Ethiopian human rights organization demands that civilians’ safety be ‘a priority’

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Saturday called for urgent measures to ensure that “the safety and security of civilians” becomes a priority in Tigray after eight months of conflict that has left millions facing starvation.

The northern region of Ethiopia, a country of around 110 million people, has been torn by fighting since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dispatched the army in early November to overthrow the dissident leadership of the People’s Liberation Front. Tigray (TPLF).

After declaring an early victory, the operation turned into a long-lasting and bloody conflict between pro-TPLF forces – the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) – and the Ethiopian military.

Confusingly, the Ethiopian army was supported by troops from the neighboring regional authorities of Amhara and the army of Eritrea, which borders Tigray.

The conflict has been marked by numerous accounts of abuses against civilians, with reports of massacres, rapes and forced displacement.

More than 400,000 people have “crossed the threshold of famine” in the region and an additional 1.8 million people “are on the verge of famine,” a senior UN official said at a public meeting on Friday. of the Security Council.

Ethiopia’s Tigray region. By (AFP)

NGOs and the World Food Program (WFP) sounded the alarm on Friday over the destruction this week of two bridges that provide vital road access after TDF took over the regional capital Mekele.

The Ethiopian government has denied responsibility after being accused of destroying bridges to prevent humanitarian aid from arriving.

“The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission expresses its deep concern over the situation of civilians in the Tigray region” and “urges that urgent measures be taken to ensure their safety and security,” the organization said on Saturday. independent but affiliated with the federal government.

“The safety and security of civilians must remain a priority,” he said.

With electricity and telecommunications cut and many impassable roads, he stressed the importance of “transparency and clarity on the current security and humanitarian situation”.

The committee called on all parties to respect the ceasefire, declared unilaterally by the federal government on Monday evening and described by the TDF as a “joke”.

Members of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) were greeted as heroes on their return. By Yasuyoshi Chiba (AFP)

The pre-war TPLF government in Tigray on Friday pledged support for the UN and organizations “working to provide life-saving assistance” to Tigrayans, saying it was “determined to facilitate humanitarian access.”

During the Security Council meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo also urged the TDF on Thursday to “immediately and fully endorse the ceasefire.”

In Addis Ababa, the commission also said it was monitoring reports of “arrests of media personnel and residents of Tigray ethnicity suspected of being linked to the current situation in the region” , underlining a “risk of ethnic profiling”.