Ethiopia: Looting and kidnappings still rampant in Tigray despite peace deal

Left: FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past the rubble of a building damaged by fighting in the town of Shire, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 17, 2021. Photo by Baz Ratner/REUTERS

Despite the recent truce between Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] and the government of Ethiopia, massive loot8nh and kidnapping of people are still rampant in Tigray, eyewitnesses and aid workers have reported, something which could throw the peace deal into disarray.

According to reports, allies of the Ethiopian government led by the Eritrean troops, the Amhara regional militia, and their counterparts from Afar have been supervising intolerance and murder of innocent people in Tigray, a clear violation of the recently signed peace deal.

There’s limited or no access into the region for human rights researchers, making it difficult for journalists and others to obtain information from Tigray as Ethiopian forces continue to assert control of the region, eyewitnesses have confirmed in the latest development which could sabotage the peace process.

Eritrean troops and forces from the neighboring Ethiopian region of Amhara — who have been fighting on the side of Ethiopia’s federal military in the Tigray conflict — have looted businesses, private properties, vehicles, and health clinics in Shire, a northwestern town that was captured from Tigray forces last month, two aid workers there told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of safety concerns.

In the strategic town of Shire, reports indicate, the Eritrean troops have been kidnapping youths with over 300 already rounded up from the IDP camps where they have been taking refuge. The youths targeted are of ethnic Tigray, further raising questions about the commitment to implement the peace agreement.

“There are different detention centers around the town,” said the aid worker, who also noted that Ethiopian federal troops were arresting people believed to be “associated” with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, the political party whose leaders led the war against the federal government.

Civilians accused of aiding Tigray forces are being detained in the southern town of Alamata, according to a resident there who said Amhara forces had arrested several of his friends. A former regional official said Amhara forces are also carrying out “mass” arrests in the town of Korem, around 20 kilometers [12 miles] north of Alamata, and in surrounding rural areas.

The continued presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray has been a thorn in the flesh, with the government of Ethiopia and of Eritrea remaining silent about that complaint. On its part, the TPLF insists that the Eritrean troops are still in the Tigray region despite calls to have them withdrawn.

Tigrai Television, a regional broadcaster based in the Tigrayan capital of Mekele, reported on Nov. 19 that Eritrean soldiers killed 63 civilians, including 10 children, in an area called Egela in central Tigray. That report cited witnesses including one who said affected communities were being prevented from burying their dead.

Last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the importance of implementing the peace deal, “including the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the concurrent disarmament of the Tigray forces” in a phone call Monday, according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.

Four youths were killed by Eritrean forces in the northwestern Tigray town of Axum on Nov. 17, a humanitarian worker told the AP. “The killings have not stopped despite the peace deal … and it is being carried out in Axum exclusively by Eritrean forces,” the humanitarian worker said.

Until now, access to various parts of Tigray still remains challenging with the government said to be determined to exterminate the people of Tigray. But despite these challenges in the implementation of the deal, there are reports that in some areas, the aid workers have started reaching out to vulnerable families.

GAROWE ONLINE + AP