Expulsions, executions, rapes: Security forces and militias engaged in ‘ethnic cleansing’ and abuses amounting to ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ in Ethiopia’s war-torn region Tigray, say two NGOs.
In a joint report released on Wednesday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) say Tigrayan civilians have been the target of “a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing” in the western part of Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia where a conflict broke out between Tigrayan rebels and pro-government troops in November 2020.
During the months that followed, several hundred thousand inhabitants were expelled from western Tigray by buses and trucks or fled “persecutions based on ethnic origin” – rapes, murders, looting, deprivation of humanitarian aid – carried out by security forces from the neighboring Amhara region, Amhara militias and the local government.
This “coordinated campaign” took place “with the consent and possible participation of the Ethiopian federal forces”, underline Amnesty and HRW, denouncing the inaction of the government of Addis Ababa.
“These widespread and systematic attacks against the Tigrayan civilian population constitute crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes,” Amnesty and HRW say in their report.
A spokesman for the Amhara regional government, Gizachew Muluneh, called the findings “lies”, deeming the report “irresponsible and biased”.
“None of our forces are involved in such crimes as the report claims,” he told AFP, accusing the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former ruling party in Tigray, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly 30 years, for subjecting the Amhara to such abuses for decades.
“Purify the Blood”
War broke out 17 months ago in Tigray after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to remove TPLF authorities who challenged his rule and whom Addis Ababa accused of orchestrating attacks on military bases. the army.
Federal and Amhara forces seized western Tigray, which was placed under a new administration.
This vast fertile area, located between the Tekezé River and the Sudanese border, has been contested for decades by Amhara and Tigrayans, two of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic groups.
In March 2021, the United States denounced “acts of ethnic cleansing” carried out by Amhara forces in western Tigray.
Amnesty and HRW, which interviewed more than 400 victims and witnesses, notably documented the summary execution of around 60 men near the Tekezé River, as well as sexual slavery and gang rapes of Tigrayan women.
One of them said that, while several men were raping her, a militiaman shouted at her: “You, the Tigrayans, should disappear from the territory lying to the west. You are the devil, we purify your blood. »
Local authorities banned the use of the Tigrayan language, put up posters ordering Tigrayans to leave, and denied them access to agricultural land and humanitarian aid.
Thousands of people were also imprisoned in camps. “Some detainees died as a result of torture, lack of medical care or because of the lack of water and food; others were killed by guards,” the report said.
“Shocking magnitude”
Amnesty and HRW accuse the federal government of covering up these abuses by restricting access to Tigray.
“Ethiopian authorities steadfastly deny the shocking scale of the crimes committed and are shamefully failing to act to end them,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it would review the report and hold all those responsible for the alleged acts to account.
But he added that he was concerned about “ethnic overtones in the report which appear to disproportionately blame [certains] while trying to exculpate others.
The army of Eritrea, a country bordering Tigray to the north and allied with the Ethiopian federal forces, has also participated in the looting of crops and livestock and the expulsion of Tigrayans, add the NGOs.
The conflict, which for a time spread beyond Tigray, left thousands dead, left millions starving and both sides were accused of atrocities.
Addis Ababa declared on March 24 a “humanitarian truce”, accepted by the rebels on the condition that humanitarian aid reaches Tigray. A first land convoy reached the region on Friday.