Human Rights Watch, an international human rights activist, said that after the signing of a peace agreement to end the war in northern Ethiopia, ethnic cleansing is being committed in Western Tigray.
The human rights defender, the federal government and the TPLF to stop the ongoing civil war in northern Ethiopia on October 23/2015. He said that after signing the peace agreement, the Amhara forces, in cooperation with the local administration, are forcing the natives of Tigray to leave West Tigray by force. Northern Ethiopia War October 2013 Since its inception, the Amhara forces and the temporary administration established in the area have carried out ethnic cleansing by committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Tigray, the group said.
In a recent study conducted by the Human Rights Defenders Institute, it has been pointed out that Colonel Demeke Zewdu and Bai Ayalew, who were previously held responsible for the same act, are still engaged in illegal arrests, torture and forced displacement of Tigray natives.
Latisha Bader, Deputy Africa Director of Human Rights Watch; “The October agreement to end the conflict in northern Ethiopia failed to stop the ethnic cleansing of Tigray natives in West Tigray zone,” he said.
The deputy director said that if the Ethiopian government is truly committed to providing justice to the victims, it should stop the attackers and stop the prohibition of an independent investigation team from conducting an investigation in the area. Human Rights Watch started this investigation in September 2015. Until April 2015 He spoke to 35 people over the phone, including 35 eyewitnesses, victims and aid agency workers.
Those who spoke on the phone stated that the Amhara forces and the local administration had detained thousands of Tigray natives in the towns of Humera, Rawian and Adebai before forcibly evicting them from the area Eyewitnesses and victims stated that people were detained even in unofficial places without adequate food and medicine. “There was no medical service… If people got sick; They were made to stay there until they died,” a 28-year-old man who was incarcerated in Humera Prison told the rights group.
On November 9 and 10, the Amhara forces relocated thousands of Tigray natives from West Tigray to Central Tigray, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Although it is not possible to know the exact number of displaced people of Tigray from West Tigray, until October 2015. Until now, the United Nations has recorded 47,000 refugees, most of them displaced from western Tigray.
Murder of people in prison
At least 6 prisoners were killed in Humera prison in June when the eyewitnesses who were imprisoned by the Amhara forces and escaped from prison gave their statements to the human rights defender. An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch that an inmate was killed after the inmates escaped from Humera prison.
According to the eyewitness, following the escape of 16 prisoners due to the heavy rains in mid-June, the Amhara special forces and Fano militants killed a prisoner nicknamed ‘Bambini’ who they thought might escape and showed his body to the prisoners as a lesson to others. In another incident, a 70-year-old former teacher, Kalayu Seum, and another religious leader, Sa’er Berihu, who were detained at Humar Prison, were killed in a beating.
Human Rights Watch has requested the government of Ethiopia to suspend the security forces and officials responsible for this crime and hold them accountable by law. The group has asked to investigate the individuals who are responsible for this dangerous violation of rights, Colonel Demeke Zewdu, Commander Dejene Mare and Bai Ayaleu.
The West Tigray area is one of the areas where the Amhara and Tigray regions have disputed claims, in 2013. After the war, it came under the control of the Amhara regional forces and is under the name of Wolkait Pegede. The Interim Administration of Tigray, which was established following the Pretoria Agreement that ended the two-year civil war, is asking the federal government to withdraw the Amhara forces from Western Tigray and other areas of the region.
The administration of the Amhara region, which administers other areas, including West Tigray, where claims have been raised for a long time, has been asking for a legal solution to the question.The federal government has stated on several occasions that territorial claims will be responded to in accordance with the constitution.
