Médecins Sans Frontières: Ethiopian troops stopped buses to execute men
The Médecins Sans Frontières medical charity says it witnessed Ethiopian soldiers executing at least four men in the country’s Tigray region. The troops allegedly killed the men after forcing them out of civilian buses.
Médecins Sans Frontières, commonly referred to as the French initials MSF, said in a statement that its staff had seen Ethiopian soldiers kill four men in a short-lived execution.
The testimony comes when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said atrocities have been reported in Tigray province, his first public recognition of possible war crimes there.
What do MSF staff testify to?
Three employees were traveling in front of two public minibuses stopped by soldiers on the way from Mekele, the regional capital, to the city of Adigrat.
“The soldiers then forced the passengers to leave the minibuses,” said Karline Kleijer, head of emergency programs for the charity, in the statement. “The men were separated from the women, who were allowed to leave. Shortly afterwards, the men were shot.” Ads by Google
Before Médecins Sans Frontières was allowed to leave the scene, it saw the victims’ bodies on the side of the road, the group said.
Médecins Sans Frontières was again stopped by soldiers not long after, and their driver was beaten with a pistol and threatened.
“Eventually, the driver was allowed to get back in the vehicle and the team was able to return to Mekele,” Kleijer said.
The Ethiopian army could not be immediately contacted for comment on the statement. What’s going on in Tigray?
The latest hostilities began after government troops entered the region in November 2020. The offensive came after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in the semi-autonomous region, attacked the army’s northern command.
Since then, concerns have grown over the humanitarian situation in the region, home to 6 million of Ethiopia’s more than 110 million people.
The United States has characterized some atrocities in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing”, accusations dismissed by Ethiopian authorities. Eritrean troops are in Tigray.
Prime Minister Abiy on Tuesday, after repeated denials from the authorities, admitted that troops from neighboring Eritrea had entered Tigray, where their presence has inflicted “damage” on the region’s residents.
“Fighting is devastating, it hurts for many, there is no doubt about it. There have been injuries happening in the Tigray region …” he added.
Ethiopia’s rights body on Tuesday supported investigations by international rights groups that Eritrean soldiers carried out a bloody massacre in the historic city of Axum in November.
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