Shelling of Urban Tigray by Ethiopian Troops Unlawful

By Khalifa Hemed
Published February 14, 2021

A human rights organisation has accused Ethiopian federal forces of unlawfully hitting homes, hospitals, schools and markets and killing civilians in in Mekelle, Humera and Shire.

Human Rights Watch, that calls for UN Inquiry into violation by warring parties, says Ethiopian federal forces carried out indiscriminate shelling of urban areas in the Tigray region in November 2020 in violation of the laws of war and that 83 civilians were killed and more than 300 others were wounded.

“At the war’s start, Ethiopian federal forces fired artillery into Tigray’s urban areas in an apparently indiscriminate manner that was bound to cause civilian casualties and property damage,” said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These attacks have shattered civilian lives in Tigray and displaced thousands of people, underscoring the urgency for ending unlawful attacks and holding those responsible to account.”

On November 4, 2020 the Ethiopian military began operations in Tigray in response to what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali described as attacks on federal forces and bases by forces affiliated with the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). As of February 2021, many Tigray residents lack adequate access to food, fuel, water, and medicines. More than 200,000 people are internally displaced, while tens of thousands have also fled to neighbouring Sudan.

In a parliamentary address on November 30, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali maintained that Ethiopian federal forces had not caused civilian casualties during their military operations in Tigray that month. A government Twitter account created during the conflict claimed that federal forces had “avoided combat in cities and towns of the Tigray region.”

Appealing to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a fact-finding team into Tigray to investigate any violation of the laws of war in the region, HRW calls on and to ensure that evidence of abuses is preserved, Human Rights Watch calls on all parties to the conflict to abide by the laws of war as the fighting continues.

“Ethiopian federal forces should cease indiscriminate attacks, investigate alleged laws-of-war violations, and refrain from using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas,” HRW says. “All sides should allow unhindered access by humanitarian agencies and ensure that health facilities can adequately function. Access to essential services and communications should also be restored.”