How militants perpetrated atrocities in northern Ethiopia

FRESH evidence has emerged of murder, rape and looting during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region last year.

Fighters affiliated with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are accused of the atrocities perpetrated in and around Chenna and Kobo in late August and early September 2021.

Amnesty International said it had evidence that dozens of people were killed and others gang-raped, including girls as young as 14.

Violations occurred shortly after Tigrayan forces took control of Chenna and Kobo in July.

The attacks were often characterized by additional acts of violence and brutality, death threats, and the use of ethnic slurs and derogatory remarks.

In Kobo, Tigrayan forces reportedly lashed out at the civilian population in retaliation for increased resistance from local militias and armed residents.

“Tigrayan forces have shown utter disregard for fundamental rules of international humanitarian law which all warring parties must follow,” said Sarah Jackson, Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes at Amnesty International.

“Evidence is mounting of a pattern of Tigrayan forces committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in areas under their control in the Amhara region from July 2021 on-wards.”

The conflict in Tigray broke out in November 2020 when the regional government and federal administration fell out.

It spread to other regions of northern Ethiopia from July 2021.

Amnesty International has previously documented a range of violations by all parties to the conflict.

Source: CAJ News Agency