Amnesty accuses Ethiopian military of 'extrajudicial executions' in Amhara region
According to the agency, the soldiers also assaulted and threatened health workers at gunpoint at a health centre.
Amnesty International has accused the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) of carrying out "extrajudicial executions" of civilians in the Amhara region, and, in some instances, denying family members the right to bury their loved ones.
In a Monday briefing titled "We Thought They Would Fight with Those They Came to Fight-Extra-judicial Executions in Bahir Dar by ENDF Soldiers," Amnesty details how Ethiopian soldiers carried out extrajudicial executions of six civilians in the Abune Hara and Lideta neighbourhoods of Kebele 14 area on August 8, 2023.
More To Read
- Ethiopia, Dangote Group ink Sh323 billion deal to build fertiliser complex in Somali region
- Amnesty backs Irungu Houghton's appointment to protest victims’ compensation panel
- Ethiopia begins registration of 7.4 million learners amid education crisis
- Nearly 50,000 people at risk, over 9,000 livestock perish as drought worsens in Tigray
- Amnesty accuses Israel of intentionally starving Gaza population
- Extrajudicial killings, torture, mass detentions: US 2024 report paints grim picture on Ethiopia’s record
Bahir Dar is the regional capital of Amhara, where Ethiopian forces fought against a non-state militia, Fano.
The report claims, that on October 10-11, 2023, members of the ENDF extrajudicially executed another six men, including at least five civilians in the city's Seba Tamit neighbourhood.
According to Amnesty International, on August 8, 2023, in the Kebele 14 neighbourhood of Bahir Dar City, ENDF soldiers allegedly fired indiscriminately into residential compounds while pursuing unidentified individuals.
Among those killed were Aynew Defresh, a 55-year-old trader, and his two sons, Kassahun and Abraham, according to their relatives.
Amnesty International also documented the extrajudicial execution of six people by ENDF soldiers on October 10 and 11, 2023, including a patient receiving treatment at a health centre.
According to the agency, the soldiers also assaulted and threatened health workers at gunpoint in the same health centre.
The organisation disclosed that on the morning of October 11, ENDF soldiers entered the home of 69-year-old Tadesse Mekonen and extrajudicially executed three of his brothers and one neighbour.
Witnesses reported that soldiers left the bodies in the street for nearly eight hours before allowing the family to retrieve them for burial.
Amnesty International emphasised the need to bring Ethiopia back to regional and international scrutiny.
Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty's Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, called for immediate action from Ethiopia's partners, including members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, to resume scrutiny of the human rights situation and follow up on the findings of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE).
Chagutah stated that the alleged executions may constitute war crimes under international law and violate the right to life under human rights law.
He urged an end to impunity and impartial prosecutions of any violations and called for an independent investigation into abuses by all parties and accountability for perpetrators.
Top Stories Today
- Live blog: Governor Erick Mutai’s impeachment trial enters third day
- Government to allow raw sugar imports to ease 400,000 metric tonne shortage
- MPs launch probe into kidney transplants on foreign nationals in Eldoret hospitals
- Teachers who resigned or were dismissed after April 2018 eligible for pension, says TSC
- Felix Koskei urges coordinated communication in State agencies to curb misinformation
- NPSC chair Yuda Komora vows to transform police into citizen-centered service
