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Zecharias Zelalem

@zekuzelalem.bsky.social

6.3K followers 400 following 1.1K posts

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

www.aljazeera.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · Oct 17

THREAD: My latest is a longform read for @aljazeera.com.
For 7 months, I investigated killings of civilians by African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. With talk about possible peacekeeper withdrawals and new mandates, the families of victims in Somalia demand justice and "blood money" compensation.

Families want justice, ‘blood money’ for AU peacekeeper killings in Somalia

As African Union forces fighting al-Shabab plan to withdraw this year, Somalis seek accountability for civilian deaths.

www.aljazeera.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

Gonna take a nap and take it to the elephant next 😊

Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

haha you are way too kind to me...and like, always!

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

አመሰግናለሁ አሊሰን! ❤️

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

The Continent | Africa

The Continent is an award-winning African newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.

www.thecontinent.org

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · Feb 28

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.

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

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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

www.assemblee-nationale.fr

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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."

mma.prnewswire.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

AFP story: Djibouti drone attack killgs eight rebels: Govt

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

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?

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

This is why France's role deserves to come under scrutiny. French military presence in Djibouti overseeing airspace surveillance suggests that it's highly unlikely that France had no knowledge of a Bayraktar TB2 drone crossing international frontiers, possibly multiple times, on its watch on 30/1/25

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

You'll want to see this:

The dishonesty in Paris was something else. France may have been renewing its agreement with Djibouti, but there was already one in place. One that since 1991, gave France the responsibility of jointly patrolling Djibouti's airspace and waters.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

Africa Intelligence reported that French parliamentary leftists & communists demanded additional time to review the pact, while also requesting clarity on the events of 30/1/25.

The stance of France/Djibouti? The "independent" investigation promised by Djibouti is still pending, let's wait for it.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

Ethiopia couldn't have cared less about the victims, with France investing millions and helping rehabilitate Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, after years of accusations of war crimes and genocide.

All in all, there were many reasons for Paris, Addis Ababa and Djibouti to want Siyaru to go away

France's Macron backs Ethiopia's debt restructuring efforts

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed full support on Saturday for Ethiopia's debt restructuring efforts, emphasising the need for a swift resolution "in the coming weeks".

www.reuters.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

Macron's efforts to fast track the ratification were probably due to fears that if the extent of Djibouti's abuses became known, the pact would be put on hold...which would weaken an already weakened France in Africa. Djibouti meanwhile, was obviously keen on 85M in the piggy bank.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

In May, Macron tried to fast track the ratification...but was blocked. The Djiboutian & Afar communities have a robust diaspora activist culture. They managed to successfully lobby fringe MPs at France's assemblée nationale to halt it.

Among the issues? Allegations of a drone strike massacre.

Djibouti • Communist Group puts brakes on military cooperation treaty in French Senate - 20/05/2025 - Africa Intelligence

The text tabled by France's government was due to be studied under the fast-track procedure, but some elected members of the upper house feel that it merits further discussion. - 5/20/2025

www.africaintelligence.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

The agreement still needed to be ratified by French parliament as France, unlike Djibouti, isn't a country under one man rule.

Nevertheless, Macron spent Christmas last year with French soldiers in Djibouti, and spoke of his hopes of expanding the French military presence there.

Macron visits Djibouti, France's last operational base in Africa

As the French army gradually withdraws from the African continent, Macron went to visit the 1,500 troops deployed in the small country, which recently renewed its defense cooperation treaty with Paris...

www.lemonde.fr

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

France has had a permanent military presence in Djibouti, since the country's 1977 independence. Presidents Ismail Omar Guelleh and Emmanuel Macron agreed in July 2024 to prolong that presence, with a military pact renewal that would net Djibouti some 85 M euros annually.

France and Djibouti renew defense partnership

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and his Djibouti counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh agreed Wednesday to renew the defense partnership between the two countries, following two years of negotiation...

www.arabnews.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 10d

Yesterday, I pointed out how anti-French sentiment in western Africa, led to the withdrawal of French troops from across that region.

France has since worked to consolidate its presence in East Africa...including in the country which hosts the last operational French base in Africa: Djibouti.

Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 11d

Kenya will host an Africa–France summit next year, agreed to by Presidents Ruto and Macron on the UN sidelines this week.

As the Western African rejection of their former colonial power appears increasingly permanent, France races to make geopolitical/strategic gains in East Africa.

Kenya and France to co-host ‘Africa Forward’ Summit in Nairobi

The summit is set to bring together African and French Heads of State and Government on May11-12 May 2026

www.the-star.co.ke

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