Three Ethiopian soldiers convicted of rape and another for killing a civilian and dozens of others accused of similar acts. The Ethiopian prosecutor has published an overview of ongoing investigations into human rights violations in Tigray. The northern province of the country has been ravaged by a war for more than six months and calls from the international community asking Ethiopia to shed light on the crimes in Tigray are becoming increasingly important.
as reported from Addis Ababa, Noé Rochet-Bodin
In addition to the four convicted Ethiopian soldiers, there are currently fifty-three soldiers under investigation, including twenty-eight for murder and twenty-five for rape.
The prosecutor is not just pointing to the Ethiopian federal troops. He also condemned the behavior of the Eritrean soldiers, who have been present in large numbers in the Tigray region for six months. The troops from Asmara are at the center of the accusations formulated by the international community.
On November 28 and 29, a river of fire fell on Aksum, a holy city in northern Tigray. Eritrean troops have killed more than 200 civilians, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The report by the Advocate General of the Republic of Ethiopia indicates the figure of 110 people allegedly killed by the Eritrean army, a mass punishment in the form of collective punishment, in retaliation for an attack carried out by Tigray’s forces in the TPLF against a camp of Eritrean soldiers.
The prosecutor assures that the suspects will be prosecuted, but does not specify whether Eritrean soldiers could also fall under Ethiopian jurisdiction. It does not specify the degree of cooperation between the authorities in Asmara that has currently been silent on this issue.
After several weeks, the United States and the European Union have called for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray. A withdrawal promised by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, but still not achieved on the ground.
While the prosecutor has published his findings, an independent investigation is currently underway in Tigray, led by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the United Nations.
Read also: The massacre in Aksum in Tigray: for Ethiopia, the victims were warriors
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