By Bistandsaktuelt - Last updated: 12.01.2021 18.13.34
Translated by Google Translate,
With the exception of the regional capital Mekele and some other cities in southern Tigray, all communications to the war-torn province are still blocked. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain information from the region and to obtain independent confirmation or refutation of claims coming from both sides.
There are constant reports that forces loyal to TPLF leaders are still engaging in guerrilla activity. Beyond this, there is little information and few details about the warfare and violence that is taking place. After government forces arrested Sebhat Nega, one of the most powerful TPLF leaders, a few days ago, the government now promises that the operation to arrest the rest of the TPLF leaders will be over in a few days.
TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael is among those still at large. He has previously promised that the Tigray forces will continue to fight against the government.
Abuse in "closed area"
At the same time, there are reports from people living in the Tigray region about continued fighting and serious human rights violations.
Ethiopian President and Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed declared victory and that the civil war in the Tigray region was over. It already happened on November 28 last year. Nevertheless, fighting, looting and serious human rights violations are still reported.
Aid News has been in contact with internally displaced persons from the town of Abi Adi in the Temben zone in Tigray, a town 42 kilometers from Mekele. It is here and in the surrounding lands that the TPLF leaders are believed to be hiding. The areas currently do not have a telephone or internet connection after the authorities cut off the connection. Cars, buses and other modes of transport were also banned until the end of December.
"Maria" is a 25-year-old woman who lived in Abi Adi. (Bistandsaktuelt knows her full name, but she is anonymized here for her own safety.) The mother of two fled to Mekele with her 75-year-old father and her neighbors on 28 December. The reason for the escape was the continued fighting and the gross human rights violations that took place in the hometown.
Eritrean soldiers looted the house
"Since November 29 (the day after the government forces and their allies took control of Mekele, editor's note), there have been almost daily artillery and air strikes against Abi Adi," she says.
She says that many residents were also frightened when government soldiers approached them to get information about where the TPLF leaders could be.
On December 23, soldiers from the Eritrean army broke into my house and looted all my belongings. Fortunately, they did not physically harm me, except to plunder my belongings. Others had a much worse fate, says "Maria".
Indirectly, she also reveals a fact that the Ethiopian authorities have wanted to keep hidden - that the Ethiopian forces have had the help of soldiers from the former enemy Eritrea.
The woman also says that the Eritrean soldiers shot and killed an old farmer in the village when he begged to keep a cow. It happened when the soldiers took all his cows.
- Soldiers commit rape
- This is what the Eritrean soldiers usually do, when you do not want to give them your belongings. They shoot you down on the spot. Soldiers from the National Army do not loot. But something they do is rape. They rape women in front of their husbands, she says.
A married woman who was among the people "Maria" fled with, has experienced such sexual abuse. She does not want to be named, but tells Bistandsaktuelt that she is struggling with abdominal complications after being gang-raped by soldiers from the national army.
Her father is a poor farmer who has not been politically active. He has a few cows, and for fear of looting, he moved the cows to relatives who live relatively safely in a remote area of Temben. When the daughter decided to flee, the father wanted to join, even though life would be tough in Mekele, without a job or permanent residence.
- What if they raped her?
- I could not let my daughter and granddaughter travel alone. What if the soldiers raped her? What if they kill my daughter? Until then, we live in the house of my relatives. I do not know anything about the future. Everything is better than going back to Abi Adi, he says.
Human rights abuses and looting create bitterness among people, forcing many to flee to forests or join TPLF groups, according to "Maria".
- The transitional government in Tigray recently moved into Abi Adi. They seem good and determined. They want us to choose our leaders among our own people. But how will we be able to choose our leaders when many of the inhabitants have left the city, she asks.
- People have complained to the transitional government about the looting and human rights violations. After that it has gotten a little better. The abuse has decreased, but it still happens, she says.
Civilians complain of abuse and looting
In addition to the Tember area, there are reports of sexual abuse, looting and other human rights violations from other cities in the region. Apart from cases of looting, the provincial capital of Mekele has been relatively spared from sexual abuse, violence and other human rights violations. But last week, sexual abuse was also reported in Mekele.
At a public meeting in the city on January 8, broadcast on national television, a uniformed participant spoke at the meeting about women who had been raped in Mekele. At previous public meetings in the city, participants have complained to the transitional government about looting.
"Food supplies are limited, there is extensive looting and there is great insecurity," reads a report prepared jointly by the UN and Ethiopian government representatives. The report, which was published on January 6, also discusses cases of sexual abuse.