ADDIS ABABA: Amnesty International has accused Eritrean troops allied with Ethiopia’s government of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Tigray, western media reported on Tuesday.
United States sanctioned Eritrea in 2021 for sending troops into Tigray to assist Ethiopia’s federal forces, with its soldiers accused of rape, killings and looting during the two-year war.
In November 2022 a deal between Ethiopia’s government and Tigrayan rebels was signed calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces from the region.
Eritrea was not a party to the deal; however, its troops continue to be present in border areas.
Amnesty International interviewed 49 people in May and June in the border districts of Mariam Shewito and Kokob Tsibah to evaluate the situation.
Brutality against civilians continue in Tigray
Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s East and Southern Africa director has said that despite the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, brutality against civilians in Tigray continue with Eritrean soldiers.
Some women were raped inside the Eritrean army camps while others were assaulted and kept prisoner in their own homes.
Amnesty also recorded execution of 24 civilians, including one woman, between November 2022 and January 2023.
The human rights body urged the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia to investigate the allegations.
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Amnesty called on the UN’s Human Rights Council to revise the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia next week.
In its first report published last September the commission said it had found evidence of extensive violations by all sides and blamed Ethiopia and Eritrea of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ethiopia has been rejecting international efforts to probe abuses linked with the war in Tigray.
During rare press conference in Kenya this year, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki rejected allegations of rights abuses by Eritrean troops in Tigray.
