OMNA TIGRAY – SEPTEMBER 2021 SITUATION REPORT

It has now been more than nine months since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war on the people and region of Tigray. In the 300+ days of this genocidal war, Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), and Amhara regional forces and militias have unleashed immeasurable devastation on the people of Tigray. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, more than 22,500 women have been victims of weaponized Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), over 70,000 Tigrayans have fled to neighbouring Sudan, more than 2.2 million are internally displaced, health and economic infrastructures have been decimated, and millions of people are facing starvation because of a man-made famine. With the restoration of the National Government of Tigray at the end of June 2021, after Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) forced the ENDF to retreat, the security situation and humanitarian access within the region has vastly improved. The invading forces who were operating in the region with complete impunity have been removed from most parts of Tigray and humanitarian agencies have reported that their access within Tigray has vastly improved.

However, while the security condition has improved for a large proportion of the people of Tigray, the humanitarian catastrophe in the region is reaching devastating levels. In addition to pursuing their genocidal campaign by carrying out indiscriminate shellings, bombings, extrajudicial executions, and massacres, the Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces have continued to besiege Tigray, encircling the region on all sides and cutting off the supply of essential food aid. Despite declaring an alleged “unilateral ceasefire,” the Abiy administration continues to block humanitarian access to the region. International organizations have reported that the Ethiopian government is obstructing and delaying aid convoys delivering life-saving assistance to the people of Tigray. Because of the Abiy administration’s obstruction, a minuscule 5% of the thousands of trucks of food that are needed to avert catastrophic famine deaths have made it into the region.

In addition to blocking desperately needed food aid, the Ethiopian government has cut off all essential supplies to Tigray, including electricity, telecommunications, internet access, and supplies of cash and fuel. On top of making the daily lives of ordinary Tigrayans exceedingly difficult, these disruptions make it impossible for humanitarian agencies to provide the necessary aid.

Meanwhile, the ethnic profiling and ethnically targeted attacks against Tigrayans across the country, including in Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Somali regions is intensifying. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that ethnic Tigrayans in Addis Ababa are not only facing arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention but are also falling victim to forced disappearances, indicating an alarming new escalation of the ethnic profiling. In this report, HRW emphasized the need for donor countries to express their concerns and call for an explanation from the Ethiopian government regarding these waves of ethnic profiling and mass arrests. The inaction of donors and the international community has empowered Abiy to ramp up his attacks against Tigrayans.

While undermining Ethiopia’s relationship with its traditional partners such as the United States and Europe, Abiy is cozying up to dictators, traveling to Eritrea and then to Turkey to sign a military agreement in late August. Shortly after these trips, it was reported that Abiy had acquired armaments from Turkey and Eritrean troops began to mobilize to Tigrayan territory. With a catastrophic war that has displaced millions threatening to destabilize the entire country, a second round of assaults by the Ethiopian government and its allies would exacerbate the humanitarian disaster and risks further destabilizing the entire Horn of Africa.