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That pressure is expected to increase this month as the United States presides over the United Nations Security Council and addresses the Biden administration’s first major African crisis. Millions of dollars are at stake in aid to Ethiopia, a key security ally in the region.
Here’s a look at the turmoil in Tigray when the Security Council meets behind closed doors on Thursday to discuss it:
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CIVILIAN MASSACRES?
Last month, The Associated Press exposed the killing of some 800 people in the city of Axum, citing several witnesses, and a week later Amnesty International reported the deaths of “many hundreds” there, citing more than 40 witnesses. Soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, long enemies of Tigray’s now-fugitive leaders, were blamed.
Ethiopia continues to deny the presence of Eritreans, even as top officials in the interim Tigray government that Ethiopia appointed are increasingly outspoken about them. There is growing concern that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel in 2019 for making peace with Eritrea, has now joined him in the war. Eritrea called the AP story about Axum “outrageous lies.”
Amid the denials, countless thousands of civilians have died as Ethiopian and allied forces hunt down former Tigray leaders who once ruled Ethiopia’s government before Abiy took office in 2018. Each side came to be seen as illegitimate and later he launched into the fight.
Axum is far from the only alleged massacre in the Tigray conflict. Now more are coming to light as phone service in the region is resumed and more people are fleeing.
The Telegraph, citing witnesses, has reported one in Debre Abay. CNN, citing witnesses, has reported one in Dengelat. And Agence France-Presse further exposed the Dengelat murders during a rare visit to the scene.
On Thursday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said her office has corroborated information on incidents including “mass killings” in Axum and Dengelat, and warned of possible war crimes by all major groups. armed. Victims “must not be denied their right to truth and justice,” he said, urging Ethiopia to allow independent observers to enter Tigray.
After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued Washington’s strongest statement on Tigray over the weekend and spoke to Abiy this week, the prime minister’s office on Wednesday reversed its skeptical stance on the massacre of Axum and said he was investigating “credible allegations” in the city and the rest of the region.
But human rights groups and others are calling for independent international investigations, ideally led by the UN, arguing that a government accused of engaging in atrocities cannot effectively investigate itself.
CAN JOURNALISTS REPORT FROM TIGRAY?
Yes, at your own risk. Ethiopia in recent days began allowing a limited number of foreign media outlets to visit Tigray (AP did not receive permission), but several Ethiopian media workers with the media were quickly detained.
Even when it announced limited access to the media, Ethiopia warned journalists to behave essentially. The government statement on Wednesday said Ethiopian defense forces “would guarantee the safety” of journalists in the parts of Tigray under their control, but those who leave the areas do so at their own risk. And journalists who violate national laws, “even helping and inciting criminal entities and perpetrators, will be held accountable.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists this week criticized Ethiopia’s actions, saying that “the dearth of independent reporting from Tigray during this conflict was already deeply alarming. Now, the arrests of journalists and media workers by the Ethiopian army will undoubtedly lead to fear and self-censorship. “
Without unhindered access to Tigray, it is challenging to determine the fate of an estimated 6 million people four months after the region was cut off from the world.
ARE PEOPLE DEATH OF HUNGER?
Yes, according to local officials, although it is not clear how many. While humanitarian aid to Tigray has increased in recent weeks, humanitarian workers have said that it is far from sufficient and that roughly 80% of the region remains unreachable.
In the severest warning yet, the Ethiopian Red Cross said last month that if humanitarian access did not improve, thousands of people would starve to death in one month and tens of thousands in two months.
The Ethiopian government said on Wednesday that it had distributed food aid to some 3.8 million people, again stating that humanitarian organizations now have unlimited access to Tigray.
But aid workers say the reality is very different, citing obstacles from the authorities and insecurity. An access map released this week by the UN humanitarian agency showed that much of Tigray is inaccessible beyond major roads and cities.
The fighting, which continues in parts of Tigray, broke out on the brink of harvest in the largely agricultural region and sent untold numbers of people fleeing their homes. Witnesses have described widespread looting by Eritrean soldiers, as well as the burning of crops, while forces from the neighboring Amhara region have reportedly occupied much of Tigray.
This week, a senior Tigray official, Gebremeskel Kassa, told the BBC that “we cannot know the whereabouts of a million people.”
The United States now says that both the Eritreans and the Amhara forces should leave Tigray immediately.
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