US says all parties to Ethiopia's Tigray conflict 'committed war crimes'

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – The US has determined that all parties to the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have "committed war crimes," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

"After the Department's careful review of the law and the facts, I've determined that members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, Eritrean Defense Forces, Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces and Amhara forces committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia," Blinken said at a news conference at the Department of State to launch 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

Blinken said members of Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara defense forces "also committed crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution.

"Amhara forces committed the crime against humanity, of deportation or forcible transfer, and committed ethnic cleansing" in the western part of Tigray, he added.

The top diplomat also said Washington urges the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as the TPLF forces to hold those responsible for atrocities accountable.

The war between Ethiopian government forces and Tigray rebels erupted in November 2020 after the TPLF attacked federal army bases stationed in the northern region.

Hostilities subsided after the two sides signed agreements in Pretoria and Nairobi in November last year.

The Tigray conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more since November 2020.

A UN report released late last year put the number of displaced people at 2.75 million, with some 12.5 million children were said to be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.