G7 warns of human rights abuses in Ethiopia's Tigray
April 2, 2021
G7 foreign ministers have expressed concern about human rights violations in Ethiopia's conflict-ridden Tigray. They also welcomed an announcement that Eritrean troops would withdraw from the region.
There have been reports of massacres by both Eritrean and Ethiopian troops in TigrayImage: Maria Gerth-Niculescu/DW
The group of leading economic powers made their comments as the anti-conflict International Crisis Group (ICG) warned of the danger of a prolonged conflict.
"We condemn the killing of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, indiscriminate bombardments and the displacement of Tigray residents and Eritrean refugees," a joint statement by the ministers released Friday said.
"All parties must exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection of civilians and respect human rights and international law," they said.
The statement also said unhindered humanitarian access must be granted immediately. In many parts of Tigray, the food security of the population is not guaranteed.
The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ethiopia: Tigrayans flee as fresh conflict erupts
Tens of thousands of Tigrayans are being driven from their homes by the Amhara militia. The latest conflict was sparked by a historic land dispute. Local towns are struggling to cope with the exodus.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A temporary home
11-year-old Asmara holds her 1-year-old brother Barakat at the doorway to their living space at Tsehaye primary school in the town of Shire, which has been turned into a temporary shelter. Four months after the Ethiopian government declared victory over the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), tens of thousands of Tigrayans are again being forced to flee their homes.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Waiting for food
Displaced Tigrayans queue for food at the temporary shelter. These people weren't driven from their homes by fighting between the Ethiopian government and the rebels. According to witnesses and members of Tigray's new administration, regional forces and militiamen from neighboring Amhara are now violently trying to settle a decades-old land dispute in the Tigray region.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Disputed territory
The town of Adigrat in Tigray, which is also considered a strategically important gateway to Eritrea. Amhara officials say about a quarter of Tigrayan land was taken from them during the almost 30 years that the TPLF dominated power in the region. However, Tigrayan officials say the area is home to both ethnic groups and the borders are set by the constitution.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
On patrol
Ethiopian soldiers on the back of a truck near Adigrat. Fighters from Amhara first entered Tigray in support of federal Ethiopian forces during the TPLF conflict. They have remained in the region since the fighting subsided, with local officials accusing them of driving out Tigrayans.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Basic comforts
A man carries mattresses into the Tsehaye primary school in Shire. The latest territorial dispute threatens to worsen an already precarious humanitarian situation. According to Tewodros Aregai, the interim head of Shire’s northwestern zone, the town was already hosting 270,000 people before the latest influx of refugees and is running out of food and shelter.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
New arrivals
A bus carrying displaced Tigrayans arrives in Shire. It is difficult to verify the exact number of people who have fled in recent weeks, as some have been displaced several times. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says some 1,000 arrive in Shire every day, while the Norwegian Refugee Council says between 140,000-185,000 arrived over a two-week period in March.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
From campus to shelter
Displaced Tigrayans try to make themselves at home at the Shire campus of Aksum University, which has also been turned into a temporary shelter. The four centers set up in the town to house new refugees are almost full. Some families squeeze into classrooms, halls and half-finished buildings, while others make do camping under tarpaulins or on open ground.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Holding loved ones close
A woman holds an infant inside a temporary refugee shelter at the Adiha secondary school in Tigray's capital, Mekelle. Many of the Tigrayans who have fled their homes have described attacks, looting and threats by Amhara gunmen, with some bearing scars from their ordeal.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
An echo of conflict
A burned-out tank near the town of Adwa stands as a stark reminder of the simmering conflict in the Tigray region. The United Nations has already warned of possible war crimes taking place in Tigray, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said ethnic cleansing is taking place and called on Amhara forces to withdraw from Tigray.
The withdrawal process, the G7 said, must take place swiftly, unconditionally and in a verifiable manner.
They called for a political process that was acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, that would lead to credible elections and a broader national reconciliation process.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both accused Eritrean soldiers of carrying out a massacre of hundreds of Tigrayans in the town of Axum.
Abiy sent troops into Tigray on November 4, after accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of attacking an Ethiopian military camp.
The TPLF, which has split from Ethiopia's now-ruling coalition, was once the country's dominant party and carried out an extended war with neighboring Eritrea. Abiy has since been accused of siding with Eritrean forces to pursue the now-fugitive leaders of the TPLF.
The war in Tigray could drag on for months and even years, with both Ethiopian troops and the TPLF eyeing a seemingly unattainable military "knockout blow," the conflict-prevention group ICG said on Friday.
Although Abiy declared victory within weeks of conflict being sparked, fighting has continued recently in central and southern Tigray, the ICG said.