Atrocities in Ethiopia's Tigray Region

As of 2023, Tigray, the northernmost region in Ethiopia, was involved in an ongoing civil dispute involving regional militias, the Ethiopian government, and the military from northern neighbor Eritrean. Civil war and its effects have been present in the region since September 2020. Thousands of people have died, and millions of others were forced out of their homes. Tigray was also facing a food shortage, which worsened due to the inability of aid workers to get access to those who needed food the most. In addition to free speech being curtailed, atrocities were reported in the region. These included ethnic cleansing, rape, and torture.

Background

The conflict in Ethiopia pitted the Ethiopian military, ethnic militias, and troops from Eritrea against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which began in the 1970s as a militia fighting against Ethiopia’s Marxist military dictatorship. The TPLF dominated leadership coalitions for many years at the national level, despite the Tigrayan people being an ethnic minority in Ethiopia. Tigrayans include 7 percent of the Ethiopian population, while two of the largest ethnic groups—the Oromo and the Amhara—make up more than 60 percent. The Marxist government was overthrown in 1991 and the Tigrayans controlled Ethiopia for the next twenty-seven years.

President Meles Zenawi took over as Ethiopia was booming economically and the nation aligned with the United States. He became prime minister in 1995 and served until his death in 2012. Zenawi saw Ethiopia through a time of tremendous progress and secured aid from the United States and the United Kingdom (UK). He also participated in the negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan following their 2011 split. Zenawi also backed the peacekeeping missions in Sudan. After his death, the TPLF saw its power weaken. Anti-government protests began in 2016 and Abiy Ahmed took power as prime minister in 2018. Abiy fostered a new relationship with President Isaias Afwerki of neighboring Eritrea, which had poor relations with the Tigrayans. As a result, Abiy and Isaias signed a peace deal ending twenty years of conflict. Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Abiy sought to diminish the power that the TPLF had because it created tension between him and the Tigrayan leaders. In September 2020, the Tigrayans held regional elections to defy Abiy, who postponed voting across Ethiopia because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the TPLF attacked a military base in Tigray, propelling the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments into war. The two parties were involved in the conflict through November 2022 when a peace deal was worked out. Officials believe the war has claimed the lives of nearly six hundred thousand civilians.

Overview

In September 2022, investigators with backing from the United Nations (UN) said they found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides in the conflict—the Ethiopian government forces and Eritrea’s military, and the Tigray forces. The Commission of Inquiry on Ethiopia also said the government forces of Ethiopia had starved civilians as a war tactic, and Ethiopian and Eritrean forces committed sexual slavery. The commission also noted that the government of Ethiopia has not allowed telecommunications, electricity, banking, and access to humanitarian aid to go to the Tigrayans. The government was also found to have committed crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence. Ethnic cleansing was also believed to have been taking place in western Tigray. In November 2022, Ethiopia and the TPLF ended the war with a peace agreement. The Ethiopian federal government promised to restore Tigray’s services and stop blocking access for aid agencies. The TPLF agreed to demobilize its armed forces. The implementation of the deal was to be monitored by a team of experts overseen by the African Union (AU), a group of fifty-five member states, which brokered the deal.

In March 2023, the United States concluded in a report that all parties were guilty of war crimes. The report had no direct US policy implication, but it gave weight to previous allegations regarding crimes committed and calls for prosecution. On his visit to Ethiopia, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said all parties must acknowledge the atrocities and be held accountable for them. He also gave credence to the progress made in the peace deal that ended the Tigray conflict. Blinken did not mention any changes to Ethiopia’s part in a US trade program. During the war, the US government restricted economic and security assistance to Ethiopia and cut access to the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a program that boosted the nation’s textile industry. He announced a $331 million aid package that was designed to repair relations that were damaged during the two-year war. These funds were not focused on a group or a region, and increased the amount of US aid to Ethiopia to more than $780 million in 2023.

It was estimated that more than twenty million people needed humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia. As of June 2023, the halting of humanitarian aid that began in Tigray had started to affect the rest of Ethiopia. International food assistance to Tigray was suspended for more than two months pending an investigation into reports of theft and diversion. The risk, if the suspension of food aid was to continue, was that an entire nation of more than one hundred million people could be affected. Also, that area was facing one of the worst droughts in decades. The amount of stolen food aid was enough to feed 134,000 people for a month. The food, which was bound for needy people, was being sold in markets or stacked at commercial flour mills. The UN World Food Programme hoped to restart distributing food assistance as early as July 2023. An investigation into the thefts by Tigrayan officials found that regional and federal government officials and Eritrean soldiers were involved. The Ethiopian army has denied any involvement. Out of 186 suspects, seven have been apprehended as of June 2023.

Bibliography

Keaten, Jamey. “UN Experts Detail Extensive War Crimes Amid Tigray Conflict.” Associated Press, 22 Sept. 2022, apnews.com/article/health-united-nations-africa-ethiopia-eritrea-dcb992b8389069490c8b44357500cabe. Accessed 22 June 2023.

Neuman, Scott. “9 Things to Know about the Unfolding Crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region.” NPR, 5 Mar. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/05/973624991/9-things-to-know-about-the-unfolding-crisis-in-ethiopias-tigray-region. Accessed 21 June 2023.

Ogao, Emma, and Ellie Kaufman. “Ethnic Cleansing Continues in Tigray, Despite Truce Agreement: Report.” ABC News, 6 June 2023, abcnews.go.com/International/ethnic-cleansing-continues-tigray-despite-truce-agreement-report/story?id=99791857. Accessed 21 June 2023.

Paravicini, Giulia. “Many Culprits Stole Food Aid in North Ethiopia, Investigation Finds.” Reuters, 18 June 2023, www.reuters.com/world/africa/many-culprits-stole-food-aid-north-ethiopia-investigation-finds-2023-06-15/. Accessed 22 June 2023.

Walsh, Declan, and Abdi Latif Dahir. “Why Is Ethiopia at War with Itself?” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2022, www.nytimes.com/article/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-explained.html. Accessed 21 June 2023.”