WASHINGTON DC – AUGUST 10: Ethiopians in Washington, DC demonstrate outside the US State Department to protest the Ethiopian government's attacks on the Amhara people and the Amhara region of Ethiopia on August 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. Community members. (Photo by J. Countess/Getty Images)
EThe independent Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced this week that Thiopia government security forces killed at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara region in late January.
The commission “confirmed the identities of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government security forces” in the city of Merawi on suspicion of supporting an ethnic Amhara militia known as Fano. “However, the number of victims is believed to be much higher,” the report said.
At least 15 people, including women, were killed during door-to-door raids by government forces in different parts of Amhara earlier this month, the EHRC said.
The killings in Merawi followed months of clashes last year between Ethiopian forces and Fano, which prompted the United States to call for an investigation last week. According to the commission, security forces also arrested unspecified people suspected of being Fano members in Merawi.
The federal government in Addis Ababa did not respond to requests for comment.
Fano members fought alongside government forces during the two-year war in neighboring Tigray province, but fell out after Addis Ababa signed a peace deal with Tigrayan rebel authorities in 2022.
After fighting broke out in Amhara last year, the federal government imposed a state of emergency in August, which lawmakers extended for four months in February.
In a statement posted on Twitter, EHRC Director-General Daniel Bekele called on the commission to “end extrajudicial killings, ensure accountability and demonstrate a commitment to peaceful dialogue by all. ” he said.
Media access to northern Ethiopia has been restricted by authorities, making it impossible to verify the situation on the ground. But the United States last week said it was deeply concerned by reports of “targeted killings” of civilians in Merawi.
In a statement, the United States also called attention to “numerous disturbing reports of other violations and abuses elsewhere in Ethiopia, reports involving government and non-state actors alike,” and urged all parties to urged them to enter into negotiations.
The Amhara violence has reignited concerns about Ethiopia's stability, months after the November 2022 Tigray deal. The peace agreement fueled feelings of betrayal among the Amhara people.
Tensions escalated last April after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government decided to dismantle the regional army, sparking protests among Amhara nationalists who say it weakens the state.
In September, the commission accused federal forces of carrying out extrajudicial killings in Amhara and carrying out mass arbitrary detentions in the region and elsewhere. —AFP