government led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, who was unfairly reelected for a fifth term in 2021, deploys a draconian arsenal that includes judicial harassment, illegal searches, arrests and physical violence in order to impose a reign of terror on the media.

20/04/2023

, march 28th,2023.
"Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Obock Refugee Camp".
The Djiboutian political opposition party A R D (republican alliance for the development) , signatory of the C T D (charter for a democratic transition in Djibouti), reports that law enforcement officers violently assaulted and beat Eritrean refugees in the Obock refugee camp who protested against their relocation to a potentially hostile camp. The refugees, mainly Afar, have suffered injuries, including women . The report suggests that there is interference from public authorities in the management of refugees in a biased manner, especially when they are Afar. The report calls on the UNHCR to regain its composure and return to its code of conduct, which must be impartial with regards to the ethnic, religious, or geographical affiliation of refugees. It also asks ONARS to treat refugees equally, taking into account regional ethnic tensions. The report draws attention to the persistence of these regrettable abuses, which risk rekindling and provoking very serious tensions within the Djiboutian communities.

19/04/2023

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism established by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to assess the human rights records of all UN member states. It is meant to be a constructive and collaborative process, with the aim of identifying areas of progress and challenges in the protection and promotion of human rights.

In 2021, Djibouti underwent its third UPR, which highlighted the country's lack of progress in the area of human rights over the past five years. A report by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Rights Group, which monitors human rights in the region, noted that Djibouti had failed to implement any of the recommendations made during its previous UPR in 2016.

The report identified several areas where Djibouti has fallen short in its obligations to protect human rights. These include the mistreatment of detainees, restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, and discrimination against women and minorities. The report also noted that Djibouti had failed to investigate allegations of torture and other forms of abuse by security forces.

One particularly concerning issue highlighted by the report is the detention of political prisoners in Djibouti. According to the report, there are currently over 200 political prisoners in the country, many of whom have been held without trial for several years. The report notes that many of these prisoners have been subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

The MENA Rights Group report concludes that Djibouti has shown a "lack of political will" to address human rights abuses in the country. It calls on the international community to put pressure on the government to implement the recommendations of the UPR and to take concrete steps to improve the human rights situation in the country.

It is clear that Djibouti has a long way to go in terms of protecting and promoting human rights. The UPR is an important tool for holding governments accountable for their human rights records, but it is only effective if governments are willing to take the recommendations seriously and implement them. It is up to the international community to ensure that Djibouti is held accountable for its human rights abuses and that steps are taken to improve the situation for all people in the country.

14/03/2023

Ongoing tensions at Dikhil in the south of Djibouti On the morning of Sunday, March 05, 2023, an armed conflict broke out in the locality of BAKERE, located a few kilometers from the sub-prefecture of AS EYLA (in the district of Dikhil). Armed individuals, from the recent wave of displaced Ethiopian...

14/03/2023

Major demonstration in Brussels pays off The CTD, a political organization fighting for democracy in Djibouti, along with the Somali people of Las Anod, organized a protest in Brussels (in front of the European union parliament) against the interference of the Djiboutian dictator IOG and the war cri...

14/03/2023

abuses

Authorities confiscate passport belonging to the President of the ARD (signatory member of the CTD) Djiboutian authorities have confiscated the passport of Mr. Adan Mohamed Abdou upon his arrival at Djibouti International Airport. Mr. Abdou, President of the ARD, secretary general of the UDT and a m...

03/03/2023

Washington DC, 02-25-2023.

Djibouti’s bloodthirsty dictator IOG (Ismail Omar Guelleh) is now officially the cancer in the horn of Africa.

Besides instigating violence between the AFAR and the ISSA communities within Djibouti (see our article (https://djiboutian.com/dictator-iog-interfering-in-the-afar-issa-traditions/), the Djiboutian dictator is now accused of providing military support (ammunition and weapons) to the Somaliland dictator in Las Anod of the SSC region in Somaliland. (Djibouti shares its territorial border with the self-proclaimed Somaliland). Fighting in Las Anod, located in self-declared Somaliland, has resulted in the deaths of at least 70 people, while causing injury to more than 360 people. More than 185,000 people have had to evacuate the region. (See here: https://www.theafricareport.com/286829/somaliland-violence-in-las-anod-a-tug-of-war-between-states/ ).

Muuse Biihi, the dictator of the self-proclaimed Somaliland and brother-in-law to the dictator in Djibouti, has resorted to indiscriminate bombing of the people in Las Anod for the last 25 days. This is in retaliation for popular resistance against nepotism, injustice and political murders. Although Biihi’s presidential mandate officially expired in November 2022, he continues to hold power illegally in a manner reminiscent of the Djiboutian dictator.

Similar to IOG’s repressive tactics against the FRUD (see our article: https://djiboutian.com/who-is-the-terrorist-the-frud-or-the-djiboutian-dictatorship/), Biihi declared that the people of Las Anod are terrorists. No country or international organization however accepted this statement and the US urged Muuse Biihi to stop shelling Las Anod. Relatives of Las Anod residents living in the US protested both in front of the Djiboutian Embassy in Washington DC and the US Department of State denouncing the dictators in Djibouti and Somaliland. They carried posters that described IOG as the ”CANCER IN THE HORN OF AFRICA”. Protests in and about Somaliland have inspired fresh outrage among the Djiboutian population and caused great alarm to the dictator.

The CTD coalition is set to demonstrate in front of the European Union building in Brussels on Friday, March 03, 2023 against crimes committed by the dictators in Djibouti and Somaliland.

Washington DC Djibouti’s bloodthirsty dictator IOG (Ismail Omar Guelleh) is now officially the cancer in the horn of Africa. Besides instigating violence between the AFAR and the ISSA communities within Djibouti (see our article (https://djiboutian.com/dictator-iog-interfering-in-the-afar-issa-tra...

07/02/2023

Djiboutian News February 05,2023.

Protest in As Eyla (see previous news), the district of Dikhil where the population is demanding justice for the young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, who died in the police jails in Dhikil on the night of January 30, 2023. young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, was confirmed that he was indeed subjected to abuse and torture according to medical reports and as evidenced by this mark on his neck.

07/02/2023

Djiboutian News February 07,2023.


05 months without pay, for these employees of a public company at Lake Assal, located 90 minutes from the capital City.
These Djiboutian employees have not been paid since September 2022 while their foreign colleagues are paid on time and without delay.
Despite their complaints to the competent authorities, these Djiboutian employees find themselves without a solution to assert their rights.
These employees abused and exploited by their company, decide to post a video on social networks, to challenge the Djiboutian authorities and in particular the Djiboutian dictator president, who is responsible for this economic crisis, resulting from corruption, embezzlement of property public, practiced by the system of the regime.
The situation of these unpaid employees is not an isolated case, we remember in our previous articles of the last 3 years, concerning unpaid teachers, unpaid nurses, unpaid television agents, unpaid cement plant employees, unpaid Djibouti port and Tadjourah port officials, unpaid security guards and the list goes on.
In addition to political muzzling, through the police and military violence practiced by the dictatorial and family regime of the despot IOG, the poverty of Djiboutians is programmed by a business leadership, corrupt, ruthless and increasingly rich without the knowledge of the majority who suffer as this video shows.
Djibouti is rich but Djiboutians are poor.

06/02/2023

Djiboutian News February 03,2023.

Djibouti, situation as of February 03, 2023.
Serious human rights violations are increasing under the regime of dictator IOG.
After the autopsy carried out on the remains of young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, the day after his death, it is confirmed that he was indeed subjected to abuse and torture according to medical reports and as evidenced by this mark on his neck.
He undoubtedly died as a result of these tortures in the police jails in Dhikil on the night of January 30, 2023.
It must be said that this violence has already caused a dozen victims to die, under torture or during arrests during the year 2021-2022 and at the start of 2023. We remember Said Ali Cheik, who died in detention on June 20, 2022 for lack of medical assistance, We remember Omar Daoud, detained, tortured and then released and who died on May 03, 2022, We remember Farah Loubak, tortured 2 weeks then who died in detention on December 22, 2021, We remember Gadidcheh Ladieh Omar, who died at the hands of the police on September 11, 2019, We remember the young Aden Adaweh Abdilahi, who died on May 9, 2021, We remember the young mother Férouze mahamoud abdilahi, mother of four young children, died at the hands of the army in Ali-Sabieh on March 29, 2022, the list is unfortunately very very long.What can be said of this cowardly and generalized silence of our compatriots in the face of these barbarities?
Also in the afternoon of February 03, 2023, a video is posted online illustrating a frightening scene where a military leader of the Djiboutian armed forces (in scruffy clothes) armed with a Kalashnikov, points his weapon in the direction of civilian traders and fires a shot in the air.
The soldiers reportedly opened fire on a vehicle carrying kat. On this video we hardly see the agents of the customs service.
The soldiers arrested a young driver, threatened him with their weapons, then confiscated some of his belongings when, by sheer luck, other traders arrived on the scene. Caught in flagrante delicto,
the soldiers took their loot, some unhappy ones continued to be threatening because having been filmed.
In conclusion, this practice of murderous police violence against Djiboutians has become commonplace and remains unpunished,
This state violence is claiming more and more victims and affects all communities in Djibouti.
Given the statistics of the last 3 years, but also since Djibouti gained independence on June 27, 1977, it can be said that the Afar community in Djibouti has the most victims.
Djiboutian tv will continue to denounce any violation of human rights committed by the dictatorial family system of Ismael Omar Guelleh.
Don't forget to visit our website https://djiboutian.com/ which regularly reports and archives in English on the situation in Djibouti.