NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Ethiopian security forces killed more than 75 people and injured nearly 200 in deadly ethnic unrest in June and July following the murder of a popular singer, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Friday.
A total of 123 people were killed and at least 500 injured in one of the worst outbreaks of ethnic violence in the country in years, a “widespread and systematic attack” against civilians that points to crimes against humanity, the committee’s report said. Some victims were beheaded, tortured or dragged onto the street by attackers.
Ethnic violence is a major challenge for Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed, who has pushed for national unity among more than 80 ethnic groups in Africa’s second most populous country.
The unrest in June and July followed the murder of singer Hachalu Hundessa, who had been a prominent voice in the anti-government protests that led to Abiy taking office in 2018 and announcing sweeping political reforms. However, those reforms paved the way for long-held ethnic and other grievances.
The commission found that in the midst of street protests following the death of Hachalu ‘, civilians were attacked in their homes by individual and grouped perpetrators and horrifically and cruelly beaten and killed in streets with sticks, knives, axes, sharp iron bars, stones and electric cables. ”
More than 6,000 people were displaced and at least 900 properties were looted, burned or destroyed, the report said. The attacks often targeted ethnic Amhara or Orthodox Christians.
“While it is understandable that security forces had the challenging task of restoring order in the face of such widespread violence, the proportionality of the force deployed in some contexts is highly questionable,” the report said.
For example, in several communities the committee found that people had been killed with gunshot wounds to the head, shots to the chest or back. People who did not participate in the protests – passers-by, bystanders watching from their doorstep, young people, the elderly trying to mediate, people with mental illness and even police officers – were also killed. “
In other cases, the commission found that “local authorities and security did not respond to victims’ repeated calls for help, but were instead told ‘that higher groups did not order to intervene’ … Survivors and Witnesses also tell how the police sometimes watched while the attacks took place. “
Some watchdogs have warned against a return to repressive measures in Ethiopia as authorities grapple with hate speech and ethnic violence.
The unrest was unrelated to the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that began in early November, but it was another sign of the tensions straining the land of some 110 million people in the heart of the Horn of Africa.
A spokeswoman for Abiy’s office did not immediately comment on the report and the committee did not say what the government’s response was. Interviews with government officials and security figures were part of the committee’s investigation, which also included some 40 communities.
The commission said it found no evidence of “ongoing efforts to investigate the use of force by security officials during the unrest and to hold to account those who caused unnecessary human suffering.”
The report noted that “crimes against humanity of this nature coupled with the current national context are signs that the risk of atrocities, including genocide, is increasing,” and called for investigation, justice, and “a lasting and institutional solution for the growing trend of discrimination and attacks on minorities. “