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In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, disturbing reports of an alleged massacre have emerged, amid fighting between national and regional forces that may become impossible to control, the UN human rights chief warned on Friday.
Responding to emerging details of the mass killings involving dozens of victims in the city of Mai-Kadra, Michelle Bachelet said that “if the national (and) regional forces of Tigray and the Ethiopian government forces continue on the road where they are, there is a risk of this happening. the situation will get totally out of control ”.
This ran the risk of “heavy casualties and destruction, as well as massive displacement within Ethiopia itself and across borders,” its spokesman, Rupert Colville, told reporters at a press conference in Geneva.
Equally worrisome were “hate speech on ethnic and religious grounds, incitement to violence,” arbitrary arrests, killings, mass displacement and destruction in various parts of the country, said the UN special adviser for prevention. Genocide Officer Pramila Patten, and UN Responsibility to Protect adviser Karen Smith.
These ethnically motivated attacks and reportedly the ethnic profiling of citizens increased the risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, senior UN officials added.
War crimes
Although the UN human rights chief noted that the details of the alleged atrocity reported by Amnesty International in southwest Tigray “have not yet been fully verified,” she urged a full investigation.
“If it is confirmed that one of the parties to the current fighting was carried out deliberately, these killings of civilians would, of course, constitute war crimes,” he said.
The High Commissioner reiterated her call to “stop the fighting and prevent further atrocities from taking place”, before highlighting the devastating military power that is being exercised in the conflict.
“Despite the breakdown of communications with Tigray, making it difficult to verify the extent of the damage so far, we have received reports from a variety of sources suggesting an increase in airstrikes by government forces as well. like fierce ground fighting between opposing forces, “he said. said.
Water, electricity cuts
Cuts to essential services for vulnerable populations, as well as a communications blackout and problems of access “by road and by air” for relief agencies were also deeply concerning, Ms Bachelet added.
Regional and political tensions have escalated since 2018, when newly elected Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged several ethnically-based regional parties into a single national force, amid an ambitious reform program.
Violence erupted earlier this month in Tigray involving federal and local forces, following the alleged takeover of a military base in the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, which prompted the Prime Minister to order a military offensive.
Before the Tigray escalation, dozens of people in the western Oromia region were killed and injured in the attacks.
Refugee alert
In a new alert on the safety of civilians in Tigray, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reiterated its concern for the safety of more than 96,000 Eritreans living in four refugee camps and the host communities living alongside to them.
Added to them are the 100,000 people from Tigray who were already internally displaced at the beginning of the conflict.
“The fighting in Tigray yesterday approached the Shimelba refugee camp, which is home to 6,500 Eritrean refugees, raising concerns about the massive displacement from the camp itself,” said Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman. “UNHCR is making preparations to receive refugees who have already started arriving in another refugee camp, Hitsats, 50 kilometers away, and is considering new relocation options in the region.”
Refugees from Ethiopia continue to flee to neighboring Sudan “more and more rapidly,” Baloch said, “with more than 4,000 crossing the border in a single day.”
Within Sudan, those arriving from Ethiopia have been offered temporary shelter in transit centers near the Ludgi border entry points in Gederef and Hamdayet in Kassala state.
They receive food and water, while UNHCR and local authorities jointly screen and search men, women and children seeking safety.
“The transit center at the Hamdayet border crossing has the capacity to house only 300 refugees, but it is already overwhelmed by 6,000 people,” explained Baloch. “The sanitation facilities are insufficient, which affects hygiene.”
There are no winners of the conflict
Reiterating her November 6 call for talks to be started and differences resolved “without delay” and an immediate cessation of hostilities, the UN Human Rights chief, Bachelet, insisted that both parties must understand that the struggle it will produce “no winner”.
A protracted internal conflict “will inflict devastating damage on both Tigray and Ethiopia as a whole, undoing years of vital progress in development,” he said. “In addition, it could cross borders too easily, potentially destabilizing the entire subregion.”
In a statement condemning reports of targeted attacks against civilians based on their ethnicity or religion, UN special advisers Patten and Smith said that ethnic violence in Ethiopia had reached an alarming level in the past two years. .
The stigmatization of certain ethnic groups, including the Tigray, Amhara, Somali and Oromo, has contributed significantly to ethnic intolerance in the country, they insisted.
Risk of genocide
“We strongly urge the Ethiopian authorities to take urgent action to protect their population from further violence and we strongly encourage them to seek help from the international community,” the Special Advisers said.
The need to de-escalate the growing tensions in the country was especially important before the next elections, ”said the Special Advisers, referring to the national survey that was suspended in August due to the COVID-19 crisis for nine to 12 months. Give authorities enough time to control the pandemic.
They warned that if these urgent measures are not taken immediately, the risk of heinous crimes in Ethiopia remains high.
Children under fire
The United Nations Children’s Fund has also expressed its fear that the most vulnerable civilians will suffer the most: “UNICEF is deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of children affected by ongoing military operations in the region. from Tigray in Ethiopia, ”said UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mohamed Malick Fall.
“UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law and protect children from harm. UNICEF also urges all parties to ensure that humanitarian actors have unconditional and sustained access on the ground to reach civilians in need and to preserve children’s access to basic social services.
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