Ethiopia: Amnesty International denounces "massacre of civilians" in Tigray region
View of the Tigrayan capital Mekele in Ethiopia, January 25, 2018. Wikimedia Commons Copyleft A. Savin
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This is the first time that the death of a large number of civilians has been reported since the start of this conflict.
Telecommunications and roads are still cut in this region where since the beginning of November the Ethiopian defense forces of the federal government have been clashing with the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), in power in this dissident province in the north of the country.
The conflict has already claimed hundreds of lives.
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The massacre took place on the night of November 9, in the town of Mai-Kadra, in southwestern Tigray, according to Amnesty.
"
Many people, probably hundreds, have been stabbed or killed with an ax,
" the NGO said in a statement.
Access to the area being impossible, Amnesty says it has worked in particular on the basis of testimonies, satellite images, but also photos and videos analyzed and verified, on which we can see a large number of "
bodies scattered in the city.
”Or“
transported on stretchers
”.
According to Deprose Muchena, regional director of the NGO, the victims "
seem to be workers, in no way involved in the ongoing military offensive
".
As for those responsible, Amnesty quotes several witnesses who attribute this massacre to forces loyal to the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, after they suffered a defeat by the Ethiopian Defense Forces.
But the NGO could not confirm this information.
She calls for the re-establishment of communications in Tigray, and a thorough and impartial investigation, so that those responsible are identified and brought to justice.
The UN yesterday called on the Ethiopian and regional authorities for “
full access
” to humanitarian aid
in the region, while according to the UNHCR, the influx of thousands of refugees
is continuing.
For its part, the Ethiopian Red Cross calls on the belligerents, in the Amhara region as in Tigray, to respect its vehicles: three of them were indeed caught under fire on Monday in a combat zone.
► Read also:
Ethiopia: in Tigray, a conflict "first and foremost political"
■
The federal government mobilizes its support
Blood drives were organized in several cities across the country.
Noytre correspondent Noé Hochet-Bodin visited the International Stadium in the capital Addis Ababa.
I came to donate blood but I will also be able to donate money.
All means are good to support our soldiers on the ground.
Around 2,000 people are lining up around the nine tents deployed for the occasion
Noé Rochet-Bodin
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Ethiopia
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