Isaias Afwerki

In this Eritrean name, the name Afwerki is a patronymic, and the person should be referred by the given name, Isaias.

Isaias Afwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, pronounced [isajas afwɐrkʼi] ^ⓘ; born 2 February 1946)^[1] is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia.^[2]

Isaias Afwerki
ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ
Isaias in 2022
President of Eritrea
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 1993
Preceded by	Position established
President of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 1993
Preceded by	Position established
Chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 February 1994
Preceded by	Position established
Secretary-General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea
In office 27 April 1991 – 24 May 1993
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
In office 12 January 1987 – 16 February 1994
Preceded by	Romodan Mohammed Nur
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1946-02-02) 2 February 1946 (age 77) Asmara, Eritrea^[a]
Political party	People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Spouse	Saba Haile
Children	Abraham Elsa Berhane
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	ELF (1967–around 1970) EPLF (around 1970–1994)
Battles/wars	Eritrean War of Independence Eritrean Civil Wars

In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). As Eritrea has never had a functioning constitution, no elections, no legislature and no published budget, Isaias has been the sole power in the country, controlling its judiciary and military.^[3] Hence, scholars and historians have long considered him to be a dictator,^[4][5][6][7] described his regime as totalitarian, by way of forced conscription; the United Nations and Amnesty International cited him for human rights violations.^[8][9] In 2022, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. In 2023 Eritrea ranked 174th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index.^[10]

Early life and education

Isaias Afwerki was born in the Aba Shi'Aul district of Asmara, Eritrea. His father, whose native village was Salot, just outside of Asmara, was a minor fuctionary in the state Tobacco Monopoly. His mother was descended from Tigrayan immigrants from the Enderta area.^[11]

Isaias attended Prince Makonnen High School (PMSS). In the early 1960s, he joined the nationalist Eritrean student movement.^[12] In 1965, he began his studies at the College of Engineering at Haile Selassie I University (now called Addis Ababa University) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.^[12]

In September 1966, Isaias left university and traveled to Kassala, Sudan, via Asmara to join the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). In 1967, the Chinese government donated light weapons and a small amount of cash to cover the cost of transport and provided training to ELF combatants. Isaias was among the first group that went to China in 1967 to receive military training. Upon his return, he was appointed as a political commissioner of the ELF's Zone 5 in the Hamasien region.^[13]

Isaias played a key role in the grassroots movement which brought about the demise of the zonal divisions of the ELF. Further, he played a vital role in the Tripartite Union, which challenged the ELF's leadership, the Supreme Council (Cairo), and the Revolutionary Command (Kassala). Soon after the commencement of sectarian violence in the early 1970s against members of the reform movement, those who were in the central highlands, including Isaias, withdrew to an isolated locality, Ala in northeast of the Akele Guzay near Dekemhare. Here, they joined Abraham Tewolde, the former commander of the defunct Zone 5. After Tewolde died in battle Isaias became^[when?] the leader.^{[citation needed]}

Eritrean War of Independence

Main articles: Eritrean War of Independence and Ethiopian Civil War

The Eritrean War of Independence began in 1962; Isaias joined the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1967, a post he held for three years.^[14]

In August 1971, a group of junior ELF members held a meeting at Tekli (northern Red Sea) and founded Selfi Natsinet, known as the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). The group elected five leaders, including Isaias. In October 1971, the group formed a committee to draft and issue a highly polemical document, Nihnan Elamanan (“We and Our Goals”), in which they explained the rationale for their decision to create a separate political organization instead of working within the ELF.^[13] In 1977, EPLF held its first congress, at which Isaias was elected vice-secretary general. During the second congress of the EPLF in 1987, he was elevated to the status of secretary-general of the organization. In May 1991, with the end of the Ethiopian Civil War he became secretary-general of the Provisional Government of Eritrea.^{[citation needed]}

As a leader of the Eritrean rebellion against Ethiopia's annexation of the Eritrean coastal region in 1977, Isaias became an icon of resistance. The Ethiopian Civil War began shortly after the beginning of the military junta Derg regime in 1974, and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) fought against the government with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). They formed a coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1988. In April 1991, the EPLF took Asmara from Ethiopian forces; the following month, they drove out Derg troops in the area. After the Derg was overthrown by the EPRDF on 28 May, Isaias quickly obtained U.S. support for Eritrean independence; in June 1991, his organization announced their desire to hold a United Nations-sponsored referendum.^[14]

Presidency (1993–present)

Further information: Politics of Eritrea

Independence of Eritrea

Main article: 1993 Eritrean independence referendum

In April 1993, a United Nations-supervised referendum on independence was held, and the following month Eritrea achieved de jure independence. Isaias was elected as the president of the State of Eritrea by the National Assembly and declared the first head of state, a position he has held ever since the end of the war for independence.^[15]

In 16 February 1994, the EPLF held its third congress, renamed itself the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) as part of its transition to a political party and Isaias was elected secretary-general by an overwhelming majority of votes.^{[citation needed]} Isaias undertook a series of economic reforms. He implemented a national service program in May 1994 in which individuals would serve for 18 months. Military training was the focus for the first six months, followed by awareness of the country and expansion of its agricultural sector.^[14]

Domestic policy

Elections

 

President Isaias with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, December 2002

In his first few years Isaias was hailed as a new type of African president with then-US President Bill Clinton referring to him as a "renaissance African leader". However, in 1997, a new constitution was drawn up, but never enacted, and elections were cancelled.^[16][15] In an April 2000 speech at Princeton University, Isaias said that "constitutionality, political pluralism and free and fair elections are naturally the best institutional tools" for achieving economic prosperity given the political and cultural realities of a specific country.^[17] However, a parliamentary election scheduled in 2001 was later postponed indefinitely. Although police are responsible for upholding internal security and the armed forces' external security, eyewitness reports exist of the armed forces engaging with demobilizing soldiers or civilian militias to complete the hybrid tasks of both. Civil authorities sometimes involve themselves with security forces in an abuse of power.^[18]

In 2018, Isaias' former comrade, Andebrhan Welde Giorgis, said that Isaias went on to personalise power, and "having personalised power, he abused it to the maximum". Notwithstanding, during the African Unity summit in Cairo in 1993, Isaias had criticized other leaders for staying in power for too long, and he had also rejected a cult of personality.^[15]

In 2000, 15 ministers (including his vice president) wrote an open letter asking him to step down.^[19]: 8:56 On September 18, 2001, he closed the national press and prominent opposition leaders were arrested.^[20] In 2010, when asked when elections would be held, he responded "Let's wait 3 or 4 decades".^{[19]: 10:41}

Economics

Main article: Economy of Eritrea

 

The Bank of Eritrea in 2005

In 2009, Isaias advocated for the development of indigenous political and economic institutions, and a strategy that suited Eritrea's internal conditions and available resources.^[21] The key elements were to include ambitious infrastructure development campaigns both in terms of power, transport, and telecommunications, as well as with basic healthcare and educational facilities.^[22]

According to the World Bank, Eritrea's recent growth has been associated with the agricultural (one-third of the economy and 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and mining sectors (20 percent). Real GDP grew by 12 percent in 2018, but fell 2.7 percent from 2015 to 2018. Deflation existed from 2016 to 2018 due to a currency change, and continued in 2018 after economic and trade ties with Ethiopia were reestablished.^[23]

 

Voice of America's Peter Clottey interviews Isaias in New York, 2011

On 18 May 2012, Isaias said in a VOA interview that the country's development over two decades of independence was "a success story".^[24] As a result of regional insecurity in 1998, Eritrea has a strong fiscal policy caused by a sharp drop in capital spending and reductions in revenue. Fiscal pressures, however, are likely to increase.^[23]

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Eritrea

As of 2013, Amnesty International reported that the government of Isaias imprisoned at least 10,000 political prisoners. Amnesty also claimed that torture—for punishment, interrogation and coercion—is widespread.^[9]

In June 2015, a United Nations panel accused Isaias of leading a totalitarian government responsible for systematic human rights violations in Eritrea that may amount to crimes against humanity.^[8] Norwegian academic Kjetil Tronvoll said that concentration camps for individuals from opposition groups and labor camps with makeshift facilities (often made from shipping containers) exist.^[25] The government has banned independent newspapers and arrested journalists critical of Isaias since 2001, including G-15: a group of People's Front for Democracy and Justice officials who appealed for an open election.^[26] Eritrea is closed to human-rights organizations, who are forced to obtain information from émigrés.^[27]

The government has been accused of enforced disappearances; torture; arbitrary detention, censorship; libel; human trafficking; criminalizing same-sex activity; arbitrary and unlawful violations of privacy, judicial independence, freedom of speech, association, movement and religion; and forced labor (including national service past the 18-month legal obligation). An August 2015 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report documented the use of unlawful force (torture and battery) by security authorities against prisoners, national service evaders, army deserters, asylum seekers without travel documents, and religious groups. In June 2018, a thirty-year-old man reportedly died as a result of torture and delayed medical treatment. He was arrested while attending the burial that March of Hajji Musa Mohammed Nur, director of an Islamic school.^[28] Freedom in the World rated Eritrea "not free" in 2022; the country scored one out of 40 for political rights and two out of 60 for civil liberties.^[29]

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Eritrea

Ethiopia

Main article: Eritrea–Ethiopia relations

See also: Eritrean–Ethiopian War, Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict, and Tigray War

During the Ethiopian Civil War, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was initially inspired by the Eritreans and received assistance for their independence. By the 1980s and 1990s, the TPLF emerged as a powerful rebel group that increased its military skills in the revolutionary struggle. The groups disagreed and broke up in 1985.^[30]

 

Destroyed BM-21 Grad, a relic of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000)

Eritrea has engaged in border conflicts since its independence, most notably a war between 1998 and 2000. The war began after Eritrea invaded Ethiopia over the disputed border of Badme on 6 May 1998, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths within two years.^[31] On 12 December 2000, Eritrea signed the Algiers Agreement to end the war; however, the countries remained in a "no-war-no-peace" stalemate. Eritrea has security concerns about Ethiopia, particularly its support of weak, splintered Eritrean opposition groups. Isaias uses the disputed border to maintain a war footing and justify indefinite mass mobilization and repression. Eritrea supported Ethiopian rebel groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) to undermine regional Ethiopian influence. In Somalia, Eritrea has trained, armed, and financed militias opposed to the Ethiopian government during its transitional government. The UN Monitoring Group on Somalia recommended an embargo against Eritrea, Ethiopia and other states.^[32]

In late 2008, the relationship between the countries was deemed strained; the Ethiopian Border Commission (EEBC) did not outline the border in November 2007. The United Nations Missions in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) ended in 2008, and Eritrean troops briefly occupied the Temporary Security Zone. Ethiopia remained in control of the EEBC's border inside Eritrea and reached Badme, triggering mass mobilization and high troop concentrations in the area.^[33] Eritrea's unchanged stance reinforced the EEBC'S decision, which was backed by international law; Ethiopia remained in de facto compliance and had strong relations with the UN.^[33]

 

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed with Isaias in March 2019

In 2018, Isaias oversaw an unexpected transformation of Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia. The 20-year stalemate ended after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. Abiy signed a "joint declaration of peace and friendship" at a bilateral summit on 9 July, restoring diplomatic and trade ties with Eritrea.^[34][20] The agreement includes reopening Burre to access the landlocked Ethiopian Port of Eritrea and Zalambessa for trade, and access to Ethio telecom and Ethiopian Airlines.^[35] On 16 September, Abiy signed another peace treaty with Isaias in Jeddah. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir tweeted that the agreement "will contribute to strengthening security and stability in the region at large".^[36] This was widely acknowledged by numerous world leaders, with the UAE Government awarding Isaias the Order of Zayed (First Class) in recognition of his efforts to end the conflict.^[37]

After July 2018, the Ethiopian and Eritrean intelligence agencies started a close cooperation. This worried Eritrean refugees in Addis Ababa, some of whom were temporarily detained for three weeks, acquitted by Ethiopian courts, and only released two weeks after their acquittal.^[38]

The Tigray War began on 3 November 2020 after the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the former ruling party in Ethiopia, attacked the Northern Command center camps of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in Tigray and pushed them to Eritrea. The Eritrean Defence Forces joined hands with the ENDF and allegedly with the help of UAE armed drones counter-attacked the TPLF forces. There was alleged looting in Tigray Region, including systematic, wide-scale looting in Axum following the Axum massacre in late November 2020.^[39][40] After several weeks of Ethiopian government denial of the presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Prime Minister admitted to the presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia and agreed to withdraw them. Under international pressure, on 26 March 2021, after a meeting between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Isaias, it was announced that Eritrean troops would withdraw from the Tigray Region.^[41][42]

Sudan

Main article: Eritrea–Sudan relations

Relations between Eritrea and Sudan were initially hostile; shortly after independence in 1993, Eritrea charged Sudan with supporting the activities of Eritrean Islamic Jihad, which carried out attacks against the Eritrean government.^[43] Eritrea broke relations with Sudan at the end of 1994, became a strong supporter of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and permitted the opposition National Democratic Alliance to locate its headquarters in the former Sudan embassy in Asmara.^[43]

Relations were later reestablished on December 2005.^[44] A year later, Isaias and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir met for the first time since 2001 in Khartoum.^[32] Isaias later described relations with Sudan as resting on solid ground and having "bright prospects."^[43] Eritrea played a prominent role in brokering a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Sudan's Eastern Front.^[43][45][46]

On 10 May 2014, the state-owned Sudan News Agency announced during Isaias' visit to the Al Jeili oil refinery that Sudan had agreed to supply Eritrea with fuel and boost its economic partnership. It was also reported that the Sudanese Electricity Company planned to supply a 45-kilometre (28 mi) power line from Kassala to the Eritrean town of Teseney.^[47] On 4 May 2021, Isaias visited Khartoum to discuss the ongoing border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan. In conversation with Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, he raised regional issues and the long-time dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.^[48]

Djibouti

Main article: Djibouti–Eritrea relations

See also: Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict

 

Shaded relief map of Djibouti. The original map is from 1991, with the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea added in 2006.

Relations between Eritrea and Djibouti date back to 1991. The countries waged war in April 1996 when Djibouti accused Eritrea of shelling Ras Doumeira, a small village bounded by Ethiopia's Afar Region. Eritrea was also accused of redrawing the map of the area. Eritrea denied both claims. The conflict worsened until May 1996, when Eritrean forces retreated from the area and Djibouti retracted the allegations. The Eritrean–Ethiopian War was a threat to and an opportunity for Djibouti. Ethiopia diverted trade through Djibouti via Eritrean ports, strengthening economic ties in accordance with the 1996 protocol. In 1999, Djibouti and Ethiopia signed a military cooperation agreement.^[49]

In 1998, Eritrea accused Djibouti of using its port to supply military equipment to Ethiopia. In June of that year, Djibouti deployed military force in the north to avoid an incursion during the war; French troops were involved with their Djiboutian counterparts. In 1999, France sent two frigates to guard against any approaches toward Ethiopia and Eritrea. Djiboutian President Hassan Gouled Aptidon's November 1998 attempt to mediate the Eritrean–Ethiopian War during the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit was rejected by Eritrea for perceived partiality. Djibouti expelled its Eritrean ambassadors and Tekest Ghebrai, an Eritrean national and the former executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), was dismissed.^[49]

The December 1997 treaty was deemed too weak. Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Ethiopia in 1999, and Djibouti accused Eritrea of supporting Djiboutian rebel groups in the Ras Doumeira area; Eritrea denied this. Rapprochement between the countries returned in March 2000, after mediation by Libya. Isaias visited Djibouti in 2001, and President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh visited Eritrea. This visit created a joint cooperative commission which would conduct an annual review. Guelleh sought a friendly relationship with Eritrea, despite their military imbalance.^[49]

Guelleh visited the disputed area on 22 April 2008, and the Djiboutian Foreign Ministry said that the Eritrean position lay several kilometers inside Djiboutian territory. Eritrea denied an accusation that its soldiers had dug trenches, and military officials met two days later to compare the border map. Djibouti sent troops to the area. Guelleh said on 9 May that the "two armies are facing each other"; the situation was explosive, with hostile forces ready to dismantle Djiboutian sovereignty. With reported Qatari mediation, both sides agreed to resolve the confrontation by negotiation.^[49]

Somalia

In July 2018, Eritrea and Somalia established diplomatic relations. On 28 July, Somalian president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed began a three-day visit with Isaias in Asmara during which Somalia expressed solidarity with Eritrea in diplomacy and international politics.^[50]

Russia

Main article: Eritrea–Russia relations

 

Isaias Afwerki with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on 31 May 2023

Along with Belarus, Syria, and North Korea, Eritrea was one of only four countries not including Russia to vote against a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.^[51][52] In July 2023, Isaias attended the Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the meeting with Putin, Isaias openly denied the existence of a war between Russia and Ukraine.^[53]

Forto incident

About 100 soldiers broke into Forto, the building housing the information-ministry correspondent for state television Eri-TV, on 21 January 2013 and surrounded the staff. They forced station director Asmelash Abraha to read a demand to release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners and to implement the 1997 constitution. After he read two sentences, the station went off the air. Isaias' bodyguards were urged to protect him, his palace, and his airport. Eri-TV returned to the air at 10 a.m. to report a snowstorm in Paris. The mutiny subsided after the government negotiated the release of the ministry's employees.^[54]

Personal life

In the summer of 1981, Isaias met his wife, former EPLF fighter Saba Haile, in a village called Nakfa. As of 2010 they had three children: Abraham, Elsa, and Berhane.^[55][56][57]

Shortly before Eritrea declared independence, Isaias contracted cerebral malaria and was flown to Israel for treatment.^[58] Arriving in a coma, he was treated at Sheba Medical Center, where he recovered after successful treatment.^[59] As of 2019, he was a member of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, one of the four legal churches in Eritrea.^[55][60]

His nickname "Isu" was frequently used in conversation, and to refer to Isaias in his political capacity, and has appeared in news articles as well.^[61][62]

His training in China made him a great admirer of Mao Zedong, but hated Deng Xiaoping.^[63]

Temperament

In a 2008 leaked assessment, United States ambassador Ronald McMullen described Isaias as "paranoid" and believing that "Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi tried to kill him and that the United States will attempt to assassinate him."^[16]

Foreign honours

•   Saudi Arabia
  •   Order of King Abdulaziz (16 September 2018)^[64]
•   Serbia
  •   Order of the Republic of Serbia, Second Class (2016)^[65]
•   United Arab Emirates
  •   Order of Zayed, First Class (24 July 2018)^[66]

References

1. "President: Isaias Afwerki". BBC News. The BBC. 1 May 2014. from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
2. Perlez, Jane (16 June 1991). "Eritreans, Fresh From Victory, Must Now Govern". The New York Times. from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
3. de Waal, Alex (2 September 2022). "The Despotism of Isaias Afewerki". The Baffler. from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
4. "OHCHR Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea". OHCHR. from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
5. Human Rights Watch (12 January 2017), "Eritrea: Events of 2016", English, from the original on 23 August 2018, retrieved 20 November 2022
6. Keane, Fergal (9 July 2018). "Can Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed make peace with 'Africa's North Korea'?". BBC News. from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
7. Taylor, Adam (12 June 2015). "The brutal dictatorship the world keeps ignoring". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
8. Cumming-Bruce, Nick (8 June 2015). "Torture and Other Rights Abuses Are Widespread in Eritrea, U.N. Panel Says". The New York Times. from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2019. has imposed a reign of fear through systematic and extreme abuses of the population that may amount to crimes against humanity
9. "Eritrea: Rampant repression 20 years after independence". Amnesty International. 9 May 2013. from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
10. "2021 World Press Freedom Index". RSF - Reporters without borders. 20 April 2020. from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
11. Historical Dictionary of Eritrea (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. 14 October 2010. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-810-87505-0. from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
12. Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong; Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP, US. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5. from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
13. Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195382075. from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
14. Stapleton, Timothy J. (30 June 2022). Modern African Conflicts: An Encyclopedia of Civil Wars, Revolutions, and Terrorism. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6970-9.
15. "Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki 'both charismatic and brutal'". BBC News. 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021.
16. Plaut, Martin. "Eritrea's Isaias Afwerki: a tactical authoritarian who might be president for life". The Conversation. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
17. Palmer, Mark (2005). Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-3255-7.
18. "Eritrea-Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2020". U.S. Embassy in Eritrea. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
19. "MERON ESTEFANOS, A CONVERSATION ON ERITREA WITH THOR HALVORSSEN, 18 min". OFFinJOBURG. 11 April 2018. from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
20. "Isaias Afwerki". Encyclopædia Britannica. from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
21. "FACTBOX - Key quotes from Eritrean president". Reuters. 21 October 2009. from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
22. "TimesInterview with Eritrea's Isaias Afewerki". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
23. "Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
24. "Eritrean President Discusses Path to Development". VOA. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
25. Plaut, Martin (2016). Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa's Most Repressive State. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-066959-1.
26. "500,000 Refugees, 'Slavery-like' Compulsory Service, No National Elections, Border Conflicts & Secret Prisons: 5 Human Rights Crises in Eritrea". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
27. "Human Rights Situation in Eritrea". Human Rights Watch. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
28. "Eritrea 2019 Human Rights Report" (PDF). 28 May 2022.
29. "Eritrea: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
30. Young, John (1996). "The Tigray and Eritrean Peoples Liberation Fronts: A History of Tensions and Pragmatism". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 34 (1): 105–120. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00055221. ISSN 0022-278X. JSTOR 161740.
31. "Ethiopia-Eritrea border: Landmark summit aims to end conflict". BBC News. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
32. Watch (Organization), Human Rights (2009). Service for Life: State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-472-6.
33. Lyons, Terrence (2009). "The Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict and the Search for Peace in the Horn of Africa". Review of African Political Economy. 36 (120): 167–180. doi:10.1080/03056240903068053. ISSN 0305-6244. JSTOR 27756259. S2CID 154642333.
34. "Tigray crisis: Eritrea's role in Ethiopian conflict". BBC News. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
35. "Ethiopia-Eritrea border reopens after 20 years". BBC News. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
36. "Ethiopian, Eritrean leaders sign peace agreement in Jeddah". Reuters. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
37. "UAE President awards Order of Zayed to Eritrean President, Ethiopian Prime Minister". Emirates News Agency. 24 July 2018. from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
38. "Eritreans in Ethiopia Fear for Their Safety". Awate. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
39. "The massacre in Axum". Amnesty International. 26 February 2021. (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
40. "Tigray crisis: Eritrea's role in Ethiopian conflict", BBC News, 28 December 2020, from the original on 28 December 2020, retrieved 28 December 2020
41. AP and AFP (26 March 2021). "Ethiopian PM: Eritrean troops to leave Tigray". Deutsche Welle. from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
42. "Ethiopia: Eritrean troops' massacre of hundreds of Axum civilians may amount to crime against humanity". Amnesty International. 26 February 2021. from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021. On 19 November 2020, Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces took control of Axum in a large-scale offensive, killing and displacing civilians with indiscriminate shelling and shooting. In the nine days that followed, the Eritrean military engaged in widespread looting of civilian property and extrajudicial executions. Witnesses could easily identify the Eritrean forces. They drove vehicles with Eritrean license plates, wore distinctive camouflage and footwear used by the Eritrean army and spoke Arabic or a dialect of Tigrinya not spoken in Ethiopia. Some bore the ritual facial scars of the Ben Amir, an ethnic group absent from Ethiopia. Finally, some of the soldiers made no secret of their identity; they openly told residents they were Eritrean.
43. Shinn, David H. (2015). (PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.). Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 280–282. ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2015.
44. . ArabicNews.com. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 16 January 2007.
45. . Sudan Tribune. 18 April 2006. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
46. . Sudan Tribune. 4 November 2005. Archived from the original on 18 July 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
47. "Relations between Eritrea and Sudan continue to improve". country.eiu.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
48. "Eritrea's president visits Sudan amid tensions over Ethiopia". AP NEWS. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
49. "The Eritrea-Djibouti border dispute" (PDF). 29 May 2022.
50. "For the first time in history, Somalia and Eritrea build a bilateral diplomatic relationship". THE TIMES OF AFRICA. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
51. Granitz, Peter (2 March 2022). "The U.N. approves a resolution demanding that Russia end the invasion of Ukraine". NPR. from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
52. "Eritrea: Isaias' hostility to the West is about survivalism". The Africa Report.com. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
53. "Eritrean, Burkina Faso leaders align with Russia, deny Putin's terrorist war". TVP World. 29 July 2023. from the original on 29 July 2023.
54. International Crisis Group (2013). The Beginning of the End for President Isaias Afwerki?. Eritrea (Report). pp. Page 3–Page 9. JSTOR resrep31952.6.
55. "Biography of Isaias Afwerki". Madote. 2010. from the original on 16 November 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
56. Hillary Rodham Clinton (2003), Oxford Dictionary of African Biography. Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0743222253.
57. Michela Wrong (2005), I Didn't Do it for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation. Fourth Estate, ISBN 9780007150960.
58. Bekit, Teklemariam (12 June 2019). "Eritrea's 'ice bucket' bid to oust Isaias Afwerki". BBC News. from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
59. Melman, Yossi (20 November 2020). "Israel, help us overthrow this autocratic regime]". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021.
60. "Eritrea: A country with several restrictions to freedom of religion or belief". IPPFORB. from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022. The Eritrean government officially recognizes only four religions: the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea.
61. "Isu-virus Demands the Eritrean Pro-Justice Movement to Forge Alliance With The Regional (YES-SEDS) Diaspora Communities". Assena. from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
62. "The war in Tigray: Abiy, Isaias, and the Amhara elite". The Africa Report. 29 January 2021. from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
63. "ISAIAS ZEDONG?". Aftenposten. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
64. Gambrell, Jon (16 September 2018). "Leaders of Ethiopia, Eritrea sign accord in Saudi Arabia". AP News. from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
65. "Decrees on decorations signed by the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic". predsednik.rs. from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
66. "Photos: Ethiopia-Eritrea leaders meet in UAE, awarded for peace deal". africanews.com. 24 July 2018. from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2021.

Notes

1. Eritrea was under the British Military Administration at the time of Isaias' birth.

External links

• Official website of the Ministry of Information of Eritrea, shabait.com
• Isaias Isaias's Biography With Rare Photos of His early Childhood, madote.com
• feature on Isaias Isaias New Internationalist, 2004
• . shabait.com. Eritrea – Ministry of Information. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

Political offices
New office	President of Eritrea 1993–present	Incumbent