Poorest Migrants Leaving Lebanon and Defections in the Ethiopian Military

Ethiopians stranded in Lebanon

Efforts are being stepped up to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Asian and Ethiopian migrant workers still stranded in war-torn Lebanon. The evacuations were interrupted on Friday after Israeli air raids struck key routes leading out of Lebanon. BBC. (More...)

Note from Ethiopian Politics

The Ethiopian government’s unwillingness to assist the evacuees is indeed sad. Kinijit International, UEDF and other such organizations should mobilize to lend a hand to these folks. This unfortunate situation presents the diaspora organizations with an opportunity to demonstrate clearly on how they differ from the regime in power. The original leaders of the opposition, currently languishing in prison, stole the heart of a nation by their ability to relate and identify with the mistreated, oppressed and downtrodden. The leaders in diaspora should embrace the same spirit and carry on the struggle in the same manner.

Today’s Top Stories

- High Ranking Ethiopian General defects

Brigadier General Kemal Gelchi along with Colonel Abebe from the central command defected to Eretria today. General Kemal Gelchi was a decorated war hero and has served under Major General Yohannes as his right hand man in Badme, defending the Areza front. Brigadier General Kemal also served in Liberia. Colonel Abebe, a high ranking officer left for Eritrea along with General Kemal on Aug 8,2006 taking with them nineteen other soldiers. Sources report the two were very close friends. (This story is not yet confirmed by an independent source)

- Death toll in Ethiopian flash flooding rises to about 500
- Foreign minister and the defense minister of Ethiopia in Frankfurt
- The Dilemma Facing Somalis
- UN halts convoy to south Lebanon
- Kim Jong Il's absence raises speculation
- Lieberman- Lamont: It Is What It Is
- Mel Gibson's Dollars and Sense