Panafrican News Agency

Ethiopian crisis: US expresses 'grave concern' over 'egregious' rights abuses by rebels in the north

Washington, DC , US (PANA) - The United States has expressed grave concern about reports of alleged "egregious human rights abuses, atrocities, and destruction of civilian infrastructure by Tigrayan forces in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia" and called on all armed actors to renounce violence against civilians.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Ned Price, the Spokesperson of the  US State Department, the US also urged authorities to investigate these reports to determine their veracity and to commit to inclusive, transparent processes to hold responsible parties accountable.

The statement reiterated the US' support for diplomacy "as the first, last, and only option to cease hostilities, just as we call for an end to human rights abuses and violations; negotiations without preconditions; unhindered humanitarian access; and the start to inclusive national dialogue".

Human rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) last Thursday released a report in which it said Tigrayan forces summarily executed dozens of civilians in two towns they controlled in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region between 31 August and 9 September, 2021.

It said these killings highlighted the urgent need for the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an international investigative mechanism into abuses by all warring parties in the expanded Tigray conflict.

It said on 31 August, Tigrayan forces entered the village of Chenna and engaged in sporadic and at times heavy fighting with Ethiopian federal forces and allied Amhara militias.

HRW quoted Chenna residents as saying that over the next five days Tigrayan forces summarily executed 26 civilians in 15 separate incidents, before withdrawing on 4 September.

In the town of Kobo on 9 September, Tigrayan forces summarily executed a total of 23 people in four separate incidents, witnesses said.

The killings were in apparent retaliation for attacks by farmers on advancing Tigrayan forces earlier that day.

“Tigrayan forces showed brutal disregard for human life and the laws of war by executing people in their custody,” said Lama Fakih, crisis and conflict director at HRW. “These killings and other atrocities by all sides to the conflict underscore the need for an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Amhara regions.”

Since the start of the armed conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region in November 2020, Ethiopian military forces, alongside Eritrean armed forces, Amhara regional special forces, and Amhara militias, have fought against a Tigrayan armed group affiliated with the region’s former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

-0- PANA MA 13Dec2021