Ethiopia Today: Report: Massacres of Ethnic Amharas in Ethiopia Continued Unabated in 2021

Amhara Association of America

Report: Massacres of Ethnic Amharas in Ethiopia Continued Unabated in 2021

May 27, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 3,308 ethnic Amhara civilians were killed in targeted massacres across Ethiopia between January 1st and December 31st of 2021, according to a new investigative report by the Amhara Association of America (AAA). More than 7,259 cases of human rights violations against Amharas, excluding millions of Amharas who have been displaced or whose property rights have been violated, are documented in the report. These include 3,308 killings; 1,252 injuries; 1,009 cases of rape; 111 arbitrary arrests; 62 cases of abduction and forced evictions that impacted at least 1,517 people.

Compiled through in-person and phone interviews of survivors, their relatives, and eyewitnesses, AAA’s annual report paints a grim picture of explicit and systemic human rights violations against the Amhara people. Articles and statements by Ethiopian human rights organizations and media outlets support AAA’s ground investigations.

Rebel and armed groups fighting the Ethiopian government were responsible for majority of the civilian casualties (4,320 civilian casualties including 3,133 killed and 1,165 injured). Of these, militias of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) were responsible for 2,490 killings, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) was responsible for 1,688 of the casualties, Gumuz militiasfor 101, and Sheko militias for 19 causalities. In addition to the thousands of Amhara civilians killed and wounded in attacks by non-state actors and regional security forces, the report documents:

TEMESGEN DESALEGNE ARRESTED AS ABIY AHMED’S GOV’T

• Government forces were responsible for 86 of the civilian casualties: 37 by the Oromia Special Forces, 46 by the Amhara region security forces, two by ENDF, and one by Benishangul-Gumuz region security forces. Government forces were responsible for at least 111 arbitrary and unlawful arrest cases during the reporting period: the large majority (107) in the Oromia region and fourin the Amhara region.

• The Addis Ababa City Administration forcibly and violently evicted more than 1,517 ethnic Amhara residents from their homes in Addis Ababa in brazen disregard of the appropriate legal and procedural safeguards, including prior and adequate consultation, adequate notice, and the provision of compensation and/or alternative housing.

• All documented rapes (1,009) were committed by TPLF militias in the Amhara region. • OLA accounted for all documented abduction cases (62) recorded in the Oromia (61) and Benishangul Gumuz regions (1).

The remaining casualties were attributed to the Sudan Defense Forces (13), local Oromo youth (3), and unidentified militias (160). • AAA estimates that at least five million Amharas were forced to flee their homes due to violence throughout 2021 amidst the COVID-19 threat The full report can be accessed here.

This annual report by no means asserts to be a comprehensive report on all atrocities committed against Amharas. Rather it is a compendium of AAA’s reports on selected areas that AAA was able to have access and investigate. AAA believes the actual atrocities committed against Amharas is much higher than documented in this annual report. As such, AAA will continue to lobby for an independent investigation of the genocidal acts committed against Amharas across all of Ethiopia.

Targeted violence against Amhara civilians has been a reoccurring issue in Ethiopia over the past thirty years. However, under the current administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Prosperity Party, massacres against Amharas have increased in both frequency and recorded number of victims. AAA’s report identifies the OLA with support from Oromia regional security forces and government officials and TPLF as the main perpetrators of the massacres within the Oromia and Amhara regions, respectively.

Additional killings were carried out by Gumuz militants and Amhara regional forces in Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara region, respectively. Unfortunately, the Ethiopian Government has yet to acknowledge and comprehensively respond to the growing Amhara massacre crisis. In addition, domestic and international human rights organizations have not conducted comprehensive investigations into the massacres, leading to scant attention by international media or policymakers.

AAA’s annual report comes in the wake of mass killings and arrests across the Amhara Region and Addis Ababa by Prime Minister Abiy and his government. The Amharas targeted in this crackdown include over 30 Amhara opposition political party members, at least 12 journalists, university lecturers, students, activists, ex-officials, and government employees critical of the Abiy regime. Amharas accuse the federal and regional governments of ignoring the violence, not ensuring the protection of Amhara civilians, and taking no steps to prosecute regional officials who have been implicated in many of the massacres.

“As revealed in our report, genocidal acts of Amharas have become a frequent occurrence in Amhara, Oromia, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions. Amharas are under siege from both government security forces and armed groups. The continued atrocities and repression by both state and non-state actors cannot continue to be ignored.” said Tewodrose (Ted) Tirfe, Chairman of AAA.

“Sadly, the Amhara people’s pleas to the international community have been ignored by human rights organizations and western governments. AAA is doing this documentation because no human rights organization in Ethiopia or abroad, is documenting and monitoring the systematic and recurrent violence against Amharas. The failure by the international actors to pay attention to Ethiopia’s human rights crisis and instability in a holistic manner including how the ethnic federalism system created the recurrent violence in the country will have long term repercussions” said Hone Mandefro, Advocacy Director for AAA.

AAA implores American policymakers, legislators, and international organizations to explicitly condemn the targeted massacres of Amhara civilians. AAA also calls upon human rights organizations, media outlets that report on Ethiopia, and the United Nations to conduct investigation of the massacres in order to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring justice to the victims.

Media Contact: Tewodrose (Ted) Tirfe, Chairman, Amhara Association of America Tewodrose.Tirfe@amharaamerica.org

Hone Mandefro, Advocacy Director, Amhara Association of America Hone.Mandefro@amharaamerica.org

About AAA: The Amhara Association of America (AAA) is a nonprofit organization that represents the Ethiopian Amhara diaspora in the United States. Visit www.amharaamerica.org for more information.