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Ethiopia's Tigray conflict marked by 'extreme brutality,' possible 'war crimes'

The UN-led report on human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray holds all parties — government troops and Tigrayan forces — responsible for committing gross abuses. It even warned of possible "crimes against humanity."

    

The UN warns 100,000 children in Ethiopia, mainly in Tigray, are at risk of malnutrition in the coming year

A long-awaited report on human rights abuses during the civil conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has revealed that all sides fighting in the conflict committed violations that may amount to war crimes. 

The investigation, led by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and published Wednesday morning, is among the first investigations into human rights violations and violence that has killed thousands of people in the country over the past year. 

The report comes a day after the Ethiopian government declared a nationwide state of emergency after Tigrayan forces claimed to have seized strategic towns and amid fears they were preparing to march on the federal capital, Addis Ababa.

Fighting broke out between Ethiopian government soldiers and Tigray forces in November 2020.

The genesis of the civil conflict lies in the animosity between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. TPLF soldiers consider Abiy Ahmed a bitter enemy. Before Abiy became the leader of Ethiopia in 2018, the TPLF dominated national politics for nearly 25 years.

There were concerns on the Tigrayan side about the objectivity of the human rights report because the investigation was jointly conducted by the UN and Ethiopia's government-created human rights commission.

Those fears deepened after Ethiopia expelled seven UN officials last month, including one of the UN rights office's investigators. 

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  ETHIOPIA'S TIGRAY REGION: IMAGES OF A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

  Hundreds of patients with little medication

  The war in Ethiopia's Tigray region has been going on since November 2020. This referral hospital in Tigray’s capital Mekele has received hundreds of patients with bullet or blast injuries. Doctors are working tirelessly but with limited means. There are frequent power cuts, and many hospitals lack medication and other supplies. 

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Conflict marked by 'extreme brutality'

The 100-page report, which draws upon 269 interviews, found evidence of "serious abuse and violations" by all sides in the conflict.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet said in a statement that the conflict had been "marked by extreme brutality."

She insisted on the need to bring perpetrators of a vast array of rights abuses to justice. 

"The gravity and seriousness of the violations and abuses we have documented underscore the need to hold perpetrators accountable on all sides," Bachelet said. 

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Humanitarian crisis looms a year into Ethiopia's Tigray war

The report covered the period from November 3, 2020, through June 2021, when the Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire, which it was subsequently accused of breaching. 

It pointed to extra-judicial executions, torture and sexual violence among other abuses. The abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity and war crimes," according to it.

Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Chief Daniel Bekele said the report presented an opportunity for "all sides to acknowledge responsibility." He also called on parties to "commit to concrete measures on accountability, redress for victims and sustainable solution to end the suffering of millions."

Following the release of the report, German Foreign Office spokesperson Christopher Burger told DW's Chief International Editor Richard Walker that fighting parties must find a political resolution: "The conflict has played out in an armed fashion for over a year and from the latest developments it is apparent that there can be no military resolution. All parties must set aside hostilities and instead seek a political solution to the conflict. Ethnically-motivated hate and discriminatory rhetoric are particularly dangerous to Ethiopia's unity."

Concerns about impartiality of report

The joint investigation, led by the UN Human Rights Office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, seeks to document alleged violations of human rights and refugee law committed by all parties to the Tigray conflict.

But the involvement of a state-led organization has created fears of it being influenced by government authorities. A spokesman for the TPLF in Tigray said it would be flawed, given that investigators did not visit several sites where violence occurred.

Investigators, however, said that they had faced significant security risks and administrative challenges and were unable to carry out all planned visits in parts of Tigray. 

The Ethiopian government has banned almost all human rights watchdog organizations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI). It has also barred international media from entering the country.

What's happening in Ethiopia?

Ethiopian soldiers, as well as Eritrean soldiers who are fighting alongside government forces, have been accused of rape and violence against women. The new report said women accused Eritrean soldiers of raping them.

Prime Minister Abiy won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to improve ties with Eritrea after years of conflict or frozen ties when the TPLF controlled Ethiopia. But the conflict in Tigray soon followed, along with allegations, disputed by Abiy's government, of allowing Eritrean forces to join in.

Amnesty International published a report in August 2021, saying that the "severity and scale of the sexual crimes committed" were particularly shocking and amounted to "war crimes and possible crimes against humanity."

The UN has also previously raised concerns several times about the government blocking aid to regions or the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. It estimates that malnutrition could affect more than 100,000 children in the next year.

The Ethiopian government has denied blocking aid and said that it has tried individual soldiers for abuses, though it has not provided any details.

Over 5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance as phone, internet, banking services remain cut off.

rm/msh (Reuters, AP)