11/24/2020

Escalating violence in Ethiopia

Human rights organization warns of war crimes (Press Release)

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns of further war crimes committed by the conflicting parties in the fight for control of the Tigray region in Ethiopia – stating that, if the 300,000 inhabitants of the city of Mekelle are not allowed to leave the city, this will most probably cost many civilian lives. "A violent occupation of the city by Ethiopia's army would be a wrongful collective punishment of the civilian population – and it would have to be seen as a war crime if the Tigray government were to keep the civilian population from leaving the besieged city," emphasized Ulrich Delius, the STP's Director. The human rights organization demanded an immediate ceasefire and negotiations for a political solution to the dispute between the Tigray region and the central government of Ethiopia. A 72-hour ultimatum to leave the city, announced by Ethiopia's Prime Minister last Sunday, will end tomorrow.

The STP appealed to the World Security Council to focus on the protection of the civilian population in today's emergency session on the conflict in Ethiopia – and to warn the conflict parties that war crimes will be punished. "The suffering of the civilian population in this power struggle can no longer be ignored. Ethiopia's promises to spare the civilians are neither credible nor realistic. The country's air force has already bombed residential areas in Mekelle," reported Ulrich Delius. 15 years after the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect in the course of the World Summit in September 2005, the country must finally take this commitment seriously.

The human rights organization pointed out that the conflict parties and their allies have apparently already committed war crimes since the beginning of the armed conflict in November 2020. For example, up to 500 Amharas were killed in a massacre in the city of Mai Kadra in western Tigray on November 9. The villages of western Tigray have been suffering from brutal attacks by militias for years, and these attacks on the civilian population should finally be punished. "Conflicts over land and land rights between the Tigray and Amhara communities must be resolved through negotiations. Violence against the civilian population will only stir up new conflicts," Delius said.