Tuesday, June 18, 2024

በአማራ ክልል ሁለት የጎጃም ዞኖች በቀናት ልዩነት “በመንግሥት ኃይሎች” ከ20 በላይ ሰዎች መገደላቸውን ነዋሪዎች ተናገሩ

 

Bahir Dar

በአማራ ክልል ምዕራብ እና ምሥራቅ ጎጃም ዞኖች ባለፈው ሳምንት በቀናት ልዩነት ውስጥ ተፈጽሟል በተባሉ ጥቃቶች ከ20 በላይ የሚሆኑ ሰዎች መገደላቸውን ነዋሪዎች እና የዐይን እማኞች ለቢቢሲ ተናገሩ።

ጥቃቶቹ ባለፈው ሳምንት ሰኔ 7 እና 9 ቀራኒዮ እና ጂጋ በተባሉ ከተሞች እንደተፈጸሙ የተናገሩት ነዋሪዎች፤ ሁለቱም ጥቃቶች የመንግሥት ኃይሎች እና የፋኖ ታጣቂዎች ውጊያ ካደረጉ በኋላ ስለመፈጸማቸው ገልጸዋል።

እሁድ ሰኔ 9 በምዕራብ ጎጃም ዞን ጃቢጠህና ወረዳ ጂጋ ከተማ በተፈጸመው ጥቃት መምህራን እና የባንክ ቤት ሠራተኞችን ጨምሮ በርካታ ሰዎች “መረሸናቸውን” ሁለት የዐይን እማኞች እና ከተማዋን ወክለው የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የገቡት አቶ አበባው ደሳለው ተናግረዋል።

አንድ ስማቸው እንዳይጠቀስ የጠየቁ የዐይን እማኝ ከግድያው በፊት በከተማዋ ደምበጫ በር የሚባል ሰፈር አካባቢ ለ20 ደቂቃ ያህል የቆየ ውጊያ በፋኖ እና በመከላከያ ሠራዊት መካከል መደረጉን ጠቁመዋል።

ሌላ የዐይን እማኝም እንዲሁ፤ “ከደንበጫ ወደ ጂጋ የሚመጣ ሦስት ፓትሮል ነበር። የፋኖ አባላት ጥቁር ውሃ ከሚባል አካባቢ የደፈጣ ጥቃት አደረሱ” ሲሉ ለቢቢሲ ተናግረዋል።

ሃያ ደቂቃ ከቆየው የተኩስ ልውውጥ በኋላ የፋኖ ታጣቂዎች ወደ ኋላ ማፈግፈጋቸውን የተናገሩት ነዋሪው፤ ከፋኖ ማፈግፈግ በኋላ “የመከላከያ ሠራዊት አባላት በበቀል” ነዋሪዎችን መግደላቸውን አክለዋል።

ግድያው ከተፈጸመበት ቦታ በቅርብ ርቀት ላይ እንደነበሩ የተናገሩ የዐይን እማኝ፤ “ጎህ የሚባል ሆቴል ላይ ወጣቶች፣ የመንግሥት ሠራተኞች፣ የባንክ ሠራተኞችን [እና] መምህራንን [በድምሩ] 12 ሰዎችን አውጥተው በሕዝብ ፊት በአስቃቂ ሁኔታ ገደሏቸው” ሲሉ የተመለከቱትን ክስተት ለቢቢሲ ገልጸዋል።

ሁለተኛው የአካባቢ ነዋሪም በተመሳሳይ “የመከላከያ ሠራዊት መስመር ላይ ያገኘውን ጎህ የሚባል ሆቴል እራት ለመብላት የገቡትን ባንክ ቤት ሠራተኞች፤ መምህራን ያገኙት በሙሉ ረሸኑ” ብለዋል።

ሁለቱም ነዋሪዎቹ በጂጋ ከተማ የምትኖር አንዲት የአዕምሮ ህመምተኛን ጨምሮ “12 ሰዎች በመከላከያ ሠራዊት ሲገደሉ” መመልከታቸውን እና ከተመለከቱትን ጨምሮ በድምሩ 23 ሰዎች ተገድለዋል ለቢቢሲ ተናግረዋል።

በተጨማሪም ሌሎች ሁለት ግለሰቦች መቁሰላቸውን ነዋሪዎች ገልጸዋል።

ከምዕራብ ጎጃም ዞን ጂጋ ምርጫ ክልልን ወክለው የሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት አባል የሆኑት አቶ አበባው ደሳለው በበኩላቸው፤ “እስካሁን ስም ዝርዝራቸው እና ሥራቸው በእጃችን የደረሰ 13 ሟቾች አሉ፤ ሁለት ደግሞ የቆሰሉ ናቸው” ሲሉ ለቢቢሲ አረጋግጠዋል።

የምክር ቤት አባሉ አክለውም “ተጨማሪ የሟቾች ዝርዝር ይመጣል ብለን ነው የምንጠብቀው፤ የተረጋገጠ ግን የ13 ሟቾች እና የሁለት ቁስለኞች ዝርዝር አለን” ብለዋል።

“ተዋጊ ኃይሎች እርስ በእርስ ሊገዳደሉ ይችላሉ። አምነው የገቡበት ነው። የጦርነት ጨዋታ ነው እሱ። ነገር ግን ምንም ያልታጠቁ ንጹሃንን ከቤታቸው እያወጡ መረሸን አግባብነት የለውም” ብለዋል የምክር ቤት አባሉ።

አቶ አበባው አክለውም እሁድ ዕለት የተፈጸመውን ክስተት በተመለከት ለሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋች ተቋማት እና ለኤምባሲዎች በደብዳቤ እንደሚያሳውቁ ለቢቢሲ ተናግረዋል።

በሌላ በኩል በምሥራቅ ጎጃም ዞን ሁለት እጁ እነሴ ወረዳም አርብ ሰኔ 7/2016 ዓ.ም. “በመንግሥት ኃይሎች” ተፈጽሟል በተባለ ጥቃት የሰባት ሰዎች ሕይወት ሲያልፍ ሁለት ሰዎች ደግሞ መቁሰላቸውን ነዋሪዎች እና የዐይን እማኞች ተናግረዋል።

ጥቃቱ ከወረዳው ዋና ከተማ ሞጣ በ16 ኪ.ሜ ርቀት ላይ በሚገኘው ቀራኒዮ አነስተኛ ከተማ ‘ደብረ ቀራኒዮ መድኃኒያለም ቤተ-ክርስቲያን’ ቅጥር ግቢ ውስጥ ለቀብር ጉድጓድ ሲቆፍሩ ነበሩ የተባሉ እድርተኞች ላይ መፈጸሙን ለቢቢሲ ተናግረዋል።

ጥቃቱ ከመፈጸሙ አስቀድሞ በአካባቢው የመንግሥት ኃይሎች እና የፋኖ ታጣቂዎች የተኩስ ልውውጥ እያደረጉ እንደነበር የተናገሩት ነዋሪዎች፤ ጥቃቱ ተኩሱ ጋብ ማለቱን ተከትሎ ጠዋት 3፡00 ላይ መፈጸሙን አመልክተዋል።

የቤተ-ክርስቲያኒቷ አገልጋይ የሆኑ አንድ የዐይን እማኝ ተፋላሚ ኃይሎቹ ተኩስ ልውውጥ ማድረግ ሲጀምሩ ወደ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ውስጥ መግባታቸውን ገልጸው፤ መቃብር ሲቆፍሩ የነበሩ እድርተኞች ግን ቁፋሮ ላይ እያሉ እርሳቸው “መከላከያ” ባሏቸው ኃይሎች ስለመገደላቸው ገልጸዋል።

የመንግሥት ኃይሎች መጠጋታቸውን ተከትሎ “የሥላሴ ቅዳሴ” ላይ የነበረው ምዕመን ወደ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ውስጥ እንዲገባ ማድረጋቸውን የተናገሩት አገልጋዩ፤ መቃብር ቆፋሪዎቹ ግን “‘እኛ መቃብር ነው የምንቆፍረው ንጹሃን ነን፤ ምንም አንሆንም’ ብለው ሲቆፍሩ” የጥቃቱ ሰለባ እንደሆኑ እማኝነታቸውን ተናግረዋል።

“የሆነች ሴትዮ ሞታ ኑሯል፤ ሕዝቡ ተሰባስቦ የባለእግዚያብሔር እድር ነበር የእሷን መቃብር እየቆፈሩ ነው [ጥቃቱ የደረሰው]። እንዲያ ሲታኮሱ ቆይተው መጥተው ሲያያቸው [መቃብር ቆፋሪዎቹን] ምን እንዳሰቡ እንጃ እዳሪ [ከመቃብር ቤት ውጭ] ያሉትንም፤ ቤት ያሉትንም ገድለዋቸው ነው የሄዱት” ሲሉ ስለ ግድያው ተናግረዋል።

ሌላ ነዋሪም አንድ በእድሜ የገፉ መነኩሴን ለመቅበር መቃብር እየቆፈሩ የነበሩ እድርተኞች ላይ ጥቃቱ መፈጸሙን ገልጸዋል።

አምስቱ ሰዎች ወዲያውኑ ሕይታቸው ሲያልፍ፤ አንዱ ሆስፒታል ከሄደ በኋላ እንዲሁም አንድ የቆሎ ተማሪ ደግሞ ከቤተ-ክርስቲያን ወጣ ባለ አካባቢ ተገድሎ መገኘቱን ተናግረዋል።

ጥቃቱን “አሰቃቂ ጭፍጨፋ” ሲሉ የገለጹት የአካባቢው ነዋሪ፤ አስከሬን ለማንሳት ወዲያው ወደ ቤተ-ክርስቲያኒቷ ቅጥር ጊቢ መድረሳቸውን ተናግረዋል።

“ስንሄድ አምስት ሰዎች አንድ ላይ ተገድለዋል። ስድስተኛው የሞተው በኋላ ላይ ነው። ጭንቅላቱ አካባቢ ላይ ነው የተመታው። ስለዚህ ነፍስ ስለነበረው እሱን ለማዳን ቅድሚያ ለእሱ ትኩረት ሰጥተን አነሳነው” ብለዋል።

ሦስት ሰዎች ቆስለው ቀራኒዮ ጤና ጣቢያ ለህክምና መግባታቸውን ለቢቢሲ ያረጋገጡ አንድ የህክምና ባለሙያ፤ ጭንቅላቱ ላይ የቆሰለው ታካሚ ሕይወቱ ከሰዓት በኋላ ማለፉን ገልጸዋል።

“ሁለቱ እጃቸውን፤ አንዱ ጭንቅላቱን ነው የተመታው። ለሞጣ ሪፈር ብለነው [ጭንቅላቱን የተመታው] ሞጣ ሲደርስ ሕይወቱ አለፈ” ሲሉ የህክምና ተቋም ምንጩ ተናግረዋል።

የጥቃቱ ሰለባዎች በጉልበት ሥራ ይተዳደሩ የነበሩ ሰዎች መሆናቸውን የተናገሩት ነዋሪዎች እድርተኛ በመሆናቸው ኃላፊነታቸውን ለመወጣት ቁፋሮ ላይ የነበሩ መሆናቸውን አመልክተዋል።

“በአብዛኛው ደካማ [ኑሮ የሚኖሩ]፣ እንጨት የሚፈልጡ፣ ረዳት ሆነው ቋጠሮ የሚሸከሙ፣ ጭቃ የሚያቦኩ ሰዎች ናቸው የተገደሉት” ሲሉ አንድ ነዋሪ ስለ ሟቾቹ ማንነት ተናግረዋል።

የመንግሥት ኃይሎች “ምሽግ ትቆፍራላችሁ” በሚል ጥርጣሬ ግድያውን እንደተፈጸሙ አስከሬን ተጭኗቸው በሕይወት መትረፍ ከቻሉ ሰዎች መረዳታቸውን የደብሩ አገልጋይ ተናግረዋል።

ጥቃት አድራሹ “መከላከያ” ለመሆኑ በምን እርግጠኛ እንደሆኑ ለቢቢሲ የተናገሩት ነዋሪዎች፤ በለበሱት የደንብ ልብስ፣ በሚያሽከረክሩት መኪና እንዲሁም በአካባቢው ሲንቀሳሰቀሱ የሚያውቋቸው በመሆናቸው እንደሆነ ገልጸዋል።

የሟቾቹ ቀብር የዚያኑ ቀን መፈጸሙን ነዋሪዎች የተናገሩ ሲሆን፤ አምስቱ ሰዎች በአንድ ጉድጓድ ውስጥ መቀበራቸውን ተናግረዋል።

“. . . ተመልሰው መጥተው ይመቱናል የሚል ስጋት ነበር። ‘ይመለሳሉ፤ አሁን መጡ’ የሚል ስጋትም ነበር” በማለት በአንድ ጉድጓድ ለመቅበር መገደዳቸውን ገልጸዋል።

ጥቃቱን ተከትሎ በአካባቢው ስጋት ማደሩን የተናገሩት ነዋሪዎች፤ በቀራኒዮ የገበያ ቀን የሆነውን ቅዳሜን ጨምሮ ግብይትና እንቅስቃሴ እንደሌለ ተናግረዋል።

አንድ ዓመት ሊሞላው በተቃረበው የአማራ ክልል አለመረጋጋት፣ በመከላከያ ሠራዊት እና በፋኖ ታጣቂዎች መካከል በሚካሄዱ ግጭቶች ሰላማዊ ሰዎች ሰለባ መሆናቸውን የኢትዮጵያ ሰብአዊ መብቶች ኮሚሽንን ጨምሮ የተለያዩ የመብት ተቋማት የሚያወጧቸው ሪፖርቶች ያመለክታሉ።

Source: https://www.bbc.com/amharic/articles/cg33wypl722o

ጋዜጠኛ በቃሉ አላምረው፣ በላይ ማናዬ እና ቴዎድሮስ ዘርፉ ከእስር ተፈቱ

 ጋዜጠኛ በቃሉ አላምረው፣ በላይ ማናዬ እና ቴዎድሮስ ዘርፉ ከእስር ተፈቱ

ለፌደራል የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ፍርድ ቤት “አካልን ነጻ የማውጣት” አቤቱታ ያቀረቡት ሶስት ጋዜጠኞች ከእስር ተፈቱ። ዛሬ እና ከትላንት በስቲያ ቅዳሜ ከእስር የተፈቱት ጋዜጠኞች በቃሉ አላምረው፣ በላይ ማናዬ፣ ቴዎድሮስ ዘርፉ ናቸው።
ሶስቱ ጋዜጠኞች የፌደራል ፖሊስ “ሕገ መንግስታዊ መብታቸውን በመጣስ በእስር እንዲቆዩ” ማድረጉን በመጥቀስ ለፍርድ ቤት አቤቱታ ያቀረቡት ባለፈው ሳምንት ነበር። ከአቤቱታ አቅራቢዎች አንዱ የሆነው ጋዜጠኛ በላይ ከእስር የተፈታው፤ ዛሬ ሰኞ ሰኔ 10፤ 2016 ከሰዓት መሆኑን ባለቤቱ በላይነሽ ንጋቱ ለ“ኢትዮጵያ ኢንሳይደር” ተናግራለች።
“ኢትዮ ኒውስ” የተሰኘው የበይነ መረብ መገናኛ ብዙኃን መስራች እና አዘጋጅ የሆነው ጋዜጠኛ በላይ፤ በህዳር 2016 በፖሊስ ቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለው በኋላ ለሰባት ወራት በአዋሽ አርባ ወታደራዊ ካምፕ በእስር ላይ ቆይቷል። ጋዜጠኛው ባለፈው ግንቦት ወር አዲስ አበባ ወደሚገኘው የፌደራል ፖሊስ የወንጀል ምርመራ ቢሮ መዘዋወሩ ይታወሳል።
አስር ወራትን በአዋሽ አርባ ወታደራዊ ካምፕ በእስር ያሳለፈው ሌላኛው ጋዜጠኛ ቴዎድሮስ፤ ባለፈው አርብ ሰኔ 7፤ 2016 ወደ አዲስ አበባ እንዲመጣ ከተደረገ በኋላ በማግስቱ ከእስር መለቀቁን ለ“ኢትዮጵያ ኢንሳይደር” ገልጿል። “ምኒልክ” እና “ዓባይ”በተሰኙ የበይነ መረብ እና የሳተላይት ቴሌቪዥን ቻናሎች ላይ በፖለቲካ ጉዳዮች ላይ ያተኮረ ፕሮግራም ያዘጋጅ የነበረው ቴዎድሮስ፤ በፖሊስ ቁጥር ስር የዋለው የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ አዋጅ በፓርላማ ከጸደቀ ከአንድ ሳምንት በኋላ ነበር።
 ጋዜጠኛ በቃሉ አላምረው፣ በላይ ማናዬ እና ቴዎድሮስ ዘርፉ ከእስር ተፈቱ


Jiga, Ethiopia : Government Forces Reportedly Execute 25 Civilians in Following Ambush Loss

 In the latest string of known extrajudicial executions of civilians, the Ethiopian government soldiers reportedly massacred 25 civilians in Jiga, West Gojam, Amhara region of Ethiopia. 

Residents and Fano forces from the area have confirmed the incident to Ethiopian News outlets based in the United States. The Amhara Association of America (AAA) – an organization whose mission is “to advance the political & humanitarian interests of the Amhara people of Ethiopia,” has confirmed the story. 

In a social media update, it said, “AAA has learned that today (June 17, 2024) Abiy regime forces carried out a massacre against unarmed civilians in Jiga town of Jabi-Tehnan Woreda (West Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia). According to sources, regime forces, particularly riot dispersal forces, targeted civilians in a local hotel, dragging young men out from the hotel before shooting them dead near the entrance. At least 11 people were killed but some sources have reported death tolls of 20 and higher.” 

Ethiopian Media Service (EMS) spoke on the phone to a resident from Jiba who happened to be an eyewitness to the latest tragedy unfolding in the region.

On June 16, government forces suffered severe losses to an Ambush attack from Fano forces in the Berkegne locality near Jiga.  The incident prompted a retreat to Jiga town where they dragged dozens of people from Goh hotel in the town, ordered them to kneel down and executed them, according to Ethiopian sources. It happened around 6: 00 p.m. on Sunday. 

Eleven of the victims are said to be bankers including Abyssinia Bank Branch Manager in the town who is identified as Zemen. Six  four of the victims are high school teachers in the town and six others are public servants in different offices. 

Government forces have also reportedly killed a woman who was known in the town as having a mental health problem and a homeless person. 

The Ethiopian government has been denying stories of extrajudicial executions including those verified by human rights organizations in the country and abroad. At this writing, the government did not remark about Jiga executions. 

In January this year, government forces massacred over 80 civilians in Merawi – also in the Gojam area of the Amhara region. The execution was reported to be a vengeance for battle loss in the town. 

Source: https://borkena.com/2024/06/17/jiga-ethiopia-government-forces-reportedly-execute-25-civilians-in-following-ambush-loss/

Judge grants request from families of Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 MAX crash victims to share confidential docs with DOJ

 A federal magistrate judge in Chicago on Monday granted a request from families of victims of the 2019 Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 MAX crash to provide the U.S. Department of Justice confidential documents and testimony obtained in their civil lawsuit against Boeing. The families contend the information they want to share with federal prosecutors supports "holding Boeing criminally liable" beyond the single criminal charge -- conspiracy to defraud the United States -- which formed the basis of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) between the government and Boeing in 2021.


Tracy Brammeier, an attorney for the victims' families, said at the hearing in federal court that the documents they want the DOJ to review include exhibits to depositions of various Boeing employees that were taken in the civil case and some limited excerpts of testimony.

"The families are asking for the opportunity to discuss freely … the criminal behavior, or behavior that the families argue is criminal, with the DOJ," Brammeier said.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the Air Boeing 737 MAX, crashed near Addis Ababa airport just six minutes after takeoff, killing all on board in 2019.

It was the second crash involving a Boeing 737 Max within five months. In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 was airborne for only 13 minutes before it plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia. A total of 346 people died in both accidents.

Last month, prosecutors informed Boeing that the company had allegedly breached the terms of the DPA, by failing to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."

The DOJ's determination -- which came about four months after the door plug of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 blew out mid-flight -- effectively mooted the DPA and opened up Boeing to possible prosecution on the original charge or "for any federal criminal violation of which the United States has knowledge," according to a DOJ letter sent last month to U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who presides over the criminal case. The DOJ said it is still considering how it intends to proceed and will make its determination on or before July 7.

Boeing has disputed the DOJ's finding of a breach.

"We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue," the company said in a statement in May.

Three previous requests from the families to share the documents with DOJ were turned down by the court. In seeking permission to share the materials now, attorneys for the families provided the court with a letter from Glenn Leon, Chief of DOJ's Fraud Section, indicating the department's willingness to meet with the families to discuss the documents.

"You may represent to the district court overseeing the civil action that the Fraud Section is willing to meet with the families and counsel to entertain such evidence," Leon wrote, while cautioning that the department's support "should not be understood to express a view on the part of the Department about whether Boeing will be prosecuted or, if prosecuted, whether any charge or charges beyond the one count in the Criminal Information would be warranted."

In reaching his decision, Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman cited the DOJ's letter and the recently changed circumstances surrounding Boeing's alleged violations of the DPA.

"In totality, and in isolation, each of those reasons, I think, establish the good cause necessary to modify the protective order" to allow the families to share the documents with prosecutors, Weisman said.

Before Weisman granted the families' request, Dan Webb, an attorney for Boeing, argued that modifying the confidentiality order in the civil case was unnecessary, because prosecutors have other means of obtaining information they want from the company. "The government has substantial resources to do that through … the grand jury process and other investigative tools," Webb said at the hearing.

"If DOJ simply brings it to us, we'll produce the documents to DOJ pursuant to a grand jury subpoena or the investigative tools that DOJ wants to use, now that we know they're interested in it," Webb added.

Under Weisman's order, lawyers for the families will be required to inform Boeing of the specific documents they intend to share with the DOJ. Boeing will be given three days to lodge any objections if they believe the documents contain commercial trade secrets or classified information.

Brammeier, the families' attorney, acknowledged that the DOJ may already possess some of the documents, but she said the families have been prohibited from being able to discuss the information with prosecutors because of the confidentiality order in the civil case

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more here: https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-grants-request-families-ethiopian-air-boeing-737/story?id=111199745

Monday, June 17, 2024

Conflict killed 1,106 in Amhara, Oromia in 2023: UN human rights agency

 State actors responsible for 70 pct of nearly 600 incidents

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has published a new report on the details of conflicts that took place in Ethiopia in 2023 and saw the killings of 1,106 people in the Amhara and Oromia regions alone.

UN human rights agency

The report published this week recounts there were at least 4,879 people placed under arrest across 16 detention centers or sites as part of the state of emergency declared in August 2023. OHCHR advocacy contributed to the release of 1,132 people arbitrarily detained by the end of December 2023, according to the report.

Despite significant improvements in the human rights situation in Tigray following the cessation of hostilities agreement in late 2022, the report cites that Ethiopia continued to face a “challenging” human rights situation in 2023, with Amhara and Oromia most affected by violent clashes and conflicts.

OHCHR reports the prevalence of arbitrary deprivations of the right to life, physical integrity, arbitrary arrests and detention, sexual violence, breaches of freedoms of association, expression, of movement, as well as abductions and enforced disappearances. The report notes that arbitrary arrests and detentions were the most common violations, followed by killings of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, and attacks on civilian property.

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Overall, 594 incidents of human rights violations and abuses impacting 8,253 victims (of whom at least 343 were women) were recorded in 2023, a 55.9 percent increase from 2022. State actors were allegedly responsible for 70 percent of the violations, while non-state actors accounted for 22.3 percent (133 incidents) of which 25 incidents were specifically attributed to the Eritrean Defence Forces.

The report reveals that 740 people in the Amhara region and 366 in Oromia were killed across 160 incidents in 2023. It also highlights the use of drones by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) resulted in disproportionate levels of civilian casualties, with 18 registered drone strikes that caused 248 civilian deaths and injured 55 between 4 August and 31 December 2023.

Following the declaration of the state of emergency, high numbers of arbitrary arrests, predominantly of ethnic Amhara people in different parts of the country, were documented. Cases of sexual violence, including conflict related (CRSV), were also recorded but remained generally underreported, according to OHCHR.

In 2023, the agency conducted a total of 600 monitoring missions, including 202 to detention facilities. Further to its monitoring and verification methodology, it observed locations where violations and abuses had allegedly occurred, spoke to victims and witnesses, and engaged with authorities and civil society with focus on the Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions.

OHCHR also documented nine incidents that caused the forced or arbitrary displacement of close to 43,000 victims in 2023.

The report notes the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement personnel, including police brutality, and other ill-treatment during detention remained of concern, with instances of torture or ill-treatment reported within police detention centers. Out of the 346 victims of torture or inhuman treatment documented in 2023, the highest number of cases were registered in Addis Ababa and in the Somali region, with 160 and 126 victims respectively, perpetrated by state actors.

In 2023, 28 incidents of mainly civilian properties looted and destroyed were recorded, resulting in the destruction of 2,494 private houses, with looting of five private houses, nine vehicles, 1,357 livestock, one hospital, 15 buildings and shops, and 26 private properties in Afar, Amhara, Central Ethiopia, Oromia and Tigray regions. The main perpetrators include the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), Fano militia, the EDF, ENDF and the Tigray forces. The EDF, in particular, had looted livestock in areas in Tigray region falling within its control with at least eight incidents impacting 1,190 livestock recorded.

OHCHR reports the state of emergency declared in late 2023 suspended judicial review of detentions, leading to widespread arbitrary arrests not only in Amhara but also in other parts of the country. It estimates that drone attacks carried out by ENDF resulted in at least 248 civilian deaths in the Amhara region between August and December 2023. The drone strikes also destroyed vital facilities such as schools and hospitals, as well as private homes.

The report notes that both the government and OLA are implicated in at least 188 incidents of violations and abuses including killings, destruction of property, rape, and abductions in Oromia in 2023. OHCHR highlights that the failure of negotiations between OLA and the federal government in November 2023 was followed by a spike in killings, injuries, abductions, sexual violence, movement restrictions, and destruction of property as well as heavier militarization in Oromia.

The report reveals the killing of 29 people and scores of injuries as a result of intercommunal violence between the Somali and Oromo communities over the reporting period.

OHCHR says responsibility for human rights violations and abuses in the Tigray region was largely shared by the EDF and Amhara forces (Amhara Regional Police, state affiliated militia, and Selam Askebari), and, to a lesser extent, the Fano militia. Meanwhile, the Tigray Regional Police, which was still being reconstituted, was also alleged to have perpetrated some violations.

The report urged federal and regional governments to stop hostilities including using drone strikes, ensure peaceful resolution, ensure accountability and judicial oversight, and embark on inclusive transitional justice.

OHCHR also recommended that the government of Eritrea undertake an impartial investigation into reported violations by EDF in Ethiopia and hold alleged perpetrators to account. It called for the withdrawal of all Eritrean troops from Ethiopian territory and the cessation of incursions into Ethiopia.

The report urged the Fano militia to seek to engage in a meaningful political process towards resolution of the conflict.

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