Ethiopian crisis: US 'gravely concerned' by new alleged rights abuses against Tigrayans
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The United States says it is "gravely concerned" by unconfirmed new reports alleging mass detentions, killings, and forced expulsions of ethnic Tigrayans in western Tigray by Amhara security forces.
A statement on Friday by Mr. Ned Price, US State Department Spokesperson, said the United Nations reports that 1.2 million people have been forcibly displaced from western Tigray since the beginning of the conflict in November 2020.
The US called on Amhara leaders to renounce violence against civilians, reiterating its call on Eritrea to remove its forces from Ethiopia.
The statement urged the Ethiopian authorities to investigate these reports to determine their veracity and "to commit to inclusive, transparent processes to hold responsible those accountable".
The US also called on all armed actors in Ethiopia to renounce and end violence against civilians.
It reiterated its call for a cessation of hostilities, an immediate end to human rights abuses and violations, negotiations without preconditions, unhindered humanitarian access, and the start to an inclusive national dialogue.
The UN Human Rights Council agreed in a vote on Friday that serious concerns over alleged severe human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia should be investigated by an international rights probe.
According to the resolution, the new probe should comprise three human rights experts, all appointed by the President of the UN Human Rights Council.
Among the resolution’s key elements were calls to all parties to the conflict to halt “direct attacks against civilians…including on the basis of their ethnicity or gender”.
Mandated for one year initially but subject to renewals, the international inquiry’s work will complement that already undertaken by the Joint Investigative Team involving the UN human rights office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission into alleged violations of human rights, humanitarian and refugee law committed by all parties to the conflict in Tigray.
The Ethiopian government says it is "extremely disappointed" at the use of the United Nations Human Rights Council by some to advance their politically motivated agenda, stressing that it will not cooperate with the established mechanism imposed upon it.
-0- PANA MA/RA 18Dec2021
