Ethiopian government forces have carried out large-scale attacks on health professionals, patients and health institutions in the Amhara region, which could amount to war crimes, human rights activist Himan Rights Watch has alleged.
Human Rights Watch has released a detailed report on the alleged attacks by the government forces and allied militias on the health facilities of the region in the ongoing conflict between the federal government army and Fano militants in the Amhara region, which is almost a year old.
The report indicated that since the end of last year when the conflict broke out in the region, government forces have collected information indicating that the government forces have attacked health facilities and workers as well as transportation services in at least 13 cities.
Laetitia Bader, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch for Africa, said, “Ethiopia’s federal forces have irresponsibly attacked institutions that provide the most important health services without regard for the lives of civilians.”
The deputy director added that if the Ethiopian government does not hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions, they fear that similar actions may continue.
Human Rights Watch mentioned that it collected information from 58 victims of the attack, eyewitnesses, medical professionals and aid workers who spoke to them remotely from August of last year to May, and used satellite images as well as verified videos and photographs for the report.
The human rights activist said that the abuses committed by the government forces have “jeopardized or disrupted” the activities of hospitals in the region, and this situation has hindered the medical institutions and professionals from providing services as expected.
“Soldiers beat, arbitrarily arrest, and threaten medical personnel providing care to the wounded and sick, including alleged Fano members.” They also attack ambulances and medical vehicles, interfering with humanitarian aid. This has prevented the Amhara people from accessing health services,” he said.
The Human Rights Watch report also stated that government forces detained a medical professional in a military camp for several days.
The expert said, “The colonel who examined me used to call me ‘Doctor Fano’.” He started the question by saying, “Why are you giving treatment to Fano?” Including Fano, they are not people… they are monsters.
The human rights organization said the federal government’s forces, including arresting residents on suspicion of having links with Fano, have prevented people from accessing medical facilities due to fear among those in need of treatment.
Mentioning that international humanitarian law mandates that medical facilities, professionals, patients and ambulances receive special protection even in times of war; States are required to respect people’s right to health care by complying with these regulations.
As a result of the conflict in the Amhara region, which is almost a year old, it is known that activities in many areas of the region have been disrupted and basic services have been disrupted. Among them, it is said that medical institutions are the main victims.
As a result, the supply of medical equipment has been cut, and the hospitals and health centers of the region have had a long-standing and serious shortage of essential drugs, which has led to them not being able to provide proper services.
The report indicated that doctors and health workers are doing their work in difficult conditions due to lack of oxygen and medicines and power outages; “The blood bank has stopped working… We asked her family to bring fuel to give birth to a mother who was in labor using electricity from a generator,” the report said.
Human Rights Watch informed the government of its findings regarding attacks on health facilities by government forces and asked for comments, but did not receive a response.
The rights organization urges the government to immediately stop attacks on health professionals, health institutions, patients and related services; He called on countries and international institutions to pressurize the government to hold the perpetrators accountable and to support the affected institutions to return to their work.
It will be recalled that the Amhara regional government announced three months ago that the war has put the health sector at risk.
In the war in the region, 967 health facilities were damaged, the head of the health bureau of each region, Ato Abdulkarim, announced.
The head listed the damage done to the health facilities and stated that especially medicines and ambulances were looted.
The official mentioned that the damage done to the health facilities is three billion birr, and said that some 124 ambulances are being “stolen” and are being used for the war.
