from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Bureau
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – ETHIOPIA is on the brink of atrocities on the domestic front and at risk of cross-border conflict with over access to the Red Sea.
Human rights organisations have raised these fears amid ongoing and unresolved conflicts, entrenched impunity and escalating regional dynamics, driving a resurgence of violence and placing civilian populations at grave risk.
Rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea over access to the Red Sea, coupled with increasingly inflammatory rhetoric, largely led by the federal government, are aggravating fears of cross-border escalation.
There is also concern over allegations that Ethiopian authorities are hosting a training facility in Benishangul-Gumuz, for fighters affiliated with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group widely accused of committing atrocity crimes, including genocide in the Darfur of Sudan, another neighbour.
The facility is reportedly supported financially and logistically by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has denied the allegations.
A group of 20 Ethiopian-based human rights organisations have alerted the international community to the crises.
They mentioned violations in some of the hotspots of crises.
In Amhara, renewed clashes between federal forces and ethnic Amhara Fano militias have resulted in escalating civilian harm, including drone and air strikes, unlawful killings, mass detentions, sexual violence and the erosion of basic protections.
In Oromia, fighting between government forces and the Oromo Liberation Army continues, amid widespread reports of extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, property destruction, forced military conscription, enforced disappearances and collective punishment of civilian populations.
Civilians are subjected to arbitrary detention and movement restrictions. Humanitarian access and independent monitoring remain severely constrained.
In Tigray, civilians face ongoing abuses, including arbitrary detention, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, continued internal displacement, food insecurity and starvation and severe restrictions on access to essential services.
“Ethiopians are facing a deeply fragile situation, marked by a high risk of renewed and expanded conflict as well as the commission of atrocity crimes,” the organisations stated.
They lamented the continued erosion of the civil space, restrictions on independent reporting and silencing of victims, termination of accountability mechanisms and lack of meaningful transitional justice processes.
Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged all parties in the Tigray crisis to exercise restraint, step back from escalation and recommit to political dialogue and confidence-building measures.
The African Union Commission has called for “maximum restraint” by all parties and offered to mediate outstanding disputes.
Ethiopia has reportedly rejected this offer and requested that the AU refrain from intervening.
Meanwhile, tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are rising as Ethiopia demands sovereign access to the Red Sea, directly challenging Eritrean sovereignty and threatening renewed conflict.
Landlocked Ethiopia argues that regaining port access, specifically targeting the Eritrean port of Assab, is existential. Eritrea views this as a provocative threat to its independence.
– CAJ News
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South Africa, Quantum Leap address global nuclear needs
by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – QUANTUM Leap Energy (QLE) and South Africa’s Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) have advanced a strategic collaboration to produce High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel.
This marks a critical step forward in addressing global nuclear fuel supply needs for next generation fission reactors.
QLE, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASP Isotypes (ASPI) dedicated to advancing innovative technologies and processes across critical segments of the fission and fusion nuclear fuel cycle, and NECSA, a state-owned public company, executed a pre-implementation services contract agreement as part of the planned collaboration on the research, development and ultimately commercial production of HALEU.
The contract builds on the previously announced memorandum of understanding between QLE and leverages QLE’s enrichment capabilities alongside NECSA’S capabilities and strategic positioning in the global nuclear value chain.
NECSA will provide QLE certain facilities, infrastructure, utilities and services related to the siting, design, construction, commission and operation of an enrichment facility on the NECSA site in Pelindaba, west of the capital, Pretoria.
A joint coordination committee, to be composed of representatives of QLE and NECSA has been established to oversee and govern the implementation of the contract.
“This milestone represents a significant advancement in our commercial partnership with NECSA and its proven infrastructure for the development of nuclear materials,” said Ryno Pretorius, QLE Chief Executive Officer of Quantum Leap Energy.
Pretorius believes gaining access to NECSA’s internationally-recognised facility is intended to help them move from planning to implementation and advance our goal of providing a reliable HALEU supply for next-generation reactors to meet rapidly growing market demand for the fuel.
Loyiso Tyabashe, NECSA Group Chief Executive Officer, said the agency intended to optimise global networks of over 60 years and complementary capabilities on enrichment with QLE.
NECSA is on a growth expansion trajectory and appreciates collaboration which opens more avenues for exploration and a broader market reach.
“Our extensive experience in nuclear technologies and established global distribution network positions this partnership to make a meaningful contribution to the emerging HALEU market,” Tyabashe said.
The commercial partnership comes at a critical time as advanced reactor technologies requiring HALEU fuel are being developed globally at an accelerating pace to meet the clean, baseload power demands of AI data centre infrastructure and industrial electrification.
– CAJ News