Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on July 20, 2021
An explosion occurred at an aluminum alloy plant on Tuesday morning in Dengfeng, Central China’s Henan Province. No casualties were reported as of press time, said local authorities.
Local emergency management staff have rushed to the scene.
The incident occurred at around 6:00 am at an aluminum alloy plant in a village of Gaocheng township after flood water from a nearby river poured into an alloy tank with a high temperature solution, according to a statement Dengfeng government issued on Tuesday.
After Dengfeng experienced heavy rainstorm on Monday, the water level of the Yinghe River soared and exceeded the warning line at around 4 am. The increased water level resulted in the collapse of the surrounding wall and flooded into the factory, said the statement.
The company later cut the power and evacuated its staff from the plant, it said.
A Gaocheng resident, surnamed Chen, told the Global Times that she heard a loud noise when the explosion occurred. “I thought it was a thunder as it was raining heavily outside then. I checked the time — it was at 6:06 am,” she said.
According to public information, Dengfeng Power Group Aluminum Alloy Company, the enterprise that runs the plant, showed a normal record in its all seven environmental protection onsite inspections.
Dengfeng government officials have arrived at the scene to help with the evacuation of the residents around the plant. No casualties or missing people were reported.
The city authorities have also started flood season safety investigation and rectification.
👉 “The AU + UN + China + Russia have abandoned the Christian people of Tigray. Over 150.000 Tigrayans perished — and Africa is silent. You all will face judgment here and the hereafter.
“China, Dr. Tedros of WHO gave you favor — now you are supporting a war criminal Ahmed to bomb his relatives!?”
A Protestant television transmitted the “exorcism” seen in the clip which directly and openly demonizes Tigrayans and Tigray. The video shows a woman “possessed” by a “spirit” that has been killing and attacking the Ethiopian national defense forces in Tigray and is aiming to destroy Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was once the toast of the international community. He was young, spoke the language of democracy, and was willing to reverse longtime policy to end the border conflict with Eritrea. In 2019, he took home the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Today, he is a Nobel embarrassment.
On July 18, 2021, his office issued a statement with the type of ethnic incitement that would make Rwanda’s Hutu génocidaires blush: He referred to Ethiopia’s Tigrayans as “the cancer of Ethiopia” and called on all Ethiopians “to remove the invasive weed.” Human rights organizations and journalists say he is systematically seeking to starve the Tigray province, and he has begun closing or seizing businesses owned by the Tigray. In effect, this replicates what late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin once did with his country’s ethnic Indian population. Both the war and the internal economic disruption have undercut Ethiopia’s already tenuous economy.
Rashid Abdi, one of the East Africa’s most insightful and perceptive analysts, now reports via twitter, “Embassies in Addis [Ababa] making contingency plans to move to Nairobi in case situation deteriorates in coming weeks. Economic and financial collapse feared.” He cited one analyst as suggesting the prospects of an internal coup are very high.
Such a scenario is not farfetched. In last month’s elections, Abiy’s party reportedly won 410 out of 436 seats. The State Department, however, called the election “flawed” and international elections monitors pointedly refused to call the polls free and fair. Most opposition remains in prison. The Tigray Defense Force’s recapture of the Tigray provincial capital Mekelle after Abiy claimed victory is an embarrassment Abiy cannot hide. Nor, even with the tight control Abiy’s regime holds over the media, can he hide the images of thousands of Ethiopian troops paraded through the capital as prisoners.
This creates a perfect storm for Abiy. The government wants a scapegoat for their failure, and top generals could target Abiy if only to preempt the prime minister targeting them. Nor is Tigray the only insurgency Ethiopia now faces. At the same time, the implosion of Ethiopia’s economy means that Abiy is hemorrhaging the support of ordinary Ethiopians in the capital and across the country. While the Ethiopian Birr is officially 44 to the US dollar, it is trading in the Ethiopian-Somaliland border town of Wajaale at 61 to the dollar, a 38 percent drop.
Abiy’s arrogance toward fellow African leaders and the African Union means that, while none care for the precedent of a violent overthrow, neither would any intercede if members of Abiy’s own entourage pushed Abiy aside. Regime change in Ethiopia will be internal and may likely come in a matter of weeks rather than years. Let us hope the White House and State Department are not asleep at the switch, and that the Pentagon is already considering how to achieve a noncombatant evacuation operation for the tens of thousands of American citizens who call Ethiopia home.
Addis Ethiopia Weblog 