Following reports of human rights violations related to the state of emergency imposed in the Amhara region, the international human rights watchdog Amnesty asked the government to allow independent investigators to enter the areas.
Amnesty announced in a statement issued yesterday, August 12/2015, following the release of information about violations committed following the end of the conflict between the defense and Fano militants.
The organization also mentioned that several media reported the death of many innocent citizens in an airstrike in the region this week.
Hospital sources told the BBC that at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack on the city of Fnote Salam last week.
Regarding the attacks, some said that they were carried out by heavy weapons, while others said that they were carried out by drones.
Amnesty mentioned that they have received reports of mass killings and deaths in Fnote Salam, Bahr Dar and Showa Robit cities and mentioned that they should be further investigated.
Tigere Chagutah, the regional director of the organization for Eastern and Southern Africa, said that the United Nations Human Rights Council, the group of human rights experts, other independent investigative bodies and independent media should be given unlimited permission to investigate these allegations in depth.
“Government and security forces must respect and protect people’s human rights,” Tigere said in a statement.
Following the escalation of the conflict in the Amhara region, a state of emergency has been declared for six months to be implemented mainly in the region and in other areas as needed.
It has been stated that the state of emergency is aimed at maintaining public peace and security as well as enforcing law and order.
Amnesty stated that the state of emergency gives the government broad powers to arrest suspects without a court warrant, impose curfews, restrict freedom of movement, and prohibit gatherings.
In connection with this, the announcement of the federal government’s detention of individuals arrested in the city of Addis Ababa in informal detention centers, including schools, was also included in the Amnesty statement.
Amnesty said in a statement that lawyers and family members of individuals in prison in Addis Ababa said that the suspects were not brought to court and were denied the right to legal counsel.
