The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Ethiopian forces and their allies of flagrant violations of human rights amidst the conflict in the Tigray region of the country.
It is understood that food supplies to support millions in need have run out as the government of Ethiopia continues its de facto blockade of the Tigray region.
Over 400,000 people are living in famine-like situations in many parts of Tigray, Ethiopia, the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a new report.
The UN agency noted in the Ethiopia – Tigray Region Humanitarian Update that the crisis situation in Tigray has spilt over to neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, increasing humanitarian needs in both regions.
Development Diaries reports that more than 1.7 million people have been displaced by fighting between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray Defence Force.
The crisis started after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional government in Tigray, attacked a key Ethiopian military base in the region.
‘In light of the decision to release the joint OHCHR and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report by 01 November, we encourage the High Commissioner to hold an intersessional briefing on Tigray as part of her global mandate before the year’s end’, the HRW said.
‘Given the gravity of the crimes committed and the range of actors involved, domestic accountability will not suffice.
‘Human Rights Council action and OHCHR’s global work needs to be sustained. We hope the joint human rights investigation will lay the foundation for an international mechanism to be established by the Human Rights Council as a matter of urgency’.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Photo source: AFP