Eritrean troops accused of ‘war crimes’ in Tigray after peace deal — Amnesty’s report

Eritrean soldiers, allied with Ethiopia’s government, committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity despite the signing of an agreement to end hostilities, when they extra-judicially executed civilians and sexually enslaved women for months after the signing of the peace deal, according the a new report published by the Amnesty International.
The new report released on Monday (4 September) details how Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) committed acts of rape and sexual slavery, extra-judicial executions, and pillage. Amnesty International interviewed witnesses, survivors and family members, who testified about the extra-judicial execution of at least 20 civilians, primarily men, by the EDF in Mariam Shewito district between 25 October and 1 November 2022. The war, which broke out in November 2020, pitted regional forces from Tigray against Ethiopia’s federal army and its allies, which included forces from other regions and from neighboring Eritrea. Despite the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), atrocities by EDF against civilians in Tigray continued.
Since the outbreak of the armed conflict in the Tigray region in November 2020, Amnesty International has documented crimes under international law and other human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict, including Eritrean forces. The new report stresses that Eritrea and Ethiopia have an obligation to effectively investigate and, where there is sufficient evidence, prosecute crimes under international law, including alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. This must be done in line with international standards on the right to a fair trial and without resort to the death penalty. Therefore, Amnesty International is calling for the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) to be renewed during the upcoming UN Human Rights Council’s 54th session starting on 11 September 2023.