Are war crimes allegations in Ethiopia being ignored? | News

Video Duration 25 minutes 35 seconds 25:35

From: Inside Story

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch release joint report on atrocities in the Tigray region.

Mass killings, rape, torture, people deprived of food and forcibly transferred.

Theses are some of the most serious allegations from almost 18 months of war in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say evidence of ethnic cleansing and war crimes is being ignored internationally.

They accuse officials and security forces from the neighbouring Amhara region of a coordinated campaign against Tigrayan people.

Fighting since November 2020 has so far killed thousands of people and forced many more to seek refuge in neighbouring Sudan and Eritrea.

Ethiopia’s government is pledging to make the guilty accountable, but says what it calls the report’s “ethnic undertones” could fuel hatred.

So what should be the response to the allegations?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Ann Fitz-Gerald – director of Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada

Laetitia Bader – Horn of Africa director, Human Rights Watch

Gebrekirstos Gebreselassie – founder and editor, tghat.com – website documenting the war