Fears of a return to civil war in Northern Ethiopia

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1:11Hello, welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London. I'm Paul Henley. Tigray is the northernmost part of Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, and it's been associated with conflict since November 2020 when a long-standing power struggle between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front erupted into open warfare. Two years and more than half a million deaths later, there was a fragile peace deal and the most significant threat to that deal of 2022 might have come today after the same Tigrayan group seized control of airports and fought against federal troops in the neighbouring Afar region.

1:52Are we seeing a return to all-out civil war there? The BBC's Kalkidan Yibeltal, our former correspondent in Ethiopia, has the latest from Nairobi. It's been a day that's been filled with quite significant developments and escalations. First, we've heard that flights have been suspended to all the major airports in the Tigray region. The Ethiopian Airlines said that they are suspending their operations there indefinitely due to what's going on there. And then we've heard that the Grand Forces have captured the main airport in the region's capital, Magali. And then after that, there comes reports that the Grand Forces are announcing they are engaged and they have ordered their troops to engage in combat against the federal forces after accusing the federal forces of launching an invasion.

2:38So it seems that things have been dramatically changing throughout today. And this comes in the backdrop of deteriorating relationships and increasing tensions in the past few days. And it was just three days ago that Tigran forces, together with other six armed groups in Ethiopia, announced that they're forming a new alliance aimed at toppling the government, the central government. And it seems that all these fears that have been sounded over the past few months, that Ethiopia might be sliding back to full civil war, are leading up to this. These market traders in the Tigrayan capital, Mekele, expressed their concern.

3:18I fear the situation in 2022 may be repeated. If possible, it should be resolved through peace. If not, the situation has to be resolved one way or another. Of course the war will have a big impact on us. For sure, our children's education will be affected and the infrastructure will be destroyed. But just sitting and doing nothing about our problems does not change anything. Therefore, we don't have any other option than to unite with our people, the government and armed forces, and defend our interests. Well, this was the announcement by the head of the African Union's mediation team, Olishaygun Abbasanjo, of the peace deal for Tigray back in November 2022.

4:02The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities as well as to systematic, orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament. So what went wrong for an explanation of what's happening in Tigray now and to ask if meaningful peace is still possible? I've been speaking to Martin Plout, formerly of the World Service, now fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and King's College London. I began by asking him why the 2022 peace deal hadn't worked. Well, because it pitted two completely different views of Ethiopia against each other. The Tigrayans, who, by the way, are not rebels.

4:50They were actually the administration of the region and formerly the administration of the entire country. They lost out to Prime Minister Abiy and they retreated to Tigray. But their concerns were never addressed. and they gradually fell out with the government in Addis Ababa and then began to look to alternative sources of support. One of them was Eritrea, which is extraordinary because Eritrea allied with Ethiopia during the 2020-2020 war, which, as you said, led to half a million deaths. So it was extraordinary that they did that. But they first reached out to them. Now they've reached out to a much wider group of allies, There's six rebel groups who, with them, are now challenging the government in Ethiopia.

5:39Hence the latest escalation. Exactly. And this war, if it is a war, and we can't be sure about this, it could just be border skirmishes between the two sides at this stage. But this war has been predicted for the last 18 months. Everybody thought that it was coming. And it is really extremely dangerous, not only because for the region, not only for Ethiopia and Eritrea, if Eritrea gets involved, but for the wider region. Which is already war-torn, and this would have an effect, would it not, on two other conflicts going on? Exactly. The war in Sudan, which is possibly the worst in the world at the moment, I mean, the numbers of deaths are probably exceeding those in Ukraine, But the Ethiopians are on the side of the RSF, while as the Eritreans are, and the Tigrayans, on the side of the Sudanese armed forces.

6:36So you can see you already have tensions there. The United Arab Emirates puts arms into Ethiopia to go to the RSF, and that just makes the situation so much worse, while as the Saudis are on the side of the Eritreans, as are the Egyptians. So you can see everybody has a stake in this. Are there any feasible peace brokers here? As ever, it might be the United States who are the only people who have the power, but they are absolutely desperate not to get involved in another war. And, you know, they are flailing around. They've just done a deal with Eritrea, possibly to get access to their ports, which are very well situated.

7:18I mean, the whole issue, in a sense, turns around those ports, because Prime Minister Abiy of Ethiopia asked for those ports, said that they must have, the Ethiopia must have them, must re-establish the navy. In those circumstances, it caused this tremendous rift between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Tigrayans are now part of that conflict. Is there a minimum concession that needs to be given to the Tigrayans to stop this conflict, and is it feasible? It is feasible, but it would require them to be recognised as a legitimate part of the Ethiopian scene. Which looks unlikely now. Completely unlikely.

7:56And that is something that Prime Minister Abiy has not wished to do ever since the Tigrayans fought the war, which the Pretoria agreement was supposed to end. Has Washington shown any keenness to step in? They've issued a statement, but it's very much on the side of the Ethiopians at this stage. They haven't recognised any legitimacy for the Tigrayans' concerns. And quite frankly, unless you are more even-handed than they have shown themselves to be now, they're not going to be acceptable brokers. Martin Plout, fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and King's College London and also co-author of the book Understanding Ethiopia's Tigray War.

8:46In Nigeria, two survivors of a detention centre where dozens of people died earlier this month have told the BBC that inmates became so dehydrated that some had to drink urine and sweat to survive. Officials allegedly denied them water while they were being held in a cramped, badly ventilated room. The BBC was granted exclusive access to the facility in Niger State, where at least 50 suspected illegal minors were held before 37 of them died. Authorities say the cause of their deaths remains under investigation. The BBC's Madina Maishanu reports. We've just arrived at a detention centre in Niger State, north central Nigeria, where dozens of suspected illegal minors were held.

9:31This is the room where they were detained. The room is very, very small and it is hot. I'm sweating as I am talking right now. And I can still smell the stench of dead bodies and urine that must have touched everywhere in this room. There's only one small window. You can barely feel any air coming in right now as we're standing. Survivors say people were struggling for air inside this space. At least 37 people died after being detained here by Nigeria's Civil Defence Force, the NSCDC. Here with me are two of the survivors. As we step into the room, they become emotional. We had lost hope that we'll leave.

10:14Many people died in front of me. We were thirsty. Many people drank each other's urine. Some drank the sweat from others' clothes. They say the number of people packed into the room made the conditions even worse. One of us fainted and we started knocking on the door. and when one of them came, we'll ask him for water. One of us had fainted. He looked at the guy that fainted and closed the door. That's how they started dying one after the other. For those who survived, returning here means confronting what happened all over again. The detainees were among more than 50 suspected illegal miners arrested during an operation against illegal mining in the state.

10:55The authorities have not yet established what caused the deaths. The NSCDC has referred to the possibility of a disease outbreak, but an independent investigation is now underway. We heard 37 people died, so we rushed to the scene. Upon getting there, we confirmed them dead. Some, we saw them with their skin spilling. Some, we saw them swelling. Some with foam in their mouth. Some with even bleeding from nose and mouth. And that raised alarm. So we had to call the medical attention. They were now moved to the mortuary. Niger State Governor Mohamed Omar Obagu has called for a full investigation and declared three days of mourning for those who died.

11:37We've set up a committee of inquiry that has been chaired by my deputy governor. We have the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, the Director of DSS, even the army here in Niger State, and some very good experts, even the Commissioner of Health and Esteem as part of the committee, with a view of getting or fact-finding mission to see what really happened. A 10-member independent committee has been set up to establish the identities of those who died, examine how they were arrested and detained, determine the circumstances and cause of death, and establish whether there was negligence or wrongdoing.

12:1024 NSCDC personnel are now in custody over the deaths, including the suspended Niger State Commandant, Subiru Avinie. The force says the officers connected to the incidents have been taken into protective custody in Abuja, where they are being questioned and face administrative disciplinary proceedings. The authorities have also released the names of all 37 people who died. 33 were identified from records at the General Hospital Mina, while four others were not on the hospital list. Artisanal mining provides a livelihood for many people in Niger State, but the government says illegal mining costs a revenue, damages the environment and can be linked to criminal activity.

12:52In those areas where they do the illegal mining, so many other vices also take place. If the constitution is reviewed to allow the mining of minerals to be concordant, where the state and local government will also have input in organizing or reorganizing this mining, it may go a long place in solving these miners. Governor Bagu has called for an executive order stopping mining in problematic locations across Niger State, saying stronger federal intervention is needed. But inside this room, the focus is no longer on the wider mining operation. It is on the 37 people who came here alive and never left.

13:30The investigation is expected to establish what happened to the detainees and whether anyone should be held responsible for their deaths. That report from Niger State in Nigeria was by BBC Africa correspondent Medina Maishanu, who was granted exclusive access to that detention facility where 13-7 miners died. You're listening to the BBC World Service. We're live from London. We are NewsHour.

14:08Coming up as the US-backed Board of Peace for Gaza presents a$2.5 billion plan for partial reconstruction in the territory, we hear from a member of the board. Gaza was hijacked by Hamas 20 years ago, and these people, terrorists, have taken it over. It's going to take some time and patience and investment to do this. We're all committed to this, and this is where we'll get there, and we'll get to a better outcome at the end. I'm positive of that. You'll hear the full interview with Michael Eisenberg and a Palestinian response to it in about 15 minutes' time. The headlines for now, Iran's president, in an address to the UN in New York, has said his country will never bend the knee to US bullying, but is open to dialogue to end the current conflict.

14:50And Britain is setting up a new military unit, it says, to defend its satellites in space.

15:08I'm Paul Henley with NewsHour, live from the BBC in London. President Trump is preparing to welcome the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House to discuss trade, technology and the growing fears about the future of artificial intelligence. Their much-anticipated summit comes after the tech executives in the US called for a slowdown in advanced AI development to manage the risks it could pose if it were to get out of control. The two leaders are expected to discuss guardrails for the technology, but both have pushed back on calls for a slowdown. China is investing heavily to build the computing power it needs to compete with the US in the AI race.

15:49Much of that investment is happening far from China's major cities, in places such as Inner Mongolia, where vast new data centres are being built to power the country's ambitions. Our China correspondent Laura Bicker sent this report.

16:07I'm wandering through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia This is a land of extraordinary scale In front of me I have towering wind turbines Endless rows of solar panels And of course beautiful horses rambling beneath them To build the infrastructure that is desperately needed for AI in Mongolia is key because it has vast amounts of wind and solar resources. And that's why China has chosen to build its AI data centres here, at remarkable speed. Buildings have risen out of the farmland in a matter of months, built by construction workers from all over the country. There is one phase of construction every year.

16:58This is the second phase. There are more to come. This has been a$75 billion investment. It doesn't do much good for us locals. They need educated people. They don't need that many workers. This country has fewer data centres than the US for now. But this hub is a way of catching up. If China is going to lead the world in artificial intelligence development, this is where it is building the engine room that will drive that change. Just a few months ago, this corner of Inner Mongolia was farmland. Now, dozens of data centres have sprung up for the likes of Huawei and others. There is no sign that China is slowing down on this technology.

17:49Across China, AI is becoming part of everyday life. From programming robot deliveries to aiding police on patrol, it's moving out of the lab and onto the streets. It's all part of Beijing's ambition to embed AI in its economy. Officials have bristled at any mention of a slowdown. Try to think of this from China's perspective, right? Jingyang is based in Hong Kong and is the Asia bureau chief of the business and tech media outlet, The Information. The S4 countries really have kneecapped China's AI development in the last several years. And then in spite of that, Chinese labs have, you know, managed to catch up.

18:33Why would China be incentivized to collaborate with, you know, America, which in Beijing's view has been kneecapping China's technological development, which has been trying to contain China's rise? unless there is something that Washington can offer to really threaten the deal. But others do see the urgency. David Finkelstein from the Center for Naval Analysis told a defense forum in Beijing that it was time for the two leaders to talk. I'm not sure they're going to come to any agreements anytime soon, but I seriously think there's a lot of motivation to talk about these things. The use of AI in command and control and warfare, who's using it in their nuclear chain of command.

19:15And this is scary stuff. Back in Inner Mongolia, the building work continues while farm workers gather up rows of plump potatoes for market. There has been little opposition to data centres here, unlike in the West. But there are still some quiet sceptics. If they demolish the village for a data centre, it won't be good. I prefer living by the farmland. President Xi has set the direction and will feel that in the long term, China can compete with the US on this technology. His government is focused on securing an AI-powered future, even as some of its people wonder whether they'll be part of it.

20:02Laura Bicker reporting.

20:08Here now is a story for anyone who's ever dreamed of rifling through a charity shop and finding hidden treasure. A rare first edition of the American classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been discovered in a box of donations to a store belonging to the charity Oxfam here in London. The store's manager is Olivia Hazeman-Walker and she spoke to James Menendez. So it's very exciting. Our deputy manager found the book in a box of donations. It was a beautiful antiquarian copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and when you get a book that's as beloved as that and that's as old as this copy was you start to look and see if it's something special and this copy was.

20:50And your colleague, I mean was it an instant thing they took a look at it and thought hold on a second this is something different? Yeah absolutely we're always on the lookout for precious gems like that and people are really generous and sometimes they'll even say oh I think this one might be something a bit special. Did they in this case? We don't know, but we hope that they knew what they had and that they knew that we'd get a fair price for it. Was there any clue? I'm just so intrigued by this. Was there any clue in the other books that this was someone who had a high quality collection they were donating?

21:23Or do you think that they overlooked the fact that this was something so rare? Well, it was something that had clearly been read and loved. The book jacket itself was a little bit tatty. So you can picture it being on somebody's shelf and then ending up in like a donation. They're clearing out their library. And yeah, it came in with just a lot of other books from the period. So possibly was bought originally in 1960 and has been with them ever since. Yeah, I'm just looking at a picture of it. And as you say, it looks like, you know, it could easily be mistaken for any slightly sort of worn secondhand book.

21:58But what about the condition inside? How was that? It was beautiful. Yeah. Their pages were unblemished. They were tightly bound. It was, yeah, a real special find. So it's been passed to the National Collection at the British Library. I don't want to break any confidences, but I mean, did they pay for it and did they pay you? They did, yeah. They gave us a very generous charitable donation for it. it eventually ended up on our online shop which is open to anybody across the country who wants to browse and buy books and that's where the British Library found it and they got into contact with us and said can we come and have a look at it just verify that it is what we think it is and then they were very happy to purchase it from us.

22:43So it was open for general sale before they spotted it? It was yeah first on our shop floor and then on our online shop. Oh my goodness I feel like I missed the trick here can I ask you I mean are you able to tell us how much they pay for it I'm not allowed I'm afraid um but it was we're talking four figures five figures four figures yes four figures has this ever happened I mean has this ever happened to you before to to one of your shops yeah we get gems all the time um I would keep an eye out on the Bonhams auction and that's who Oxam goes to when we have valuable um valuable books um in the recent years we've sold the first translation of the Bible into Chinese at Bonhams.

23:27Last year we sold a very beautiful edition of The Hobbit and actually my shop is really buzzing at the moment because we had a first edition Hobbit that is also going for sale at Bonhams in November. Olivia Hazeman-Walker, manager of an Oxfam store in London, on finding that valuable first edition of Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird. This is NewsHour live from London from the BBC World Service.

24:13The Haunted Library

24:22and find stories that will linger long after you've left this place. From gothic masterpieces to pulpy penny dreadfuls, join me, Colin Morgan, with new episodes twice a week. Find The Haunted Library wherever you get your podcasts.

24:42Welcome back to NewsHour, to Ghana in West Africa now, where an entrepreneur has found a way of solving two problems at once by turning waste plastic packaging into much-needed desks for schools. Our reporter Justice Beidou met Makafui Awuku in his workshop in Ghana's capital, Accra. Welcome to Makintosh Africa. So let's walk around and let me show you some of them. A big guy with a big smile. Makafui Awuku has an infectious passion for recycling plastic. He shows me his current stockpile. So it's a huge heap of plastic bottles, sachet rubbers that have been collected together. How much plastics do we have here?

25:27About 400 kilograms. We generate about 1.1 million metric tons of plastic waste in Ghana every year. In Ghana, it is thought that just around 5 % of plastic is collected for recycling. Macafu's latest project addresses another problem here in Ghana. a shortage of school desks. We have a lot of debt deficit in our schools. We have a debt deficit of close to 2 million. McAfee makes desktops from the plastic sachets that are commonly used for drinking water here in Ghana. He has 300 drop-off points for the sachets around the country, and he supplements these by buying more that have been gathered by waste pickers.