Ethiopia: US report documents ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Tigray region
A US government report obtained by The New York Times accuses Ethiopia of carrying out “a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing” under the guise of civil war in the country’s Tigray region.
According to the US publication, the report in question documents deserted villages where thousands of people are unaccounted for. It accuses armed groups entering the region in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of “deliberately and efficiently rendering Western Tigray ethnically homogeneous through the organized use of force and intimidation.”
US report documents ethnic cleansing
The US is one of Ethiopia’s biggest allies but, as reports continue to emerge of rights abuses throughout the conflict in Tigray, the world is anticipating how President Joe Biden will respond to the crisis in Ethiopia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Saturday that the United States is “gravely concerned by reports of atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray.”
Blinken says the US has “repeatedly engaged the Ethiopian government on the importance of ending the violence, ensuring unhindered humanitarian access to Tigray, and allowing a full, independent, international investigation into all reports of human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities.”
Meanwhile, the report seen by The New York Times states that “whole villages were severely damaged or completely destroyed” in a civil conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.
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