US condemns alarming spate of mass killings in Ethiopia’s Tigray

US State Department condemned reports of increased killings, detentions and expulsions in region

Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.

The US on Friday condemned reports of a recent series of mass killings, detentions and expulsions in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

State Department spokesman Ned Price issued a statement noting that the US is “gravely concerned by unconfirmed news reports alleging mass detentions, killings and forced expulsions of ethnic Tigrayans in western Tigray by Amhara security forces".

“We call on Amhara leaders to renounce violence against civilians,” said Mr Price.

“We also reiterate our call on Eritrea to remove its forces from Ethiopia.”

Independent watchdogs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said on Thursday that Amhara militias backed by Eritrean forces — who are allied to Ethiopia’s central government — have stepped up the killing of civilians and other abuses in western Tigray.

The UN reported that the conflict has displaced about 1.2 million people from western Tigray since the conflict began last year and has spilt over into the rest of the country.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed — the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Winner — recently returned to Addis Ababa from the battlefront.

His return came after Ethiopian forces made progress in pushing back an advance on the capital from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and other allied rebel groups.

“We call on all armed actors in Ethiopia to renounce and end violence against civilians,” said Mr Price.

“We also reiterate our call for a cessation of hostilities, an immediate end to human rights abuses and violations, negotiations without preconditions, unhindered humanitarian access and the start of an inclusive national dialogue.”

The US and five of its allies have also called on Addis Ababa to release scores of ethnic Tigrayans that Mr Abiy’s government has rounded up and detained throughout the country, including dual US-Ethiopian citizens.

At the same time, the State Department has paused a legal review into whether human rights abuses in Tigray amount to genocide in the hopes of cajoling Addis Ababa to come to the negotiating table.

The US has also expelled Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides eligible countries with duty-free access to the US market, and is pushing for a potential arms embargo on Addis Ababa at the UN.

Ethiopia has cut internet, phone and media access in Tigray since the conflict erupted last year while reportedly complicating or halting the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn region.