(Asmara 18 -12- 2015) Freedom Friday sources in Asmara have today dismissed rumours circulating about the possible death of Issias Afwerki. They assert that the news circulating doesn’t relate to the reality that they are observing in Asmara. The activists who live and work in the Capital stated that there was nothing out ‘of the ordinary’ inside the city and that Issias Afwerki and his cronies seem to be running business as usual as far as they are able to discern. However they believe that he continues to suffer from persisting ill-health and he has recently received medical care in Dubai or Qatar and returned to Eritrea last Wednesday.
The non-appearance of Issias Afwerki on national media as well as, at various international events, including the Indian-African Summit had fuelled rumours about his wellbeing and raised issues of succession and potential concerns for the stability of Eritrea.
However Freedom Friday Activists have noted an unusual tension inside Eritrea related to commodity prices, in light of recent changes to the Eritrean currency. There is said to be stringent checks on buses that come from Sudan, affecting people who try to make a living by importing small quantities of food items and household perishables across the border. Recently troops stopped around 10 such buses coming to Eritrea from Sudan and confiscated food items being brought back by Eritreans who had travelled to Sudan.
Freedom Friday is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as and when they are available.