Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia’s Tigray War

UNICEF ETHIOPIA/FLICKR

For more than a year, Ethiopia has been at war within its own borders. Once seen as a cornerstone of stability on the Horn of Africa, the country now threatens to set off that stability in the rest of the region.

As the civil war approaches the capital, Addis Ababa, government forces are becoming less and less likely to win.

The conflict began in November of 2020 when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, seized a military base in the Tigray region situated in northern Ethiopia. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front was originally a paramilitary organization, however once in control, they became the government ruling party. They claimed their seizure was a preemptive measure, as central government troops landed nearby. Almost immediately after, Prime Minister Abiy started a military offensive in the Tigray region.

This civil war was not unforeseen; there has been tension between the TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy’s government from the moment Mr. Abiy was elected, considering the recent history of Ethiopia.

In the 1970s, the ethnic minority Tigrayans formed a rebel group that would topple the standing government in 1991. The group would go on to control Ethiopia for another 27 years, during which Ethiopia grew economically, and backed American troops in battle.

However, the government was far from perfect. Freedom of speech was a luxury provided to few, especially not political rivals. Torture was frequently deployed on those detained by the government. People were severely beaten on several occasions, including those who took part in anti-government protests.

This authoritarianism built up to large protests in 2016, and eventually, Prime Minister Abiy getting elected in 2018. He would then go on removing power from the TPLF When Abiy began to build a new government, it was without TPLF members, who refused to join his coalition.

Since then, Abiy had continued to have a strained relationship with the northern region of Ethiopia. Tensions rose in September 2020, following repeated altercations with the central government, such as when the Tigray region went ahead with elections, despite a standing order not to. Because of their strained relationship, Abiy took no time to respond to the TPLF’s seizure of the military base.

The TPLF’s takeover prompted Mr. Abiy to order the military into Tigray, and begin a military offensive. He also blocked cellphone connections, along with declaring a state of emergency in the region. The region erupted into conflict, with Tigrayan officers within the Ethiopian army causing more conflict through their infighting.

Despite early military victories, the Ethiopian forces have been forced to retreat from the region, and TPLF forces now march towards the capital. 

The conflict has been marked with atrocities on both sides. This ranges from the killing of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, and what many are calling ethnic cleansing. The UN Human Rights Office has stated that both sides have committed acts that are violations of human rights, and in some cases, war crimes.

Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the UN has received “multiple and severe reports of alleged gross violations of human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.” 

Additionally, because of the conflict in the area, millions of people have been left without proper food; and supplies meant to help these people often get looted by soldiers.

Effects of the civil war are not just limited to Ethiopia. Due to the conflict within its borders, Ethiopian peacekeepers have been forced to shrink their numbers in Somalia, which could cause Somalia to break out into violence as well.

This conflict has undermined much of Ethiopia’s, and especially Abiy’s reputation. Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, for his peace agreement with Eritrea, a country once at war with Ethiopia. However, after Ethiopia’s declaration of war in Tigray, many have suggested that his prize should be revoked. It also seems that Abiy’s peace deal with Eritrea had more strings attached than it initially seems, as Eritrean forces stepped in to assist Abiy’s troops with the conflict.

Abiy’s reputation has continued to plummet as the crisis continues. To date, he has shut down the internet and arrested journalists, tactics which are widely considered to be anti-democratic. He has also failed to deal with bouts of ethnic violence throughout Ethiopia, further putting his peacemaking skills into question.

Ethiopia now stands on the edge of full war with itself, with no end in sight.