The European Union says it is getting consistent reports of ethnic-targeted killings and possible war crimes in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray.
Category: Human Rights
Ethiopia Airlines accused of ethnic profiling over civil war with Tigray
Staff at Africa’s largest airline are being ethnically profiled and excluded from work because they come from a region embroiled in a civil war with the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopians from conflict-torn Tigray say they’re facing ethnic profiling
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has declared that the conflict in the northern Tigray region has come to an end. Abiy is calling for reconciliation and unity. But Ethiopia’s society remains as fractured as ever. On top of that, authorities are being accused of ethnic profiling as The World’s Halima Gikandi reports from Addis Ababa.
HRW: Interview – Uncovering Crimes Committed in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
Laetitia Bader, Human Rights Watch’s Horn of Africa Director, recently returned from a research mission in Sudan to interview refugees who fled the fighting that broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in early November 2020. For several weeks, federal government forces, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), and their allies clashed with forces and militia allied to Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in response to what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described as attacks by TPLF forces on federal military bases and forces in the region. The conflict has taken a heavy toll on the region’s civilian population. Here, Bader describes her impressions and some of Human Rights Watch’s initial findings.
Addis Standard’s editor Medihane Ekubamichael has contracted COVID19 in police detenttion
#AddisStandard’s editor Medihane Ekubamichael has contracted #COVID19 in police detention.
U.N. Fears Ethiopia Purging Ethnic Tigrayan Officers From Its Peacekeeping Missions
The Ethiopian government has been rounding up ethnic Tigrayan security forces deployed in United Nations and African peacekeeping missions abroad and forcing them onto flights to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where it is feared they may face torture or even execution, according to an internal U.N. account.
Ethiopia warns it may shell rebel capital
Advancing Ethiopian troops plan to surround the Tigray region’s rebel-held capital Mekelle with tanks and may shell the city to force surrender, a military spokesman said, urging civilians to save themselves.
Is Ethiopia sliding backwards under Abiy Ahmed?
Lencho Bati, an adviser to the office of the Ethiopian prime minister is asked about Abiy Ahmed’s controversial handling of protests and ask why the Nobel laureate is so media-shy.
Rep. Ilhan Omar Statement on the Situation in Ethiopia
MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar released the following statement on the ongoing situation in Ethiopia.
“My first trip abroad as a Member of Congress was to Ethiopia. I am also entering my second term as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Africa and human rights. This year, I am honored to be chosen as the Vice Chair of the subcommittee. The situation in Ethiopia is deeply alarming on many levels, and I have been following it extremely closely.
“I am deeply alarmed by the situation of the Oromo political prisoners, including Bekele Gerba and other leaders who are on hunger strike. The denial of access to medical treatment is a significant violation of their human rights and is only making the serious crises facing Ethiopia worse. The Ethiopian Government must treat these prisoners according to internationally recognized standards of human rights, due process, and human dignity.
“The ongoing conflict in Tigray has led to a catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situation. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands are facing starvation. Tens of thousands have left the country as refugees. Reports come in daily of new atrocities, including allegations of massacres in churches and villages, rape, and the physical destruction of refugee camps. Their whereabouts and condition are unknown.
“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed must allow unfettered humanitarian access, and unfettered access to independent human rights investigators in Tigray so we can get a full accounting of the atrocities that have been reported. He must also lift the communications blockade to allow NGOs and other humanitarian organizations to be in touch with their staff on the ground, and to allow people living in Tigray – including many of my own constituents – to finally speak to their families.