Donate

Tag: Situation Report

OMNA TIGRAY – MAY 2021 STARVATION REPORT

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe

INTRODUCTION

On November 4, 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia launched a genocidal war against the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Since the beginning of the war, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara regional forces have committed heinous war crimes to actively destroy Tigray and eliminate all Tigrayans. A frightening war tactic that is being used in this genocide is starvation. The Ethiopian government is using hunger as a weapon of war to control and exterminate the Tigrayan population. Abiy Ahmed’s government has repeatedly claimed that no one has died from hunger during the war. However, this is a falsehood that has been concocted by the government to hide their crimes.

WEAPONIZED STARVATION

All modern famines are in some way man-made. Even if famines are triggered by natural factors; inadequate aid distribution, willful ignorance of suffering, and political interference underlie modern famines. Six out of ten people struggling with food insecurity live in countries affected by violent armed conflicts [1]Cousin, E. (2021, February 22). Fighting Famine Will Help Prevent Further Conflict in Yemen. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/22/yemen-conflict-food-prevent-hunger-famine/. However, there is a difference between when conflicts result in food insecurity and when hunger is used as a tactic of war to punish and control a population.

When the starvation of a population is deliberate, then hunger is being used as a weapon of war. Purposely destroying food sources and impeding aid access are criminal offenses for which the international community is supposed to hold perpetrators accountable. The 1949 Geneva Conventions states that attacks on “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population,” are prohibited. In addition, Article 54(1) of the 1977 Additional Protocols of the 1949 Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in international armed conflicts [2]International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries – AdditionalProtocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 – 54 – Protection of objects … Continue reading. Additional Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions also prohibits starvation in non-international armed
conflicts.

The Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) states that deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime that can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, under the Rome Statute starvation was only considered a war crime in international armed conflicts and not in non-international armed conflicts [3]International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Customary IHL – Practice Relating to Rule 53. Starvation as aMethod of Warfare. IHL Database. … Continue reading[4]World Peace Foundation. (2019, June). The Crime of Starvation and Methods of Prosecution and
Accountability. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Legal%20Paper%20Starvation.pdf. This meant that the ICC could not prosecute starvation during civil wars. This frustrating gap in international criminal law made it difficult to prosecute weaponized hunger in past conflicts, despite the fact that weaponized hunger is a criminal offense according to the Geneva Conventions.

It was not until the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2417 in 2018 that the Council explicitly banned the use of starvation as a weapon of war [5]United Nations. (2018, May 24). Adopting Resolution 2417 (2018), Security Council Strongly Condemns Starving of Civilians, Unlawfully Denying Humanitarian Access as Warfare Tactics | Meetings … Continue reading. This led to amending the Rome Statute to include starvation as a war crime in non international armed conflicts in Article 8(2)(e)(xix) in 2019 [6]Global Rights Compliance. (2020, December 11). The Netherlands accepts Starvation Amendment: One Year On. Starvation accountability. … Continue reading. This amendment allowed the ICC to prosecute weaponized starvation in any conflict as a war crime.

Furthermore, starvation could fall within the described tools of genocide as per Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which defines genocide as intentionally destroying a group through:

  • Killing members of the group;
  • Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
  • Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
  • Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group [7]UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. (n.d.). OHCHR | Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. UN OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crimeofgenocide.aspx.

Weaponized starvation can be categorized as “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group” and “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” Hence, it is imperative that those involved in perpetrating genocide through hunger are prosecuted under international law and that the international community recognizes that the situation in Tigray is an active state-sponsored genocide.

As of today, weaponized hunger in any conflict is considered a war crime. Even Ethiopian national legislation states that the starvation of civilian populations is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to twenty-five years, or, in more serious cases, with life imprisonment or death [8]International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Customary IHL – Practice Relating to Rule 53. Starvation as a Method of Warfare. IHL Database. … Continue reading. As a result, the Ethiopian and Eritrean government should be prosecuted to the fullest extent for the mass starvation they have inflicted on the Tigrayan population.

Read Full Situation Report…

References

References
↑1 Cousin, E. (2021, February 22). Fighting Famine Will Help Prevent Further Conflict in Yemen. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/22/yemen-conflict-food-prevent-hunger-famine/
↑2 International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries – Additional
Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 – 54 – Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the
civilian population. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750069
↑3 International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Customary IHL – Practice Relating to Rule 53. Starvation as a
Method of Warfare. IHL Database. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule53
↑4 World Peace Foundation. (2019, June). The Crime of Starvation and Methods of Prosecution and
Accountability. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Legal%20Paper%20Starvation.pdf
↑5 United Nations. (2018, May 24). Adopting Resolution 2417 (2018), Security Council Strongly Condemns Starving of Civilians, Unlawfully Denying Humanitarian Access as Warfare Tactics | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases [Press release]. https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13354.doc.htm
↑6 Global Rights Compliance. (2020, December 11). The Netherlands accepts Starvation Amendment: One Year On. Starvation accountability. https://starvationaccountability.org/news-and-events/the-netherlands-acceptsstarvation-amendment-one-year-on#:%7E:text=The%20amendment%20of%20the%20Rome,2)(e)
(xix)&text=of%20a%20NIAC%3A,including%20wilfully%20impeding%20relief%20supplies
↑7 UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. (n.d.). OHCHR | Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. UN OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crimeofgenocide.aspx
↑8 International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Customary IHL – Practice Relating to Rule 53. Starvation as a Method of Warfare. IHL Database. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule53

OMNA TIGRAY – MAY 2021 SITUATION REPORT

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On November 4, 2020, the unelected Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed began what his administration has called a “law enforcement operation” against the rightfully elected Tigray regional government. By his own admission, Abiy mobilized the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), special forces from neighboring regions (Amhara Special Forces and Afar Special Forces), and most alarmingly, invited the army of a neighboring country – Eritrea – to wage war against the people of Tigray. Despite the repeated assertions by the Ethiopian government that this is a domestic “law
enforcement operation,” the campaign against Tigray is clearly a regional war involving various domestic and international actors. And despite urgent calls by the international community, the Ethiopian government has refused to provide unhindered access to aid organizations, UN investigators or mediators.

In the six months since the war was officially declared, the over 7 million residents of Tigray have been subject to innumerable human rights violations, including massacres, extra-judicial executions, forced displacement, starvation, and lack of access to health care and essential services. A list of 1,900 Tigrayans murdered in approximately 150 mass killings was recently compiled by University of Ghent professor Jan Nyssen. He has illuminated a harrowing pattern: retaliatory killings of civilians by Eritrean or Ethiopian forces after losing a battle [1]The Guardian (2021, April 2). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/ethiopia-1900-people-killed-inmassacres-in-tigray-identified.

Despite reports of continued massacres, there is a lack of reporting on a new estimate of civilians who have reportedly died since the war started. The last recorded estimate of civilian deaths is 70,000 [2]VOA News. (2021, March 19). https://www.voanews.com/africa/ethiopian-diplomat-urges-peace-talks-tigray-war. Additionally, over 70,000 have fled to neighboring Sudan [3]Bearak, M. (2021, March 26). In Sudan’s sweltering camps, refugees from Tigray dream of independence from Ethiopia. Washington Post. … Continue reading and 2.2 million are internally displaced [4]Reuters Staff. (2021, January 6). Over 2 million people displaced by conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – local official. Reuters. … Continue reading. Roughly 5 million are at risk of starvation [5]BBC News. (2021, January 18). Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Fear of mass starvation. … Continue reading. Hundreds of reports of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces and militias are
the tip of the iceberg, given that those who are able to report do so at a risk to
their safety and most of rural Tigray is inaccessible.

Read Full Situation Report…

References

References
↑1 The Guardian (2021, April 2). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/ethiopia-1900-people-killed-inmassacres-in-tigray-identified
↑2 VOA News. (2021, March 19). https://www.voanews.com/africa/ethiopian-diplomat-urges-peace-talks-tigray-war
↑3 Bearak, M. (2021, March 26). In Sudan’s sweltering camps, refugees from Tigray dream of independence from Ethiopia. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/03/26/ethiopia-sudan-tigrayrefugees/
↑4 Reuters Staff. (2021, January 6). Over 2 million people displaced by conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – local official. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ethiopia-conflict/over-2-million-people-displaced-byconflict-in-ethiopias-tigray-region-local-official-idUSKBN29B1N7
↑5 BBC News. (2021, January 18). Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Fear of mass starvation. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55695123#:%7E:text=The%20ECC%20says%20that%204.5,have%20fled%20to%20neighbouring%20Sudan.

OMNA TIGRAY – APRIL 2021 SITUATION REPORT

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

The Civil War in Tigray has led to the killings of thousands of civilians.

On November 4, 2020, unelected Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed enacted a “law-and-order operation” against the elected Tigray regional government. Soon after the declaration, it became clear this was a regional war with the involvement of foreign actors. Abiy has opposed international mediation efforts.

It has been five months since the war began. Over the course of these five months, Tigrayans have endured population displacement, starvation, healthcare emergencies, lack of access to essential services and needs, and other war crimes. More than 70,000 civilians have reportedly died, though this number was released by several Tigrayan political opposition groups in early February 2021, and no new estimate has been released despite reports of continued massacres. Over 75,000 Tigrayans have fled into Sudan, over 2.2 million Tigrayans are internally displaced, and 4.5 million Tigrayans are at risk of starvation.

There have also been countless reports of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces and militias. Those who are able to report their stories of SGBV do so at a risk to their safety. At the end of March 2021, reports emerged that soldiers went to the only One-Stop-Center in Mekelle and intimidated the survivors. Further, the war on Tigray has crippled the region’s healthcare infrastructure, affecting over 6 million people. Over 80 percent of health facilities in Tigray are defunct because they have been looted, bombed, or now lack medical staff, and most life saving medicines are not available.

Aid agencies have only been able to reach 16 percent of Tigray’s population. Internet services have been consistently down and telephone services mostly cut off, with sporadic connectivity across Tigray. The Ethiopian government has largely restricted local and international media agencies from entering Tigray. The Ethiopian government suspended the licenses of BBC and Reuters, two of the largest international media organizations soon after the war began. In February and March 2021, representatives from some international media outlets were allowed into Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, though their access to civilians was limited.

The stories from these international media outlets has shown the severity of the atrocities being committed in Tigray.

The Eritrean government is heavily involved in carrying out mass indiscriminate killing of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, looting, and destroying infrastructure and UNESCO heritage sites. The European Union has joined the United States in calling for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops, which are fueling the conflict in Tigray, committing atrocities and exacerbating ethnic violence, from Ethiopia. On March 23, 2021, in response to mounting international pressure, Abiy acknowledged the presence of Eritrean troops and the potential atrocities they committed, and stated that “Eritrea will withdraw troops from Ethiopia.” That said, diaspora who were able to reach their families in Tigray in late March were told that more Eritrean forces have entered the northern parts of Adigrat, Tigray.

Read Full Situation Report…

OCHA: ETHIOPIA – TIGRAY REGION HUMANITARIAN UPDATE

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe
  • Violence and lack of assistance in rural areas continue to drive displacement of people searching for safety and aid in the main towns across Tigray.
  • Partners continue to receive reports of looting and grave violence against civilians, including extrajudicial killing, rapes and other forms of gender-based violence.
  • Disruptions in basic services, such as communications, banking services and electricity, pose serious challenges to humanitarian efforts, while putting people further at risk.

Read the full story…

OMNA TIGRAY – MARCH 2021 SITUATION REPORT

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

The Civil War in Tigray has led to the killings of thousands of civilians.

On November 4, 2020, unelected Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed enacted a “law-and-order operation” against the elected Tigray regional government. This quickly escalated into a regional war with the involvement of foreign actors.

Since the war began, Tigrayans have endured population displacement, starvation, healthcare emergencies, lack of access to essential services and needs, and other war crimes. Reportedly more than 50,000 civilians have died, over 60,000 Tigrayans have fled into Sudan, over 500,000 Tigrayans are internally displaced, and 4.5 million Tigrayans are at risk of starvation. There have also been countless reports of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces. Further, the war on Tigray has crippled the region’s healthcare infrastructure, affecting over 6 million people. Over 80 percent of hospitals in Tigray are defunct because they have been looted, bombed, or now lack medical staff, and most life-saving medicines are not available.

Aid agencies are unable to reach 80 percent of Tigray’s population. Internet services have been consistently down and telephone services mostly cut off, with sporadic connectivity across Tigray. The Ethiopian government has largely restricted local and international media agencies from entering Tigray. The Ethiopian government suspended the licenses of BBC and Reuters, two of the largest international media organizations soon after the war began. As of the end of February 2021, representatives from seven international media outlets were allowed into Tigray’s capital Mekelle, though their access to civilians was limited, and many of their translators have since been detained. The Eritrean government is heavily involved in carrying out mass indiscriminate killing of civilians, SGBV, looting, and destroying infrastructure and UNESCO heritage sites. The European Union has joined the United States in calling for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops, which are fueling the conflict in Tigray, committing atrocities and exacerbating ethnic violence, from Ethiopia. Eritrea continues to deny involvement in the war on Tigray amid mounting evidence, and PM Abiy has opposed any international mediation efforts.

Read Full Situation Report…

OMNA TIGRAY – FEBRUARY 2021 SITUATION REPORT

Posted on by Eyasu Berhe

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

The Civil War in Tigray has led to the killings of thousands of civilians.

It has been 90 days since PM Abiy Ahmed began a “law and order” enforcement operation against the elected Tigray regional government that quickly escalated into a regional war with international actors. Since November 4, 2020, the conflict has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, reportedly 2.5 million people internally displaced, and over 60,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan.
Nearly 4.5 million (up to 50-75% of the Tigrayan population) is in need of food aid, 2.3 million children are in need of aid, only five out of 40 hospitals are accessible, 300 motorized water sources are dysfunctional, and local markets are near collapse.

At least 700 women have reported being raped in Mekele, Tigray in a time span of two weeks. Aid agencies suspect thousands of women have been victims of weaponized sexual and gender-based violence at the hands of invading forces. The Eritrean government is heavily involved in committing the largescale killings, raping, looting, and destruction of infrastructure and UNESCO heritage sites. Alongside the Ethiopian government, Eritrean forces are among the primary reasons why unfettered humanitarian aid is being blocked from entering Tigray.

Read Full Situational Report…