As rightly stated by Amnesty International, the African Union (AU) and its institutions have almost done nothing in response to such dreadful crimes against the Tigray people. In fact, some African countries have disgracefully opposed a global action by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Of course, some few members of the Union have sided with the people of Tigray and demanded action in line with the AU’s norms and principles.
Today, irrespective of such a failure of the AU, the whole world knows, as widely reported by global bodies, human rights groups and credible media outlets, such as the UNSC, Horn of Africa Human Rights Forum, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and CNN, that the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies and the Amhara forces are committing gross crimes against the people of Tigray by murdering, raping and torturing them en masse; looting and evicting them from their homes; wantonly vandalising and destroying their private and public property, services, infrastructure and their cultural and religious heritages; and ethnic profiling, arresting, searching and intimidating them in the whole of Ethiopia.
Deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of cities, towns, villages, churches and historic sites such as the Axum Obelisk and the Al-Nejashi Mosque are rampant, as fully reported by reputed rights groups.
Mass crimes and their effects
A U.S. government leaked report published by the New York Times, confirms that the Amhara forces in the Tigray conflict, are “deliberately and efficiently rendering Western Tigray ethnically homogeneous through the organized use of force and intimidation …. Whole villages were severely damaged or completely destroyed”.
This is corroborated by several credible reports. For example, the Ethiopian Federal Government installed Interim Administration of Tigray confirmed on 4 March, 2021 that one million Tigrayans from Western Tigray are missing. Such crimes are largely, but not fully, recognised by the Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission Report of atrocities, sexual violence, looting and vandalism committed by the Amhara forces that are effectively controlling western (and southern) Tigray.
These grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws have caused the displacement of 2.2. million Tigrayans inside the region and over 60,000 fled to Sudan. Most shockingly, 4.5. million Tigrayans are facing the risk of man-made famine; despite some of the efforts made to deliver aid under international pressure and the uncheked claim of the Ethiopian government that it has delivered aid to millions of people, 80% of Tigray territory remained inaccessible to humanitarian relief and aid agencies. This dire situation, has already led to famine, and continued to alarm the United Nations.
Save the Children reported that 5000 Tigray children are either left without parents or are separated from loved ones, due to the conflict and the crimes committed by the Eritrean, federal and Amhara forces.
Terrorising, torturing, abusing and assaulting Tigrayan civilians in cities, towns and villages of Tigray is commonplace—by the Eritrean, federal and Amhara forces in violation of human rights and humanitarian norms.
he ethnic cleansing continue to be perpetrated against Tigrayans was extended, inter alia, to African Union and UN peacekeeping personnel of Tigray origin—they were assaulted in South Sudan, detained and allegedly tortured upon their forced turned from Somalia and South Sudan and the Sudan. There is also an alleged kidnapping of a serving Tigray peacekeeper from the Sudan.
Ethnic profiling, harassment, illegal arrests, searches and abuses against Tigray civilians is rampant in other parts of Ethiopia. Tens of thousands of civilians, military and police officers have been detained in several concentration camps across the country.
In addition to the misery of millions of Tigrayans inside and outside the war zone, over 100,000 Eritrean refugees have also been impacted by this senseless war; the UN condemned the abduction, murder and arrests of thousands of Eritrean refugees by the Eritrean government in violation of established international Refugee norms.
Deceit, cover up and obstruction of justice.
The Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara regional authorities are engaged in a concerted effort to obstruct global justice by intimidating victims, survivors and witnesses across Tigray; their high-ranking political leaders, ministers and diplomats are also engaged in global campaigns to quell voices of justices in the name of sovereignty and non-interference to Ethiopia’s affairs. This is clearly an abuse and using the principles as a shield–Ethiopia is killing, raping, displacing and destroying the livelihoods of its own people in partnership with Eritrea, a foreign state that should not have been involved in the conflict.
The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments were acting in bad faith by making a total denial of the full military intervention of Eritrea to the conflict in violation of the AU Constitutive Act and the UN Charter.
Despite their overdue admission of mass atrocities and Eritrea’s intervention in the last few months, they are working hard to deceive the international community by making false promises to jointly investigate the atrocious crimes they have perpetrated and the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia’s territory.
(Source: www.aigaforum.com)
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