4.5 MILLION People in Tigray Requiring Humanitarian Assistance UN – March 2021
4 MILLION Estimated Number of People in Urgent Need of Food Assistance Food Security Cluster – January 2021
62,383 Ethiopian Refugees Arriving in Eastern Sudan Since November UNHCR – April 2021
In a statement on Wednesday, the rights watchdog said the “unprovoked attack” took place in the centre of Adwa town early on Monday, more than two weeks after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Eritrea had agreed to withdraw the forces it had sent into the northern Ethiopian region during the conflict that broke out there in November 2020.
The 15 Security Council members will hear from UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, who will talk about the continued difficulties in getting aid to refugees, according to the UN.
In early March Lowcock called for Eritrea to withdraw its troops from Tigray, in the first recognition by a UN official of Eritrea’s involvement in the fighting there.
Amnesty International can confirm that Eritrean troops killed three people and injured at least 19 in an unprovoked attack on civilians in the centre of Adwa town on 12 April.
“There must be justice and accountability for war crimes and human rights violations in Tigray. This attack and other allegations of violations must be independently and impartially investigated by an international inquiry “
“We’ve never seen such an incident at this scale before where many civilians lost their lives. We are still investigating who these armed men are.”
A local hospital admitted 28 patients who suffered injuries from explosives and bullet wounds, Mohammed Hassen, head of Dubti Hospital in Afar, told Reuters.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on 26 March that Eritrea will remove its military forces from Ethiopian territory, without specifying a timeline for the withdrawal. Since November 2020, several sources, including international human rights NGOs, have reported killings of the Tigrayan population perpetrated by Eritrean troops.
In particular, right now the Security Council needs to pay attention to deeply disturbing reports of mass sexual violence occurring in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. We as a Council must address reports of women being forced by military elements to have sex for basic commodities, and reports of sexual violence against women and girls in refugee camps, among other horrific information. The international community must work to ensure that all those involved respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. And the international community must establish immediate protection mechanisms, humanitarian aid, and other needed services for survivors. Independent, credible investigations must be conducted to hold perpetrators of these, and other human rights abuses and violations committed in Tigray, accountable.
“Starving Tigray: How armed conflict and mass atrocities have destroyed an Ethiopian region’s economy and food systems and are threatening famine”
Regardless of who is responsible for the outbreak of hostilities, the sole reason for the scale of the humanitarian emergency is that the coalition of Ethiopian Federal forces, Amhara regional forces, and Eritrean troops are committing starvation crimes on large scale.
It is critically important that all parties ensure unhindered humanitarian access. However, humanitarian assistance alone will not address the root of this crisis. An immediate end to the conflict is needed to alleviate suffering. A cessation of hostilities, the immediate and complete withdrawal of Eritrean forces, and an end to the Ethiopian government’s deployment of Amhara regional forces in Tigray are essential first steps. As this crisis deepens, the United States welcomes contributions of other donors to continue scaling up assistance to reach the people who need it most.
“I only have the clothes you see here,” she says. “I can’t even cook for myself as I don’t have any utensils. I don’t even own a blanket. At one point I was given four bedsheets by local people, but I gave them to the pregnant women. We feel forgotten by the international community and the Ethiopian government. Nobody reaches us. Even after such a long time, we have nothing.”
