Tigray Has Been The Scene Of Ethnic Cleansing Say Human Rights Groups Global Development

Rights groups have blamed officials and paramilitaries in the neighboring Amhara region for war crimes and crimes against humanity in western Tigray, northern Ethiopia. “Since November 2020, Amhara officials and security forces have been engaged in a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing to force Tigris in western Tigray to flee their homes,” said Kenneth Roth, director of HRW. According to the report, militias from Amhara joined the Ethiopian Armed Forces and its allies to occupy western Tigray in the first weeks of the war, using indiscriminate bombing and executions to force people to flee. The report said that these forces also put up signs in cities demanding that people leave and threatening to kill civilians who wanted to stay. The report said government forces were complicit in the alleged crimes. “Ethiopian authorities have consistently denied the shocking scale of the crimes that have unfolded and have failed to address them,” Roth said. The report quoted a woman as saying she had been raped by soldiers. She said that she had been told that they were trying to exterminate the Tigrayians and that they had “cleansed your blood”. A border change that has shaped the western Tigray region has been disputed since 1992 by Amharas living in the zone, who said Tigrayan forces had suppressed their identities, including through violence. The report highlights how Tigrayan forces committed war crimes against the Amharas during the conflict, including the massacre of Mai Kadra when Tigrayan forces and Tigrayan residents attacked the Amharas in the city on November 9, 2020, provoking retaliatory attacks. The UN said more than 200 people had been slaughtered. For 15 months, Amnesty and HRW researchers interviewed more than 400 people, including interviews with Tigrayan and Amhara residents and Tigrayan refugees in Sudan. The researchers also consulted medical and forensic reports, court documents, satellite imagery and photographic and video evidence. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said the level of civilian abuse had not been taken seriously enough internationally. “Ethiopia’s response from international and regional partners has failed to reflect the gravity of the ongoing crimes in western Tigray,” he said. “The governments concerned must help end the ethnic cleansing campaign, ensure that the Tigrayians are able to return safely and voluntarily to their homeland, and make a concerted effort to bring justice to these heinous crimes.” Amnesty International and HRW have also accused Amhara’s forces and officials of refusing to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in western Tigray, an issue the UN has raised concerns in recent months. The United Nations says the closure of the roads meant humanitarian services were running out of supplies and fuel, forcing six humanitarian organizations to suspend work in February. Last week, the first 100-day aid convoy arrived in the Tigris capital, Mecca, following the announcement of a “humanitarian truce” by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

title: “Tigray Has Been The Scene Of Ethnic Cleansing Say Human Rights Groups Global Development " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Christina Darnell”

Rights groups have blamed officials and paramilitaries in the neighboring Amhara region for war crimes and crimes against humanity in western Tigray, northern Ethiopia. “Since November 2020, Amhara officials and security forces have been engaged in a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing to force Tigris in western Tigray to flee their homes,” said Kenneth Roth, director of HRW. According to the report, militias from Amhara joined the Ethiopian Armed Forces and its allies to occupy western Tigray in the first weeks of the war, using indiscriminate bombing and executions to force people to flee. The report said that these forces also put up signs in cities demanding that people leave and threatening to kill civilians who wanted to stay. The report said government forces were complicit in the alleged crimes. “Ethiopian authorities have consistently denied the shocking scale of the crimes that have unfolded and have failed to address them,” Roth said. The report quoted a woman as saying she had been raped by soldiers. She said that she had been told that they were trying to exterminate the Tigrayians and that they had “cleansed your blood”. A border change that has shaped the western Tigray region has been disputed since 1992 by Amharas living in the zone, who said Tigrayan forces had suppressed their identities, including through violence. The report highlights how Tigrayan forces committed war crimes against the Amharas during the conflict, including the massacre of Mai Kadra when Tigrayan forces and Tigrayan residents attacked the Amharas in the city on November 9, 2020, provoking retaliatory attacks. The UN said more than 200 people had been slaughtered. For 15 months, Amnesty and HRW researchers interviewed more than 400 people, including interviews with Tigrayan and Amhara residents and Tigrayan refugees in Sudan. The researchers also consulted medical and forensic reports, court documents, satellite imagery and photographic and video evidence. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said the level of civilian abuse had not been taken seriously enough internationally. “Ethiopia’s response from international and regional partners has failed to reflect the gravity of the ongoing crimes in western Tigray,” he said. “The governments concerned must help end the ethnic cleansing campaign, ensure that the Tigrayians are able to return safely and voluntarily to their homeland, and make a concerted effort to bring justice to these heinous crimes.” Amnesty International and HRW have also accused Amhara’s forces and officials of refusing to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in western Tigray, an issue the UN has raised concerns in recent months. The United Nations says the closure of the roads meant humanitarian services were running out of supplies and fuel, forcing six humanitarian organizations to suspend work in February. Last week, the first 100-day aid convoy arrived in the Tigris capital, Mecca, following the announcement of a “humanitarian truce” by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.