Zecharias Zelalem
@zekuzelalem.bsky.social
Visiting fellow at the @ecfr.eu. Award-winning journalist, eyes on the Horn of Africa. Migration, human rights, OSINT.
https://www.aljazeera.com/author/zecharias-zelalem
https://www.aljazeera.com/author/zecharias-zelalem
It was thorough! The vast lineup of experts, my favs like Bev were in there, but so were 🇸🇩 journos who explained in depth the roots of the warring parties, from independence in the 50ies through the fall of Al Bashir. Of course, it seems the dire prediction made by Amel at the end is playing out😞
November 6, 2025 at 7:52 AM
It was thorough! The vast lineup of experts, my favs like Bev were in there, but so were 🇸🇩 journos who explained in depth the roots of the warring parties, from independence in the 50ies through the fall of Al Bashir. Of course, it seems the dire prediction made by Amel at the end is playing out😞
Not to change subject...but I tuned in to a Jigsaw episode you produced on Sudan, from like 2024 (it was at the top on the website, & timely so I went why not?). So many experts, so much insight. I hope Amel (young journo, single mom) managed to relocate. Excellent gutwrenching but top notch work!
November 6, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Not to change subject...but I tuned in to a Jigsaw episode you produced on Sudan, from like 2024 (it was at the top on the website, & timely so I went why not?). So many experts, so much insight. I hope Amel (young journo, single mom) managed to relocate. Excellent gutwrenching but top notch work!
Celine Semaan is one of a kind, very kindhearted and consistent with her human rights activism.
November 1, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Celine Semaan is one of a kind, very kindhearted and consistent with her human rights activism.
The folks at The Continent continue to commission the reporting of some of the best Sudanese journalists on the ground, read Khalid Elwalid's full story from page 13 onwards.
And check in with your Sudanese friends.
www.thecontinent.org
And check in with your Sudanese friends.
www.thecontinent.org
The Continent | Africa
The Continent is an award-winning African newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.
www.thecontinent.org
November 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
The folks at The Continent continue to commission the reporting of some of the best Sudanese journalists on the ground, read Khalid Elwalid's full story from page 13 onwards.
And check in with your Sudanese friends.
www.thecontinent.org
And check in with your Sudanese friends.
www.thecontinent.org
This is probably what has emboldened RSF fighters to openly disseminate their war crimes on social media, knowing that with the diplomatic cover of a western ally in the UAE, nobody will reel them in. Sudan's misery continues, and gold smuggling from Sudan-UAE continues to fuel the onslaught.
November 1, 2025 at 8:18 PM
This is probably what has emboldened RSF fighters to openly disseminate their war crimes on social media, knowing that with the diplomatic cover of a western ally in the UAE, nobody will reel them in. Sudan's misery continues, and gold smuggling from Sudan-UAE continues to fuel the onslaught.
Despite Sudanese journalists & human rights organizations linking the RSF to genocidal violence against non-Arab ethnicities in Darfur, diplomatic forums where solutions could be drawn up continue to involve the UAE, a direct sponsor of the RSF &the bloodshed that has torn Sudan apart for years now.
November 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Despite Sudanese journalists & human rights organizations linking the RSF to genocidal violence against non-Arab ethnicities in Darfur, diplomatic forums where solutions could be drawn up continue to involve the UAE, a direct sponsor of the RSF &the bloodshed that has torn Sudan apart for years now.
Gonna take a nap and take it to the elephant next 😊
September 28, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Gonna take a nap and take it to the elephant next 😊
haha you are way too kind to me...and like, always!
September 28, 2025 at 7:20 AM
haha you are way too kind to me...and like, always!
አመሰግናለሁ አሊሰን! ❤️
September 28, 2025 at 7:19 AM
አመሰግናለሁ አሊሰን! ❤️
Catch the full story in this weekend's @thecontinent.org newspaper, mine is from page 15-19.
Sorry for the length of this thread (I did not intend for it to drag on this long) and thank you for your time navigating it, as well as for caring about stories from my corner of the world.
Cheers,
ZZ.
Sorry for the length of this thread (I did not intend for it to drag on this long) and thank you for your time navigating it, as well as for caring about stories from my corner of the world.
Cheers,
ZZ.
The Continent | Africa
The Continent is an award-winning African newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.
www.thecontinent.org
September 28, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Catch the full story in this weekend's @thecontinent.org newspaper, mine is from page 15-19.
Sorry for the length of this thread (I did not intend for it to drag on this long) and thank you for your time navigating it, as well as for caring about stories from my corner of the world.
Cheers,
ZZ.
Sorry for the length of this thread (I did not intend for it to drag on this long) and thank you for your time navigating it, as well as for caring about stories from my corner of the world.
Cheers,
ZZ.
For a greater understanding of the devastating impact of cheaply manufactured drones in Africa, distributed by the likes of Turkiye...I produced this policy brief for the @ecfr.eu earlier this year, which highlights the increasingly alarming trend that is ravaging communities across the continent.
A first for me, I wrote a policy brief for the @ecfr.eu, addressing the proliferation of cheap drones across Africa, distributed by the likes of China, Türkiye & the UAE. They cause carnage, the erosion of democracy, but also a political realignment towards Moscow.
I used Ethiopia as a study case.
I used Ethiopia as a study case.
Deadly skies: Drone warfare in Ethiopia and the future of conflict in Africa
Drone warfare is increasing in Ethiopia and across Africa. These foreign-supplied weapons risk prolonging wars and can help drive governments further away from the West…
ecfr.eu
September 28, 2025 at 7:13 AM
For a greater understanding of the devastating impact of cheaply manufactured drones in Africa, distributed by the likes of Turkiye...I produced this policy brief for the @ecfr.eu earlier this year, which highlights the increasingly alarming trend that is ravaging communities across the continent.
Mariam Mohammed Abdullah was severely injured in the strike. Due to no fault of their own, the massacre of her people, innocent Afar pastoralists, led to the alignment of the geopolitical interests of regional & international powers & a joint effort to depict this mother of eight as a terrorist.
September 28, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Mariam Mohammed Abdullah was severely injured in the strike. Due to no fault of their own, the massacre of her people, innocent Afar pastoralists, led to the alignment of the geopolitical interests of regional & international powers & a joint effort to depict this mother of eight as a terrorist.
But the vote passed with a comfortable majority. Ethiopia's silence, the media coverage, and frankly...Lecoq being a communist...meant that his words, however truthful they were, would always be viewed as the ramblings of a radical.
Projet de loi autorisant la ratification du Traité de coopération en matière de défense entre la République française et la République de Djibouti
Projet de loi autorisant la ratification du Traité de coopération en matière de défense entre la République française et la République de Djibouti
www.assemblee-nationale.fr
September 28, 2025 at 7:04 AM
But the vote passed with a comfortable majority. Ethiopia's silence, the media coverage, and frankly...Lecoq being a communist...meant that his words, however truthful they were, would always be viewed as the ramblings of a radical.
On June 23 2025, despite the best efforts of Djiboutian activists, the renewal of the French-Djiboutian military pact was ratified. During pre-vote debate, Jean-Paul Lecoq, a communist MP, accused the Djiboutian gov of carrying out airstrikes against its people & those of neighbouring Ethiopia.
September 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
On June 23 2025, despite the best efforts of Djiboutian activists, the renewal of the French-Djiboutian military pact was ratified. During pre-vote debate, Jean-Paul Lecoq, a communist MP, accused the Djiboutian gov of carrying out airstrikes against its people & those of neighbouring Ethiopia.
I reached out to the CEO of Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, and the CEO of Roketsan, Murat Ikinci...about whether they discouraged clients from indiscriminately firing upon civilians, and whether they had any comment about the involvement of their company's weapons in the Siyaru massacre. Silence.
September 28, 2025 at 6:50 AM
I reached out to the CEO of Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, and the CEO of Roketsan, Murat Ikinci...about whether they discouraged clients from indiscriminately firing upon civilians, and whether they had any comment about the involvement of their company's weapons in the Siyaru massacre. Silence.
But people from across the region are unanimous in their disappointment over the silence of this woman, Aisha Mohammed Mussa. Not only does she hail from the Afar ethnicity, she's actually the Ethiopian federal government's Minister of Defense.
Double whammy.
Double whammy.
September 28, 2025 at 6:48 AM
But people from across the region are unanimous in their disappointment over the silence of this woman, Aisha Mohammed Mussa. Not only does she hail from the Afar ethnicity, she's actually the Ethiopian federal government's Minister of Defense.
Double whammy.
Double whammy.
Anyways...not all of the Afar people's leaders were silent.
Sultan Ahmed Alimirah Hanfare, the traditional chief of the Afar people put out this statement, strongly condemning the Djiboutian government for perpetrating what he called a "deliberate and calculated massacre."
Sultan Ahmed Alimirah Hanfare, the traditional chief of the Afar people put out this statement, strongly condemning the Djiboutian government for perpetrating what he called a "deliberate and calculated massacre."
mma.prnewswire.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Anyways...not all of the Afar people's leaders were silent.
Sultan Ahmed Alimirah Hanfare, the traditional chief of the Afar people put out this statement, strongly condemning the Djiboutian government for perpetrating what he called a "deliberate and calculated massacre."
Sultan Ahmed Alimirah Hanfare, the traditional chief of the Afar people put out this statement, strongly condemning the Djiboutian government for perpetrating what he called a "deliberate and calculated massacre."
I promise you...I'm not the conspiracy theory type. But you have to admit, it looks pretty funny in hindsight, how major French state backed media were very prompt to produce headlines placing the strike zone a full 8km away from where it actually happened, and depict the dead as FRUD rebels.
If there's one thing that genocide in Gaza taught me about media, it's that narratives can be buried in headlines, selective quoting, & how deep past the lede you place it. Major intl coverage buried doubts of civilian suffering. Until recently, Chatgpt depicted the strike as an act of self defense.
September 28, 2025 at 6:43 AM
I promise you...I'm not the conspiracy theory type. But you have to admit, it looks pretty funny in hindsight, how major French state backed media were very prompt to produce headlines placing the strike zone a full 8km away from where it actually happened, and depict the dead as FRUD rebels.
I also reached out to FRUD. Their chief, Mohamed Kadamy explained to me that his forces "were nowhere near the site when [the strike] happened." He added that FRUD rebels, largely recruited from the Afar population do operate across the border areas...but none of the 3 reported strikes ever hit them
September 28, 2025 at 6:38 AM
I also reached out to FRUD. Their chief, Mohamed Kadamy explained to me that his forces "were nowhere near the site when [the strike] happened." He added that FRUD rebels, largely recruited from the Afar population do operate across the border areas...but none of the 3 reported strikes ever hit them
Whatever the case...it is crystal clear to anyone observing, why all three countries were perfectly content with the way international media casually brushed the story aside, depicting the slaughter of women and children as a strike targeting FRUD militants.
September 28, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Whatever the case...it is crystal clear to anyone observing, why all three countries were perfectly content with the way international media casually brushed the story aside, depicting the slaughter of women and children as a strike targeting FRUD militants.
Also...were French forces notified ahead of time of the Djiboutian army's intentions for the night of 30/1/25?
A French Foreign Ministry official told me on Friday that he would try his "best to respond as quickly as possible" to my queries.
We'll wait and see.
A French Foreign Ministry official told me on Friday that he would try his "best to respond as quickly as possible" to my queries.
We'll wait and see.
September 28, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Also...were French forces notified ahead of time of the Djiboutian army's intentions for the night of 30/1/25?
A French Foreign Ministry official told me on Friday that he would try his "best to respond as quickly as possible" to my queries.
We'll wait and see.
A French Foreign Ministry official told me on Friday that he would try his "best to respond as quickly as possible" to my queries.
We'll wait and see.
Questions that need to be asked: did French forces play a role, either monitoring or assisting in some capacity, the Djiboutian air force as it piloted Turkish drones into what we now know is Ethiopian territory to carry out a civilian massacre? Is there possible complicity & to what extent if so?
September 28, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Questions that need to be asked: did French forces play a role, either monitoring or assisting in some capacity, the Djiboutian air force as it piloted Turkish drones into what we now know is Ethiopian territory to carry out a civilian massacre? Is there possible complicity & to what extent if so?