Ethiopia: Dozens 'hacked to death' as Tigray region fighting intensifies, says Amnesty International
Ethiopia's prime minister accuses his opponents of committing atrocities during a week of fighting in the region.
Friday 13 November 2020 15:59, UK
Dozens of people have been stabbed and hacked to death in Ethiopia's Tigray region, according to Amnesty International.
The reports come as federal troops claimed major advances in their offensive against local forces.
"This is a horrific tragedy," Amnesty said in a statement, citing evidence provided by witnesses along with video and satellite imagery to say the massacre took place in the town of May Cadera two days ago.
Dead bodies were strewn across the town centre and witnesses also reported seeing a number of injured survivors. A regional media agency known as AMMA said 500 people died in the incident with the majority of victims thought to be non-Tigrayans.
The attackers, who witnesses cited as the local leaders from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), used "sharp weapons such as knives and machetes," and people who saw the dead bodies said they featured "gaping wounds," according to Amnesty.
Earlier, Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed had accused his opponents of committing atrocities during a week of fighting that threatened to destabilise the Horn of Africa.
Mr Abiy said Ethiopia's military had defeated local forces in the west of the state.
Airstrikes and ground combat have killed hundreds, sent refugees flooding into Sudan, stirred the country's ethnic divisions and raised questions over the credentials of the leader - Africa's youngest at just 44.
With communications down and media barred, independent verification of the status of the conflict has been impossible.
"Amnesty International has not yet been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings, but has spoken to witnesses who said forces loyal to the TPLF were responsible for the mass killings, apparently after they suffered defeat from the federal EDF forces," Amnesty said.
There was no immediate response from the Ethiopian government or Tigray's local leaders.
Mr Abiy has accused the TPLF of starting the conflict by attacking a federal military base and defying his authority, while the Tigrayans say they have been persecuted during his two-year rule.
However, Tigray's president, Debretsion Gebremichael, who chairs the TPLF, denied his forces were involved in the Mai-Kadra killings.
"We cannot have such an act in Tigray," he said by mobile-phone text message.
More than 11,000 Ethiopian refugees have crossed into Sudan since fighting started and aid agencies say the situation in Tigray is becoming dire.
Even before the conflict, 600,000 people there were reliant on food aid.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed growing alarm at the rapidly deteriorating situation in Tigray.
She warned "there is a risk this situation will spiral totally out of control, leading to heavy casualties and destruction, as well as mass displacement within Ethiopia itself and across borders."
Ms Bachelet called for an independent inquiry into the recent attacks.
"If confirmed as having been deliberately carried out by a party to the current fighting, these killings of civilians would of course amount to war," she said.
"However, the first priority right now must be to stop the fighting and prevent any further atrocities."
She said sources had told her of airstrikes by government forces as well as fierce ground fighting between opposing forces.
"I am also extremely alarmed at reports of cuts to essential water and electricity supplies, in addition to the communications blackout and blocking of access by road and air," she said.
Tensions escalate into full-blown military conflict
Analysis by John Sparks, Africa Correspondent
Long-simmering tensions between Ethiopia's federal government and the northern state of Tigray escalated into full-blown military conflict after the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, accused Tigrayan leaders of ordering a raid on an army camp.
Ethiopia launched a military offensive on 4 November with Prime Minister Abiy using Facebook to claim that federal forces have "liberated" western Tigray.
The fighting has resulted in the displacement of thousands of civilians with some 10,000 thought to have crossed the border into Sudan. Aid agency officials say hundreds of thousands may follow in their footsteps if the conflict, now entering its second week, continues to intensify.