Ethiopia: revelations on crimes committed in Tigray multiply
Men gather around the body of a young man shot, according to witnesses, by security forces after violating the curfew, in Mekele in Tigray.
(illustrative image) AFP - EDUARDO SOTERAS
Text by: Léonard Vincent Follow
3 min
Diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia is mounting, as revelations mount about crimes committed during the war that has been waged behind closed doors in Tigray province for the past four months.
After Amnesty International's report on Friday, new investigations have indeed revealed new abuses by the belligerents.
Publicity
Read more
The veil is gradually lifting over the four months of military operations behind closed doors in Tigray.
After the
Daily Telegraph's
investigation
into the Debre Abay killing
, then Amnesty International's chilling report detailing the carnage of hundreds of civilians committed in
the city of Aksum at the end of November
by the Eritrean army, it is the American channel CNN which broadcast on Saturday a long investigation into a massacre of the faithful committed in Degelat, in northern Tigray,
during a religious festival
.
On November 30, during the religious festival celebrating the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia, faithful of all ages, but also priests, were reportedly killed and then buried for at least three days, often in their white shawls of bloodstained ceremony, according to survivors' accounts.
On the same day, the
New York Times
referred to
an internal
US
government report
claiming that soldiers engaged in Tigray and Amhara militiamen were "
deliberately and effectively
rendering
western Tigray ethnically homogeneous through the organized use of force and intimidation.
" .
And the VICE website
illustrated this claim in an investigation
showing ethnic cleansing practices by Eritrean soldiers in the town of Maekelay.
The Ethiopian authorities have systematically responded to these inquiries, discrediting the working methods of their authors.
For them, many witnesses would not be reliable, especially as the investigations were carried out from abroad.
On Monday, Ethiopia's foreign ministry said it took human rights violations seriously and had launched investigations.
But it categorically rejects interference in its internal affairs, and in particular the American demands for the withdrawal of troops from Tigray.
A question, he said, which only concerns Ethiopia, and no one else.
On the US statement Regarding the Situation in the #Tigray Region.
@mfaethiopia pic.twitter.com/XIlImwB4ZW
- MFA Ethiopia🇪🇹 (@mfaethiopia) February 28, 2021
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Ethiopia