(Washington) The United States, Canada and several allied countries on Monday expressed concern over reports of ethnically motivated arrests in Ethiopia and reiterated their calls for a negotiated solution to the conflict.
“We, Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, are deeply concerned by recent reports that the Ethiopian state has detained large numbers of Ethiopian citizens on the basis of their ethnic origin and without charges “, the countries said.
Their joint statement cites information from Amnesty International and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on large-scale arrests of Tigrayans, including “Orthodox priests, elders and mothers with their children.”
“Several of these events may constitute violations of international law and must stop immediately,” demanded the signatory countries, reiterating their “great concern about human rights abuses and violations, such as those related to sexual violence linked to the conflict.” .
The United States and its allies ask “all parties to seize the opportunity to negotiate a lasting ceasefire without preconditions.”
“It is clear that there is no military solution to this conflict,” they stressed.
According to the UN, the war in Ethiopia has already claimed thousands of lives, more than two million displaced and plunged hundreds of thousands more into conditions bordering on famine since the conflict broke out in November 2020.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed then sent troops to the northernmost region of Tigray to overthrow the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) in response, he said, to rebel attacks on army camps.
The insurgents returned, retaking most of Tigray in June, before reaching the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar. The conflict took a new turn a month ago, when the TPLF claimed to have captured Dessie and Kombolcha.
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