Is Abiy Ahmed Trying to Hide Serious Human Rights Violations Conducted by Ethiopian Troops?

💭 Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict: a Human Tide of Refugees – With Little to Keep Them Alive

🔥 ወደ ፷ሺህ/60,000 የሚጠጉ ሰዎች በአጎራባች ሱዳን ውስጥ የስደተኛነት ጥያቄን ጠይቀዋል።

ብዙሃኑ ከምዕራብ ትግራይ አደገኛ ጉዞ በማድረግ ወደዚህ የመጡ ናቸው፡፡ አንዳንዶቹ ከቤታቸው ተባርረው ይሸሹ ዘንድ ተገደዋል ፣ ሌሎች ደግሞ ከአጎራባች የአማራ ክልል በመጡ ታጣቂዎች ተሰደዋል፡፡

🔥 ‘ፋኖ’ የተባለው ጨካኝ የአማራ ሚሊሻ ሲመጣ ቤተሰባችን ያለውን ነገር ሁሉ ወሰዱብን፡፡“

🔥 “እዚህ በጥር ፳፰/28 ዕለት ከተመዘገብኩ ጀምሮ ምንም ነገር አላገኘሁም፣ ልጆቼ በረሃብ እየሞቱ ነው፡፡ እስካሁን ምንም ነገር የለንም። ሰዎች ስለተራቡ እየታመሙ ነው ፣ ሰዎች እየሞቱ ነው፡፡“

🔥 መንግስቱ በኖቬምበር ወር መጨረሻ ላይ ትግራይን በሚያስተዳድረው ህዝባዊ ወያኔ ሃርነት ትግራይ (ህወሃት) ላይ የተጀመረው “የህግና ስርዓት ኦፕሬሽን” ስኬታማ መሆኑን አስታውቆ ነበር፤ ሆኖም ለእርዳታ ድርጅቶች ተደራሽነት ከማቅረብ ለምን እንደዘገየ ግን ግልፅ አይደለም፡፡

መዘግየቱ አስፈላጊ ጥያቄዎችን ያስነሳል ፥ ማዕከላዊው መንግስት በኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች የተከናወኑ ከባድ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶችን ለመደበቅ እየሞከረ ነውን? እንዲሁም ከኤርትራ እና ከአማራ ክልል የመጡ አጋር ወታደሮች ያደረጓቸውን ወንጀለኛ ድርጊቶች?

ወይንም ምናልባት ይህ የእግር ጉዞ መጎተት የአህመድ አስተዳደር የክልሉን ሰፊ ክፍሎች በቁጥጥሩ ስር ማምጣት አለመቻሉን ያሳይ ይሆን?

🔥 Almost 60,000 have sought refugee status in neighbouring Sudan.

The majority here have made a hazardous journey from western Tigray. Some have been forced to flee their homes, others have been banished by militias from the neighbouring region of Amhara.

🔥 When the feared Amhara militia called ‘Fano’ turned up, they took everything the family possessed.

🔥 “Since registering here on 28 January I haven’t received a thing. My children are dying of hunger. We’ve had nothing so far.

🔥 “People are getting sick because they’re hungry. People are dying.”

🔥 His government declared the “law and order operation,” launched against the people who ran Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a success in late November and it is not clear why it has been so slow to offer aid organisations access.

The delay raises important questions – has the central government been trying to hide serious human rights violations conducted by Ethiopian troops – as well acts committed by allied soldiers from Eritrea and Amhara region of Ethiopia?

Alternatively, does this foot-dragging reflect the fact that Ahmed’s administration has failed to bring large parts of the region under its control?

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UN officials say between 50,000-60,000 arrivals have turned up at one refuge in the past few weeks alone.

The Tssa hi Elementary School in Sheerae, Ethiopia, offers some sort of sanctuary, a place of refuge for people on the run.

But there is not much here to keep them alive.

A human tide of 300,000 Tigrayans are now camping in this beleaguered city at six schools, a local college and any number of half constructed buildings which dot the city.

A senior UN official told Sky News that 50,000-60,000 arrivals have turned up in the past few weeks alone.

After four months of warfare between Ethiopia’s national defence force and fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), more than 500,000 Tigrayans have lost their homes.

Almost 60,000 have sought refugee status in neighbouring Sudan.

The majority here have made a hazardous journey from western Tigray. Some have been forced to flee their homes, others have been banished by militias from the neighbouring region of Amhara.

The US government, amongst others, has condemned the violence and declared these evictions ‘ethnic cleansing’.

At Tssa hi Elementary, buses and trucks piled up with people’s basic possessions, stop outside the school’s front gate every few minutes.

We stopped one woman called Letay Teweldebrehan who had arrived in Sheerae with her daughter just before nightfall.

“It must be a difficult time for you,” I said.

“Yes, very much, I cannot explain it. We came because of the war. We have been robbed of our things and our animals were taken.”

She told me she was a civil servant from a city called Humera and I asked why she felt she had to leave.

“I work in water development but I have not received my salary for the last four months. We don’t have water, no electricity or medicines. Life is not possible.”

As she readied herself for the night ahead I asked where she thought we was going to sleep.

“I don’t know where. I have left my bed behind.”

There is no space left in the classrooms and the school playground is packed with families wrapped in blankets or balanced on bits of school furniture.

But if Ms Teweldebrehan does find a few square feet she will struggle to find anything else on offer.

Atsede Kidane, a mother of three, has been camping at the school for the past six weeks and she says the interim administration which now runs this region has not provided the residents with a single item of food.

“Since registering here on 28 January I haven’t received a thing. My children are dying of hunger. We’ve had nothing so far.

“People are getting sick because they’re hungry. People are dying.”

Humanitarian organisations could not get into Sheerae until early March and although Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has now given them “unfettered access” in Tigray they must operate in the region at their own risk.

His government declared the “law and order operation,” launched against the people who ran Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a success in late November and it is not clear why it has been so slow to offer aid organisations access.

The delay raises important questions – has the central government been trying to hide serious human rights violations conducted by Ethiopian troops – as well acts committed by allied soldiers from Eritrea and Amhara region of Ethiopia?

Alternatively, does this foot-dragging reflect the fact that Ahmed’s administration has failed to bring large parts of the region under its control?

These matters are no concern of a priest called Teklehaimanot, who has brought his family of eight to Tshaye Elementary School.

His 28-year-old son, Fitsum, contracted a mental illness in the third year of university and his parents have found him difficult to control in the camp. They have decided to chain him to a wooden beam.

“It’s very difficult, we cannot sleep. At night, he tries to go out and he bothers the children, so we have to chain his hands and legs.”

Priest Teklehaimanot said they could not flee their home in a town called Tesgede because they could not leave Fitsum alone.

When the feared Amhara militia called ‘Fano’ turned up, they took everything the family possessed.

“This is my son, because of son, I cannot go anywhere. I don’t even have clothes.

“This is what I have. Everything has been taken, this is it.”

Source

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LATimes on The Bora Massacre | In an Out-of-Sight War, a Massacre Comes to Light

❖ „The Bora Christmas Day Massacre in Southern Tigray by the Ethiopian Army | የቦራ ጭፍጨፋ”

በኢትዮጵያ ጦር በደቡብ ትግራይ የቦራ የገና ቀን እልቂት፤ እስከ ፻፶/150 ንጹሐን በግራኝ አብዮት አህመድ የአህዛብ ሰአራዊት ተገድለዋል። ወራዳው የግራኝ 😈 ሰአራዊት በጦር ሜዳ ሲሸነፍ ውደ ንጹሐን አረጋውያንን፣ ሴቶችን እና ሕፃናት ፊቱን አዙሮ በየቤተክርስቲያኑ ይገድላቸዋል ፤ ያውም በጌታችን የልደት ቀን። 😢😢😢 ወገኖቼስ የሰማዕትነትን አክሊል ተቀዳጅተዋል፤ ይብላኝ ወደ ማያገባው ወደ ትግራይ ምድር እየተቀበዘበዘ ለገባው ለአውሬው የግራኝ ሰራዊትና “ዘራፍ! ያዘው! በለው! ግደለው!” እያሉ ለላኩት ውዳቂ ቃኤላውያን። አሁን ምንም የምታደርጉት ነገር አይኖርም፤ የትንቢት መፈጸሚያዎች ናችሁ፣ ተፈርዶባችኋል፤ ምንም የሚያድናችሁ ምድራዊ ሃይል አይኖርም፤ የሲዖል ደጃፍ በሯን ከፍታ ትጠብቃችኋለች።

The shootings began after lunch.

It was Friday, Jan. 8, the day after Genna, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas. Around 2 p.m., Kidane Tesfay heard gunshots near his family’s home and thought of his two brothers, ages 17 and 20, walking outside.

“When I looked through the door’s peephole, I saw them on the ground, their blood spilling out,” he said in an interview. He also saw soldiers wearing mud-flecked green camouflage gear striding up to the door.

“I had to escape,” Tesfay said. “Luckily our house has another entrance. I ran out the back.”

What followed was an hours-long killing rampage, according to accounts from 10 survivors, including Tesfay, as well as from victims’ relatives and friends and activist groups. Ethiopian soldiers went from house to house in Bora, a town in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, and executed more than 160 people.

Done killing, the soldiers stopped families from taking their dead. Only on Sunday — two days after the slaughter — were gravediggers allowed to set about their grim task; one of them buried 26 corpses in the graveyard of the Abune Aregawi Church, survivors said.

“The town was filled with corpses. The bodies of our friends and neighbors started to smell,” said Girmay Hagos, a 30-year-old real estate agent and survivor. “We kept our grief to ourselves — the soldiers didn’t allow us to cry.”

The massacre in Bora is another deep stain on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s months-long war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which began in early November after the ruling faction there, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, attacked a government military base. Abiy retaliated with what he called a “law-enforcement operation,” which killed tens of thousands of people, estimates say, and displaced hundreds of thousands more. More than 60,000 Tigrayans have fled to neighboring Sudan alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Behind those numbers has been a brutal, ethnically driven campaign of punishment against the 5.4 million people living in Tigray and the TPLF, which had ruled Africa’s second-most populous country for almost three decades before Abiy’s ascension to power in 2018.

Much of the war remains opaque because the government imposed a communications blackout Nov. 4, largely sealing Tigray from the wider world. Still, consistent reports have emerged in recent weeks of “extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, looting of property, mass executions and impeded humanitarian access,” the U.N.’s Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide said in a statement last month.

On Monday, medical charity Doctors Without Borders said that 70% of clinics it visited in Tigray “were looted, vandalized and destroyed in a deliberate and generalized manner.” Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that government forces — which include the Ethiopian army, soldiers from neighboring Eritrea and state-sponsored militiamen from the Amhara region — had committed acts of “ethnic cleansing.”

One of those skirmishes, Bora residents say, happened the morning of Jan. 8 in the Ajale mountains, an area about 10 miles north of the town. After the fighting, soldiers descended upon Bora.

Hagos, the real estate agent, had gone to stay in Bora with his mother and sister, seeking safety there after hearing rumors that Ethiopian soldiers were killing civilians in the Tigrayan capital, Mekele, where he lived. With the sound of gunshots getting closer, his mother covered him with a blanket and told him to pretend he was ill.

“I lay down and acted as if I were sick and old,” Hagos said. “When the Ethiopian soldiers came to the house, they looked in and saw two women and what appeared to be a useless patient. They cursed at us and left.”

Others weren’t so lucky. Hagos said he personally knew 20 victims of the slaughter, including his 15-year-old brother, Yared; his childhood friend, Kalayu Negus, a popular barber in the town; and Alemu Amare, a neighbor who had gone out to get typhoid medicine for his daughter.

All the witnesses interviewed for this story insisted that the TPLF had no presence in the area after Nov. 26, and that there had been no provocation or warning before the soldiers began their rampage.

“Farmers. Farmers and youngsters,” one woman says over and over as she cries over the body of a family member in a video provided by Seb Hidri, an NGO in Tigray that supports Tigray’s independence. Corpses of men wearing civilian clothes lie strewn on the ground, one in a pool of blood, as other women shout and weep.

Local sources said the accents of the women, their clothing and the terrain in the video are consistent with its having been filmed either in or near Bora, but the Los Angeles Times could not independently verify the footage.

Seb Hidri says it has documented 170 killed in the town. Tghat, a news site run by pro-TPLF activists, reported on the Bora killings Jan. 12, along with another alleged massacre that took place in an area called Debre Abay.

Other instances of alleged human rights abuses have been mostly blamed on Eritrean troops or militias working alongside Ethiopian government forces.

But Hagos and other survivors insist that Ethiopian army soldiers were behind the bloodletting in Bora, based on their uniforms and the fact they spoke Amharic. Analysis by independent media outlets of videos emerging from the Debre Abay massacre suggests that Ethiopian soldiers carried out that attack as well.

Guiomar Pau Sole, spokeswoman for the U.N.’s regional Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nairobi, said the U.N. had received “alarming reports of civilians being injured and killed during fighting in rural areas of Tigray, and violations against civilians, including sexual violence.”

“However, the verification of this information was, and remains, extremely challenging,” Pau Sole said.

In its statement Saturday, Ethiopia foreign ministry insisted that “the government has demonstrated its readiness to engage positively and constructively with all the relevant regional and international stakeholders in responding to the serious allegations of human rights abuses and crimes.”

On Wednesday, the U.N.’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, agreed to a request by the government’s human rights commission for for a joint investigation in Tigray.

Witnesses in Bora accuse the soldiers of trying to purge ethnic Tigrayans from the area.

“They killed men and boys. They came and terrorized the women, asking them where their husbands and sons are,” said Birhane Halefom, 32, a day laborer who escaped to Mekele, the regional capital, during the massacre. He added that Ethiopian troops had burned crop fields and urinated in stores to despoil the grain kept there.

Mersa Tshaye, an 18-year-old high school student, said his survival might owe to the fact that his family’s home is small and unobtrusive.

“That could be the reason why the soldiers did not notice or bother to enter — I don’t know. But maybe it was just luck,” Mersa said. “No one is left of my friends. Perhaps it was not my day to die.”

Source

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Ethiopian Diplomat: Between 60,000 and 70,000 People Died in The Tigray War

❖ ፸/ ሰባ ሺህ የትግራይ ክርስትያኖች በጅሃዳዊው ግራኝ ዐብይ አህመድ አሊ ተጨፈጨፉ

❖ 70,000 Tigrayan Christians Massacred by Jihadist Gragn Abiy Ahmed Ali

🔥 Critical Ethiopian Diplomat urges peace talks in Tigray war

An Ethiopian diplomat who quit his post in the United States over concerns about atrocities in Tigray is calling for peace talks between the government and the embattled region’s fugitive leaders.

Berhane Kidanemariam served as the deputy chief of mission at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington until early March. In an interview with The Associated Press late Thursday, he warned that a protracted war in Tigray is devastating the region’s 6 million people.

“We have to prioritize peaceful settlement and negotiation,” he said. “Without peaceful settlement and negotiation, peace couldn’t prevail. The only solution is peace talks.”

Between 60,000 and 70,000 people are now believed to have died in the war since November, he said, citing information gleaned from sources inside Ethiopia. Most of the victims are “civilians, especially the youngsters,” he said.

Ethiopian authorities have not given a death toll in the Tigray war.

Kidanemariam said that Tigrayan fighters “are getting better” in their defenses, increasing the likelihood of a long war in which reported abuses already include massacres, rapes, forced displacement, and the vandalism of priceless cultural sites.

“Anything which the human beings can use” has been destroyed in some way, he said, describing the looting of everything from banks to churches and mosques. “It’s horrible even to explain it.”

Kidanemariam hails from the Tigray region, the base of a party that dominated national politics for decades before the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. But he said his background had not influenced his decision to call it “a genocidal war.”

“I don´t need to be Tigrayan,” Kidanemariam said, referring to his March 10 resignation. “Seeing this kind of horrible, catastrophic war, I couldn´t tolerate it.”

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NYTimes | Fear and Hostility Simmer as Ethiopia’s Military Keeps Hold on Tigray

😈 አቤት ጭካኔ! የ፱/ 9 ዓመቷን ሕፃን አርሴማን?

☆አይ አማራዎች!

☆አይ ኦሮሞዎች!

☆አይ ሙስሊሞች!

☆አይ ጴንጤዎች!

😈 እንኳን ደስ አላችሁ፤ ጂሃዲስቶችን፣ ናዚዎችንና ፋሺስቶችን አስንቃችኋል!

❖ ተበቃዩ የኢትዮጵያና እስራኤል አምላክ ይበቀላችሁ!

💭 “ይህ በትግራይ ሕዝብ ላይ የተከፈተ ጦርነት ነው፣ በመሰረታዊነት፣ እኛ በህልውና አደጋ ስር ነን።“

🔥 በመጠጥ ቤት ውስጥ ከመንግስት ወታደር ጋር የጦፈ ክርክር ውስጥ በመግባቱ ስህተት የሰራው ወጣት፡፡ ጓደኛሞች እንዳሉት፤ “ከሰዓታት በኋላ አራት ወታደሮች ወደ ቤት ተከትለውት በቢራ ጠርሙሶች አርደው ገድለውታል።”

🔥 አለፈሻ ሀዱሻ እንዳለቸው፤ “ባለፈው ወር የኤርትራ እና የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች ቤታቸው ገብተው በንፁሃን ዜጎች ላይ ተኩስ ከከፈቱ በኋላ ሁለት ወንድሞቿንና ወላጆቿን አጥታለች።

🔥 ትምህርት ቤቶች ወደ ከተማ ከተሰደዱት ከ 71,000 ሰዎች መካከል የተወሰኑትን ይይዛሉ ፣ ብዙውን ጊዜ በመንግስት ደጋፊ ኃይሎች እጅ ዘግናኝ የመብት ጥሰቶች ይፈጸምባቸዋል።

🔥 ግን አብዛኛዎቹ ከባድ ክሶች በመንግስት ወታደሮች እና አጋሮቻቸው ላይ ያነጣጠሩ ናቸው ፥ ወደ ምዕራብ ትግራይ ክፍል የገቡት የጎሳ አማራ ሚሊሻዎች እና ከኤርትራ የመጡ ወታደሮችም ግፍ እየፈጸሙ ነው።

🔥 በከተማዋ ዋና ሆስፒታል በአይደር ሪፈራል ሆስፒታል ባለስልጣናት እንዳሉት ከኖቬምበር ፳፰/28 የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች መቀሌን ሲይዙ እና እስከ መጋቢት ፱/9 ቀን ድረስ ከ ፳/20 እስከ ፴፭/35 ዓመት እድሜ ያላቸው የ ፪፻፶/250 ወንዶች አስከሬኖችን ተቀብለዋል። አራት አምስተኛዎቹ አክሰሬኖቹ የተኩስ ቁስል ነበራቸው። ቀሪዎቹ በቢላዎች ተጎድተዋል። አብዛኛዎቹ ጥቃቶች በመንግስት ወታደሮች የተካሄዱ ይመስላሉ።

🔥 ይበልጥ አሳዛኝ የሆኑት መግለጫዎች ከከተማ ውጭ የመጡት ነበሩ። አንድ የ ፳፮/ 26 አመት ወጣት በርሄ ወንድሙንና ሌሎች ሰባት ሰዎችን አንስተው ወደ ወታደራዊ ካምፕ ተወስደው እንደተገደሉ በመግለጽ የዛን ቀን ተመሳሳይ ዘገባ አቅርቧል ፡፡

🔥 ከኒው ዮርክ ታይምስ በተገኘው የውስጥ የአሜሪካ መንግስት ሪፖርት እንዳመለከተው በምዕራብ ትግራይ የአሜሪካ ባለሥልጣናት በብሔረ አማራ ባለሥልጣናት እና በሚሊሻ ተዋጊዎች የሚመራ የዘር ማፅዳት ማስረጃ አግኝተዋል፡፡

🔥 በአንድ ወቅት በኢትዮጵያ ካሉ ምርጥ የጤና አገልግሎቶች መካከል የሆነው የትግራይ የጤና አገልግሎት ተደምስሷል። ሰኞ ዕለት ድንበር የለሽ ሐኪሞች እንዳሉት በክልሉ ውስጥ በደርዘን የሚቆጠሩ ክሊኒኮች በወታደሮች ተደምስሰው እና ተዘርፈዋል ፣ ብዙውን ጊዜ ሆን ተብሎ።

👉 በእንደዚህ ዓይነት የተራቆተ አከባቢ ውስጥ እንኳን እልቂቶች ይወዳደራሉ፡፡

🔥 የአቶ አብይ ባለሥልጣናት እ.ኤ.አ. ህዳር 9 በምዕራብ ትግራይ ማይ ካድራ ላይ የተፈጸመውን እልቂት የቲ.ፒ.ኤል.ፍ የጦር ወንጀሎች ምሳሌ አድርገው ይጠቅሳሉ፡፡ ቀደም ሲል በወጣው በአምነስቲ ኢንተርናሽናል ዘገባ ላይ ተጠያቂዎቹ የትግራይ ተዋጊዎች ናቸው ይላል ፡፡

🔥 ግን በመቀሌ በሚገኝ አንድ ካምፕ ውስጥ ስምንት የማይ ካድራ ነዋሪዎች ግድያው በእውነቱ በጭካኔው ዝና ባሰፈረው የብሔር አማራ ሚሊሻ ቡድን ፋኖ የተፈጸመ ሲሆን አብዛኛው ተጎጂዎች የትግራይ ተወላጆች መሆናቸውን አጥብቀው ተናግረዋል።

🔥 የ ፳፰/28 ዓመቱ ሰለሞን ኃይለሥላሴ ጭፍጨፋውን ከተደበቀበት ከቆሻሻ መጣያ ውስጥ ሆኖ እንደተመለከተው ተናግሯል። የሰዎችን እግርና እጆችን በመጥረቢያ ሲቆርጡ አይቻለሁ ብለዋል።

👉 Courtesy: The New York Times

💭 “This is a war against the people of Tigray. Basically, we are under an existential threat.”

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🔥 The young man who made the mistake of getting into a heated argument with a government soldier in a bar. Hours later, friends said, four soldiers followed him home and beat him to death with beer bottles.

🔥 Alefesha Hadusha lost her two brothers and parents last month after Eritrean and Ethiopian troops entered her home and opened fire on innocent civilians.

🔥 Schools house some of the 71,000 people who fled to the city, often bringing accounts of horrific abuses at the hands of pro-government forces.

🔥 But the majority of serious accusations have been aimed at government troops and their allies — the ethnic Amhara militias that moved into the western part of Tigray, and soldiers from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s northern neighbor and one-time enemy.

🔥 At the city’s main hospital, the Ayder Referral hospital, officials said they received the bodies of 250 men, ages 20 to 35, between Nov. 28, when Ethiopian soldiers seized Mekelle, and March 9. Four-fifths of the bodies had gunshot wounds, and the remainder had been injured with knives. Most of the attacks appeared to have been carried out by government soldiers.

🔥 Even more harrowing accounts came from outside the city. One 26-year-old man, Berhe, offered a similar account of that day, saying that his brother and seven other men were picked up and taken to a military camp and executed.

🔥 In western Tigray, American officials found evidence of ethnic cleansing led by ethnic Amhara officials and militia fighters, according to an internal United States government report obtained by The New York Times.

🔥 Tigray’s health services, once among the best in Ethiopia, have been ravaged. On Monday, Doctors Without Borders said that dozens of clinics across the region had been destroyed and plundered by soldiers, often deliberately.

👉 In such a fraught environment, even massacres are contested.

🔥 Mr. Abiy’s officials frequently cite a massacre in Mai Kadra, a town in western Tigray, on Nov. 9, as an example of T.P.L.F. war crimes. Witnesses cited in an Amnesty International report blamed the deaths on Tigrayan fighters.

But at a camp in Mekelle, eight residents of Mai Kadra said the killings had in fact been carried out by the Fano, an ethnic Amhara militia group with a reputation for brutality, and insisted that the majority of victims were Tigrayans.

Solomon Haileselassie, 28, said he watched the slaughter from his hiding place in a garbage dump. “I saw them cut off people’s legs and arms with axes,” he said.

Source

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Nobel Peace Prize of Ethiopian Prime Minister Questioned amid Conflict in Tigray

The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Conservative MP, Tom Tugendhat and General Director for Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oliver Behn, in Amsterdam to discuss the disturbing reports of violent abuse of women by soldiers fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

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The Horrors of the Hidden War Inside the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia | Channel 4 News

Sexual violence against women – one of the horrific weapons of war. In Ethiopia where the conflict between Ethiopia’s national defence forces and Eritrean troops on one side, and fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front has been raging since last November, thousands of women have been raped and tortured. The Ethiopian prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel peace prize for ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. But he now presides over a country where his troops are accused of aiding the abuse and torture of innocent people. Our Africa Correspondent Jamal Osman managed to get into Tigray . He went to Mekelle the capital of the region – where thousands have already fled and scores of women and young girls have been raped. He is one of the first foreign journalists to hear the stories in person of the women who have suffered unimaginably at the hands of the soldiers who raped and tortured them. This report contains highly distressing testimony.

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