Ethiopian war in Tigray marked by ‘extreme brutality’ from all sides: UN report

All sides in Ethiopia's year-long war in the Tigray region have committed abuses marked by "extreme brutality" that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday, noting that "the big numbers of violations" are linked to Ethiopian and neighbouring Eritrean forces. The battle, which has killed thousands, began in November 2020 as a result of a political schism between Tigray forces. Ethnic Tigrayans throughout the country have alleged arbitrary detentions, while residents in Tigray have recounted gang rapes, human-caused hunger, and mass expulsions.

The investigation, an unusual collaboration between the United Nations Human Rights Office and the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, was impeded by intimidation and constraints from authorities, and it did not covered some of the Ethiopian war's worst-affected places. The UN investigation report was issued a day before the first anniversary of the Ethiopian war. Africa's second most populous country enters a fresh state of emergency, with opposing Tigray forces targeting Addis Abeba.

'Need to hold perpetrators accountable': Bachelet

"The Tigray conflict has been marked by extreme brutality. The gravity and seriousness of the violations and abuses we have documented underscore the need to hold perpetrators accountable," Michelle Bachelet stated, according to AP. Reports of atrocities such as summary killings continue in Tigray, according to Bachelet. Despite this, the report provides scant evidence that Eritrean soldiers were responsible for many of the crimes, as witnesses claim.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, conceded that investigators could not find enough evidence to classify disturbing suspicions of racially driven violence as signs of imminent genocide, however, she added that such charges required further examination. Several Ethiopian military facilities were used to torture captured Tigray soldiers or people accused of assisting them, according to the results of the investigation. Others were jailed in secret places and military facilities across the country, with many detentions being arbitrary. In the early days of the war, Tigray forces detained and tortured some ethnic Amhara people in western Tigray on suspicion of helping the military.

The report discloses violations described by witnesses

The combined investigation covers events up until late June, when Tigray forces reclaimed much of their region. It also uncovers little new information and, in general, verifies the violations described by witnesses during the war. According to AP, despite the report's flaws, PM Abiy Ahmed's office stated that it "clearly established the claim of genocide as false and utterly lacking of any factual basis." According to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission's chief, Daniel Bekele, the investigation found no evidence of genocide, AP reported.

Ethiopia's government has maintained a blockade on Tigray since the Tigray forces reclaimed control in June, preventing practically all commercial products and humanitarian supplies from reaching the region. This was in response to widespread looting and agricultural devastation, which has had a devastating economical impact on the civilian population, according to the report. Furthermore, some displaced people's camps did not receive food supplies for months. According to the joint investigation report, which was based on more than 260 interviews with victims and witnesses, Eritrea's government and Amhara regional officials had not responded. The legitimacy of the claim is rejected by Eritrea, according to the country's media minister, who tweeted on Wednesday.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP