Amnesty, UN, EU warn Ethiopia's warring sides: Do not target civilians
Amnesty International, the UN envoy for human rights and the European Union's top diplomat have called on the warring sides in Ethiopia's volatile Tigray region to avoid targeting civilians and violating human rights.
According to Press TV, Amnesty sounded the alarm over the situation in Tigray on Tuesday after Ethiopian government forces said they were encircling the rebel-held regional capital, Mekelle, ahead of a threatened full-scale attack.
"As Ethiopian federal troops begin preparations to encircle Mekelle, Amnesty International reminds all parties that deliberately attacking civilians and civilian objects is prohibited under international humanitarian law, and constitutes war crimes," Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa, said. "Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks are also prohibited."
On Sunday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gave the rebels in Tigray a 72-hour ultimatum to surrender peacefully before government troops launch an offensive on Mekelle.
The army threatened a "no mercy" tank assault on the whereabouts of the leader of Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the city, warning civilians to leave while they could.
However, Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the TPLF, dismissed the ultimatum, saying his forces were "ready to die" defending their homeland.
Amnesty appealed to both sides of the conflict not to use heavy artillery in crowded areas, and not to use human shields or place military camps near civilian sites that could be targeted.
The United Nations (UN) also urged the Ethiopian government on Monday to provide protection for the civilian population affected by the fighting.
The UN Security Council held its first meeting on Tigray behind closed-doors on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, "The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for Mekelle is dangerously provocative and risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger."
In a statement late on Tuesday, European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell also expressed concern about the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, saying the internal conflict was destabilizing the East African region.
"I expressed my great concern regarding increasing ethnic-targeted violence, numerous casualties and violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law," Borrell said, while calling on both sides to stop hostilities.
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