Africa-Press-Ethiopia<\/p>\n
The United Nations\u2019 human rights chief on Thursday asked Ethiopia to allow monitors into Tigray to investigate reports of killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes in the northern region since late 2020.<\/p>\n
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement \u201cVictims and survivors of these violations must not be denied their rights to the truth and to justice,\u201d expressing her fear that violations could continue with impunity.<\/p>\n
Fighting between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s federal troops and forces of the region\u2019s former ruling party, the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front, TPLF, has killed thousands of people, forced hundreds of thousands from their homes and hit infrastructure badly.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate response to the UN statement from Abiy\u2019s government, the Tigray administration or the TPLF.<\/p>\n
Until this month, the mountainous region of about 5 million people, with a long history of conflict including war with neighbouring Eritrea, had been off-limits for media since the war began in early November.<\/p>\n
Relief agencies had also struggled for access, while communications were patchy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSerious violations of international law, possibly amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, may have been committed by multiple actors in the conflict,\u201d Bachelet said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeeply distressing reports of sexual and gender-based violence, extrajudicial killings, widespread destruction and looting of public and private property by all parties continue to be shared with us, as well as reports of continued fighting in central Tigray in particular,\u201d Bachelet said.<\/p>\n
She mentioned the culprits as Ethiopia\u2019s army, the TPLF, Eritrea\u2019s military, and troops and militia from the neighbouring Amhara region.<\/p>\n
With witness accounts of atrocities including rape, looting and massacres emerging from refugees and others, the warring sides have been repeatedly blaming each other.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate response to the UN statement either from Amhara authorities or the Eritrean government.<\/p>\n
Abiy declared victory when the TPLF abandoned the regional capital Mekelle at the end of November. But lower-level fighting has continued in some areas, according to people in Tigray.<\/p>\n
President Isaias Afwerki\u2019s government in Asmara has in the past denied any involvement, while the Abiy administration in Addis Ababa has repeatedly said it is restoring law and order and will investigate allegations of abuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Africa-Press-Ethiopia The United Nations\u2019 human rights chief on Thursday asked Ethiopia to allow monitors into Tigray to investigate reports of killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes in the northern region since late 2020. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement \u201cVictims and survivors of these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[264,241],"class_list":["post-3345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-abiy-ahmed","tag-africa-press-ethiopia"],"yoast_head":"\n