According to a report issued by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), 10 people were killed and more than 10 injured in two drone attacks carried out by the government in December 2023 and May 2024.
The EHRC announced that human rights violations in the Amhara, Oromia, Afar, Somali, Sidama, South Ethiopia, and Central Ethiopia regions, as well as in Addis Ababa, are at a critical level.
The human rights report highlighted severe violations, including extrajudicial killings, civilian deaths, physical injuries, property destruction, looting, arbitrary mass and prolonged detentions, accelerated lack of justice, forced disappearances, and internal displacement.
The commission noted that investigations have been delayed due to security issues and lack of cooperation from the government and other entities, but they are ongoing and have disclosed confirmed violations.
The EHRC confirmed that many innocent citizens have been killed by government forces.
The commission’s investigation revealed that the government was responsible for killing ten people and injuring more than ten others in drone attacks in the Oromia region in December and the Amhara region earlier this month.
According to the mandate of the Emergency Proclamation Implementation Investigation Board, the enforcement of the Emergency Proclamation should prevent and address abuses of power, unlawful mass arrests, killings, inhumane treatment, and other human rights violations, ensuring appropriate legal investigations and accountability. The EHRC has called for these measures to prevail.
All parties involved in the conflict in the Amhara and Oromia regions are urged to cease fire unconditionally and to respect human rights and humanitarian laws.
The commission also advocates for initiating criminal investigations and prosecutions against those involved in the conflicts and for compensating and rehabilitating victims by assessing the damage to human life, physical and psychological health, and property.
The EHRC has called for the release of all detainees held under the emergency proclamation without credible charges, as well as the identification and release of those forcibly disappeared.
The conflict in the Amhara region began after the federal government decided to “reorganize” the regional special forces a year ago.
This led to clashes between government security forces and Fano militants, resulting in the declaration of a six-month state of emergency in the Amhara region.
Initially declared in August 2023, the state of emergency has been extended for another four months and is set to conclude in a week.
International human rights organizations and Western countries, along with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, have reported that repeated drone attacks in the Amhara region have resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians.
