[ad_1]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has said that dozens of civilians were killed in a “massacre” in Ethiopia’s Tigray region that witnesses blamed for forces supporting the local ruling party in its fight against the federal government.
It was the first reported incident of large-scale civilian deaths in a week-long conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
The Amnesty report came on the same day that Abiy said government forces had made progress in western Tigray, and as thousands of Ethiopians continued to flee across the border into neighboring Sudan, stoking fears of a humanitarian crisis.
“Amnesty International can confirm today … that dozens, and probably hundreds, of people were stabbed or beaten to death in the town of Mai-Kadra (May Hip) in the southwestern part of Ethiopia’s Tigray region on the night of 9 November, “the group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had “digitally verified horrific photographs and videos of bodies scattered around the city or carried on stretchers.”
The dead “had open wounds that appear to have been inflicted with sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,” Amnesty said, citing eyewitness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by forces aligned with the TPLF after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian army, although Amnesty said it “has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings.”
There was no immediate reaction from the TPLF, which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before Abiy took office in 2018.
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were sparked by a TPLF attack on federal military camps, a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since.
Authorities say hundreds have died and analysts warn of a prolonged and bloody civil war in Africa’s second most populous country.
Source: AP / PA Images
Refugees fleeing
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Abiy said that government forces had “liberated” the western part of Tigray, made up of six zones, plus the capital and surrounding areas.
Abiy also accused the TPLF-aligned fighters of “cruelty”, saying that when the army took control of the city of Sheraro, they “found bodies of executed defense force personnel, with their hands and feet tied.”
Regional state media in Tigray responded that pro-TPLF forces had retaken territory previously taken by federal forces.
The report also said that TPLF forces had “captured” 10,000 soldiers.
The conflict has seen multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting weapons and fuel depots alongside heavy fighting in western Tigray.
The UN says some 11,000 Ethiopians have sought refuge in neighboring Sudan, which it says will host the influx in a camp for victims of a 1980s famine.
Exhausted refugees, mostly women, youth and children, arrived on foot or by bicycle and motorized rickshaw, an AFP correspondent reported from the Hamdait border area in eastern Sudan’s Kassala state.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has asked “to stop the fighting as soon as possible” and to return to the negotiating table.
The African Union has also called for the immediate cessation of fighting and dialogue.
But Ethiopia reiterated Thursday that the TPLF’s “cruelty” “cannot be addressed or corrected by sitting at a table for negotiation.”
Lawmakers approved a plan to install an “interim administration” in Tigray, assuming the federal government can exercise control over the region.
They voted on Thursday to lift immunity for 39 TPLF members, including Tigray regional president Debretsion Gebremichael, though the significance of the move was unclear given that TPLF MPs resigned en masse last month.
State media later reported that arrest warrants had been issued for Debretsion and other TPLF leaders “for endangering the existence of the country” and “for attempting to erode the constitution.”
Humanitarian concerns
There is growing concern about how the people of Tigray are doing.
No news is bad news
Support the magazine
your contributions help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you
Support us now
The United Nations yesterday called for Ethiopia to provide full humanitarian access to Tigray and allow civilians to flee safely, after warning the day before that otherwise “food, health and other emergency supplies have no way to reach the region “.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Ethiopia’s humanitarian coordinator Catherine Sozi was discussing “immediate and unhindered humanitarian access” with the government.
“We also call for safe passage for civilians in search of safety and assistance and to ensure the safety of all humanitarian workers,” he said.
Abiy said on Facebook that “the army is giving humanitarian aid” in western Tigray.
William Davison, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the TPLF had “significant support” from the people and that efforts to eliminate them would meet “considerable resistance.”
Long-running tensions between Abiy and the TPLF reached a new low in September when Tigray went ahead with its own elections, insisting that Abiy was an illegitimate leader after national elections were postponed due to the coronavirus.
Hundreds of people flocked to the capital Addis Ababa on Thursday morning for a blood drive to support the troops fighting in Tigray.
“The attack carried out by TPLF on our army is shameful for Ethiopia. It never happened in our history. We want to condemn this, ”Mayor Adanech Abebe told AFP while donating blood.
War crimes
The UN rights chief called for a full investigation into possible war crimes in Ethiopia after reports emerged of the massacre of civilians in the Tigray region.
“If it is confirmed that one of the parties in the current struggle carried out them deliberately, these killings of civilians would, of course, constitute war crimes,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement calling for “full responsibility.”
Bachelet voiced alarm at reports that electricity and water supplies had been cut and called on both sides to start peace talks, saying “there will be no winner” if fighting continues.
“A protracted internal conflict will cause devastating damage to 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.”
[ad_2]