NAIROBI —
Ethiopia on Tuesday rejected a
report by UN investigators that accused Addis Ababa of possible ongoing crimes
against humanity in its war-torn Tigray region, including using starvation as a
weapon.
اضافة اعلان
The Commission of
Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said it had found evidence of widespread
violations by all sides since fighting erupted in Tigray nearly two years ago.
This included the government of Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel laureate, and its allies who were “intentionally causing great
suffering” by denying aid to Tigray, a region of 6 million.
Kaari Betty Murungi, one of the commission’s three
independent rights experts, and its chair, said the denial of food, medicine
and basic services was “having a devastating impact on the civilian
population”.
“We have reasonable grounds to believe it amounts to
a crime against humanity,” she said on Monday following the release of the
report, the commission’s first.
“We also have reasonable grounds to believe that the
federal government is using starvation as a method of warfare.”
Ethiopia’s permanent representative to the UN in
Geneva, Zenebe Kebede, said the commission was “politically motivated” and
their conclusions were “self-contradictory and biased”.
“There is not any single evidence that shows the
government of Ethiopia used humanitarian aid as an instrument of war,” the
envoy told AFP, describing the report as “a mockery” and “rubbish”.
“Therefore we have no other option but to reject
this report.”
He said investigators had ignored atrocities by the
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ruled Ethiopia for decades
before Abiy come to power in 2018, and which
Addis Ababa considers a terrorist
group.
Fighting between government forces and their allies
and rebels led by the TPLF reignited in August after a five-month lull.
The return to the battlefield comes as diplomatic
efforts intensify to try and peacefully resolve the nearly two-year war in
Africa’s second-most populous country.
Authorities in Tigray announced this month they were
ready to participate in talks mediated by the African Union, removing an
obstacle to negotiations with Abiy’s government.
But fighting has only escalated in the weeks since, with air
strikes pounding Tigray and Ethiopia’s ally Eritrea crossing the border to join
the fight against the rebels.
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