A massacre of Ethiopians belonging to the Amhara ethnic group, arrests of Tigrayans … The conflict in Ethiopia can quickly get out of control, warns the UN, which fears many casualties, destruction and massive population movements. According to some NGOs and refugees, the atrocities in Tigray are intensifying. In addition, Ethiopia accuses Tigray’s forces of firing rockets at night from Friday to Saturday at the Amhara region.
With our correspondents in Addis Ababa, Noé Rochet-Bodin and in Khartoum, Eliott Brachet
It has now been eleven days since the fighting took place in the province of Tigray, in the north of the country. Observers fear a large-scale war that is developing in silence and out of sight since the closure of telecommunications.
Following the Mai-Kadra massacre earlier this week attributed to Tigrayan soldiers, refugees in Sudan also reported atrocities, abuses, violence between ethnic groups and civilians who fell under the bombing of government forces.
The UN is worried about the voice of its High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who is talking about possible war crimes. She reiterated her call for a ceasefire, as did Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. But the fighting continues in the north. Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen even believes that the victory will be very quick.
With these massacres, observers fear an escalation of tensions between ethnic groups. In a report quoted by Reuters, the World Food Program said that Ethiopian police asked it to submit a list of its employees of Tigrayan origin. False, according to the government, which claims to have wanted to arrest TPLF agents infiltrated into international organizations. Identity checks are also very thorough at Addis Ababa’s airport. Several sources report checks on ethnic grounds that have already led to the refusal to leave the territory for several individuals.
The African Union fired its security chief on Wednesday at the request of the Ethiopian government. The Tigrayan general would be disloyal to the government. The request was approved by UA within 24 hours.
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The emigration of Ethiopian civilians to Sudan continues
For two days, fighting in the Tigray region has not been heard on Sudan’s side. But refugees continue to flow every day at the border. In less than a week, they are around 15,000 for having passed it. And according to the UN refugee agency, almost half are children. In emergencies, NGOs set up some tents. But many sleep in makeshift shelters or on the ground.
The Sudanese authorities do not want them to settle so close to the border. They decided to move them 70 kilometers south to the Um Rakuba camp. The Sudanese Red Crescent is working hard to prepare the ground. The UN has offered charter aircraft to transport them, but the Red Crescent team says it would be extremely difficult to land them nearby. It is still possible to transfer them by road, some are already on the road, but the journey would take about ten hours on uneven roads.
On the Ethiopian side, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assured that he would regain control of the border area and called on the refugees to return to the country. But that does not stop the emigration of part of the Ethiopian population to Sudan, who fear that up to 200,000 refugees will have to be received in the coming weeks.
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