Wednesday, 23 December 2020, 6:25 am
Seven weeks after the conflict began in the Tigray region
of Ethiopia, the continuing lack of overall humanitarian
access, coupled with an ongoing communications blackout in
many areas, raises increasing concerns about the situation
of civilians, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle
Bachelet warned on Tuesday.
“While we welcome the
Ethiopian Government’s statement that there would be
unimpeded humanitarian access, in line with the agreement
with the UN signed on 29 November, this needs to be to all
areas of Tigray where civilians have been affected by the
fighting,” Bachelet said, noting that two humanitarian
assessment missions were able to enter Tigray on
December 22, 2020
An Ethiopian refugee from Tigray awaits transfer from a border reception center in Sudan. courtesy UNHCR/Will Swanson
GENEVA Reports of artillery strikes on civilians and mass killings of non-combatants in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, must be investigated and full access granted to independent investigators, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday.
The appeal by the High Commissioner for Human Rights follows seven weeks of conflict in northern Ethiopia between central government soldiers and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces that has displaced tens of thousands.
“Fighting is said to be continuing, particularly in some areas of north, central and southern Tigray,” Bachelet said in a statement, highlighting how the lack of overall humanitarian access and ongoing communications blackout in many areas had continued to raise concerns about civilians.
Provide unhindered access to whole of Tigray to protect civilians, Bachelet urges Ethiopia
Format
Geneva (22 December 2020) – Seven weeks after the conflict began in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the continuing lack of overall humanitarian access, coupled with an ongoing communications blackout in many areas, raises increasing concerns about the situation of civilians, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on Tuesday. While we welcome the Ethiopian Government s statement that there would be unimpeded humanitarian access, in line with the agreement with the UN signed on 29 November, this needs to be to all areas of Tigray where civilians have been affected by the fighting, Bachelet said, noting that two humanitarian assessment missions were able to enter Tigray on Monday.
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The conflict in Ethiopia
These refugees fled to Sudan after fighting broke out in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region last month.
More than 50,000 people now live in camps like this one.
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The conflict in Ethiopia
Dec. 18, 2020
Fighting erupted on Nov. 4 when forces loyal to the former ruling party in Tigray launched simultaneous attacks on military bases across the region, killing soldiers and seizing military hardware, according to the government. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the movement fighting the government, denies starting the conflict but says it is fighting back on a number of fronts.
The fighting is believed to have killed thousands of people and displaced over 950,000, some 50,000 of them into neighbouring Sudan, according to United Nations (U.N.) and local government estimates. The government said it regained control of the regional capital, Mekelle, and other cities at the end of November. TPLF leaders said they had withdrawn from Mekelle b