Ethiopian Crisis: Rights watchdog says govt' forces carried out unlawful shelling of Tigray urban areas
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Ethiopian federal forces carried out apparently indiscriminate shelling of urban areas in the Tigray region in November 2020 in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch alleged on Thursday.
Artillery attacks at the start of the armed conflict struck homes, hospitals, schools, and markets in the city of Mekelle, and the towns of Humera and Shire, killing at least 83 civilians, including children, and wounding over 300, it noted in a report.
“At the war’s start, Ethiopian federal forces fired artillery into Tigray’s urban areas in an apparently indiscriminate manner that was bound to cause civilian casualties and property damage,” said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These attacks have shattered civilian lives in Tigray and displaced thousands of people, underscoring the urgency for ending unlawful attacks and holding those responsible to account.”
On 4 November, the Ethiopian military began operations in Tigray in response to what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described as attacks on federal forces and bases by forces affiliated with the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
As of February 2021, many Tigray residents lack adequate access to food, fuel, water, and medicines. More than 200,000 people are internally displaced, while tens of thousands have also fled to neighboring Sudan, Human Rights Watch said.
It sad it 37 witnesses and victims of government attacks on Humera, Shire, and Mekelle, as well as nine journalists, aid workers, and human rights and forensic experts.
Human Rights Watch said interviews were conducted in person in Sudan and by phone between December 2020 and January 2021.
It added that it also examined satellite imagery, and reviewed photographs and videos from the site of six attacks that corroborated witness accounts.
Human Rights Watch said it has provided a summary of its preliminary findings to the Ethiopian government but has received no response.
In a parliamentary address on 30 November, Prime Minister Abiy maintained that Ethiopian federal forces had not caused civilian casualties during their military operations in Tigray that month.
A government Twitter account created during the conflict said that federal forces had “avoided combat in cities and towns of the Tigray region”.
Human Rights Watch said all forces have an obligation to minimise harm to civilians, adding they are required to take all feasible precautions to ensure that attacks are directed at military targets, and not civilians.
"As fighting in Tigray continues, all parties to the conflict should abide by the laws of war. Ethiopian federal forces should cease indiscriminate attacks, investigate alleged laws-of-war violations, and refrain from using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas."
Human Rights Watch also said all sides should allow unhindered access by humanitarian agencies and ensure that health facilities can adequately function. Access to essential services and communications should also be restored.
It urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a fact-finding team into the region to investigate alleged violations of the laws of war in Tigray, and to ensure that evidence of abuses is preserved, Human Rights Watch said.
“As the civilian toll of the Tigray conflict comes to light, it is clear that a thorough inquiry into alleged laws-of-war violations in the region that pave the way for justice is desperately needed,” Bader said.
“The Ethiopian government should promptly allow UN investigators into Tigray to document the conduct by warring parties in a conflict that has devastated the lives of millions and should no longer be ignored,” she added.
-0- PANA MA 11Feb2021
