Tigray rebels in Ethiopia kills dozens of civilians

The investigation, published on Saturday, which draws on 128 interviews, focuses on parts of Amhara that saw heavy fighting in July and August between fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian soldiers.

At least 184 civilians died as a result of the bloodshed, the EHRC said, accusing TPLF fighters of “willfully (killing) scores of civilians in towns and rural areas they captured”, Aljazeera reported.

Civilians were shot and killed for supporting the federal government or for sheltering wounded soldiers, the commission said.

“TPLF forces shot and killed mentally ill residents of towns they controlled on suspicion of being informants for the government,” it added.

Local youth meanwhile killed people who had fled war-torn Tigray, accusing them of spying for the TPLF, the commission said.

“Additionally, both warring sides engaged in indiscriminate shelling that was not directed at a specific military objective, causing civilian deaths, injuries, and damage to civilian property.”

EHRC chief commissioner Daniel Bekele said that “violations and abuses committed by all parties in South Gondar and North Wollo Zones of the Amhara region underscores the need to put an urgent stop to the continued suffering caused to civilians”.

RHM/PR