Human rights were among the first casualties of the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. While both sides continue to accuse each other of atrocities, independent organizations find it increasingly difficult to monitor abuses.
Civilians are bearing the brunt of the 16-month civil warImage: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
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A video of uniformed men burning a civilian alive in western Ethiopia has sparked widespread outrage on social media, renewing condemnation and fear over the ongoing violence.
The state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) — an entity appointed by the Ethiopian parliament to protect human rights — identified the perpetrators as government security forces. Addis Ababa has pledged to punish the culprits.
An unidentified armed group attacked a civilian convoy and its military escort in the Benishangul-Gumuz region on March 2, killing 53 people.
The next day, 11 more people were killed by government soldiers. Eight Tigrayan civilians were beaten and shot, along with two men from the local Gumuz ethnic group.
Another man was tied up and burned to death, according to the EHRC.
The violence in the Benishangul-Gumuz, home to several ethnic groups, is separate from the ongoing war in the northern Tigray region, where Tigrayan forces have been fighting against central government rule since November 2020.
Dozens of warehouses used for humanitarian aid storage were looted in KombolchaImage: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
More damning reports emerge
In a report on the human rights situation in the Amhara and Afar regions released on Friday, the EHCR claimed that at least 750 civilians have killed in attacks or in extrajudicial killings since July of last year.
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EHCR head Daniel Bekele told DW that these killings were carried out "mainly by Tigrayan forces."
Bekele listed a slew of human rights abuses being inflicted upon the civilian population, including "widespread brutal and systematic individual and group rape of women, children and the elderly."
"Their sexual abuse and exploitation of women is a systematic strategy to achieve their goals in the war," he said.
More than 2,400 health facilities in the two regions have ceased operation as a result of the violence, while more than 1,000 schools have been destroyed and another 3,220 damaged, Bekele added.
Bekele, head of the EHRC, excoriated the rape of women and children amid the ongoing conflictImage: EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP/Getty Images
Denials and accusations
The report followed a joint investigation by the UN Human Rights Office and the EHRC covering November 2020 to June 2021, which detailed a vast array of rights abuses. Most were blamed on Ethiopian forces and Eritrean troops, who provided military support to Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian government has regularly denied targeting civilians, while the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has previously said it would welcome independent investigations into war atrocities. It accuses the Ethiopian rights commission of bias — a charge the EHCR denies.
Ethiopia's Amhara region scarred by conflict
The widespread destruction, displacement and suffering in strategic towns in Amhara came as Tigrayan fighters and Ethiopian government and local Amhara forces wrestled for control over the region.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Fighting in the hills
Tigrayan fighters are believed to have suffered defeat in the hills around Mezezo in the Amhara region in early December. They had been advancing toward the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The fighting lasted five days, according to local eyewitnesses. People stayed indoors during heavy fighting, terrified by the sound of artillery. In the area, bodies are decaying along the road and in fields.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Destruction in Mezezo
Ayu Berhan hid in a forest for nine days in late November as Tigrayan fighters occupied her village of Mezezo, some 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa. The 55-year-old found her house destroyed by artillery when she returned. "[In the forest] we were hungry and thirsty. There were also children. We lost everything and when we came back to our home, we lost a place to stay," she told DW.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Life is slowly resuming
The TPLF had controlled the strategic towns of Kombolcha and Dessie for several weeks before retreating. Life in those places is slowly resuming, but there are shortages of food items, fuel and other essential items. Electricity and running water have yet to return.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Destroyed hospital
The hospital is a referral center for about 8 million people. It was used as a military hospital by both the Ethiopian army and Tigrayan fighters at separate times. Locals sad Tigrayan fighters looted it before leaving. "The medicine they didn't take, they made it unusable," said Melaku Sete, who runs the now destroyed oxygen center at Dessie hospital. The region faces a shortage of oxygen.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Wollo University badly damaged
The institution in Dessie was badly damaged by heavy artillery and looted. "It's really devastating," said Menagesha Ayele, the campus director. He attributes the damage to Tigrayan forces. "I didn’t expect it. This is the university where their children used to study for their bachelor's and master's." Eyewitnesses said soldiers from both sides of the conflict used the campus at different times.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Aid warehouses looted
In Kombolcha, dozens of warehouses used for storing international and local humanitarian aid were heavily looted. Local officials have accused Tigrayan fighters, but humanitarian sources said the community played a major part in taking food and other items. Other armed groups are also believed to have later participated in the looting.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Mass grave in Teraf
In the village of Teraf, 21 unarmed civilians and four fighters were buried in this mass grave. Teraf is located within the Oromo special zone in the Amhara region. Residents said Oromo and Tigrayan rebels targeted Amharic-speaking people, a minority in the area. Children aged 8 and 12 are said to be among the victims.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Shot by soldiers
Arabie Hassen, 17, said she was home with her mother and siblings when a fighter entered and shot at her. "It is better to die than living with this wound because it makes me suffer me a lot," Arabie told DW. Her cousin (pictured on the phone) was killed in an adjacent house on that day. Arabie's mother, Fatima, said her children still have nightmares as a result of the shooting.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Displaced in Debre Berhan
Schools in Debre Berhan, three hours by road from Addis Ababa, are now shelters for some of the hundreds of thousands of people who fled the fighting. "There's nothing to eat. There are children here... people have left their homes without anything," said Mamito Belachew, who came from Ataye. "We are told now it's peaceful there but if we go, there is nothing. The houses are burned down."
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Militias on patrol
Local volunteer militias are still on the lookout for Tigrayan fighters. The militias are often farmers or civil servants with little military training. "We use this hill to watch for remaining TPLF militias, and when we find them, we will apprehend them," said Bahere Kefele, who joined a militia group in Shewa Robit. "We can't assume they've left our area. We must be alert."
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
Shewa Robit economy shattered
Shewa Robit, a town of about 50,000 people on the highway between Dessie to Addis Ababa, was occupied by Tigrayan fighters for several days. They destroyed several banks and hotels, leaving behind a shattered economy. Local officials said it could take years for the town and the region to recover from the damage.
Image: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
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Human rights activists fear for safety
Promoting human rights in Ethiopia has never been easy, Dan Yirga, executive director of the independent Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), an organization that has been keeping track of abuses for the past three decades, told DW.
"The conflict that we have currently in Ethiopia really had a significant impact on human rights and human rights activities," he said, adding that the combatants also endangered human rights defenders trying to monitor the conflict.
Restrictions put in place by the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has also made it difficult to investigate human rights violations on site.
"My organization has been experiencing state-sponsored persecutions for the last three decades," Yirga said, including harassment, violence against its members and arbitrary arrests, adding to the widespread "environment of fear" for human right defenders.
In recognition of EHRCO's work, the German chapter of the human rights organization Amnesty International on Monday announced that it was awarding the council this year's International Human Rights Prize.
The EHRCO's Yirga laments the difficulty of independently monitoring rights abuses Image: Alemnew Mekonnen/DW
Calls for more international support
Yirga said he was happy that his organization's work was being recognized.
"This International Human Rights award will give us a morale boost, will encourage us to do more for the respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law," he said.
But he hopes for more support from the international community in the future to better enable human rights defenders in Ethiopia do to their work, including financial help and capacity building.
"We need a lot and various support from the international community for our human rights activities. But they should also advocate for the betterment of human rights in Ethiopia," Yirga said.
Solomon Muchie in Addis Ababa contributed to this article
