Social Media Situation Report on the Conflict in Ethiopia (Aug 26 – Sep 30, 2021)

Key Events:

• Reuters’ article entitled ‘Tigray forces killed 120 civilians in a village in Amhara region - Ethiopia officials’ published on September 8, 2021, accuses Tigrayan forces of massacring civilians at Dabat on the 1st and 2nd September.
• According to The Telegraph forces occupying a major city in Tigray i.e., Humera, are reportedly throwing thousands of men, women, and children into "concentration camps", “cutting off limbs and dumping mutilated bodies into mass graves as part of an orchestrated ethnic purge”.
• The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says 29 people have been killed and more than 40,000 displaced in attacks in Kiramu Woreda, East Welega Zone of Oromia State. The commission said it had received reports that 18 civilians had been killed in three separate attacks in Boka Kebele of Kiramu Woreda on September 7 and 8, 2021, while another attack in Wolmai Kebele on September 26, 2021, had killed 11 people. The commission said it does not have verified information as to who takes the responsibility for the attacks.
• U.S President Joe Biden ordered the US Department of State to put in place restrictions related to security assistance for Ethiopia and a continuation of restrictions for Eritrea. The State Department on its end said it has implemented a policy of denial for exports of defense articles and defense services to or for armed forces, police, intelligence, or other internal security forces of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said that it is concerned by the detention of 19 women along with their young children in Bulen Woreda of Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Region. The commission said the women are wives of suspects wanted in connection with the ongoing security-related interventions by the Command Post still in charge in Metekel Zone and relevant local authorities. The Commission also mentioned the arrest of seven men “suspected of granting and/or releasing on bail” suspects whom, authorities have told the Commission, later absconded on their bail.
• According to a briefing from “Tigray Foreign Affairs Office”, 150 people died due to starvation in August in Mai Kinetal, Kola Tembien, and Tanaua Milash in Central Zone, Hawzen in Easter Zone Silawa and Enda Mekoni in Southern Zone as well as IDP camps in the Shire.

On August 31, 2021, the Amhara regional government called on high school, technical & vocational, university students, and teachers to join the fight against Tigrayan armed forces. The statement said the region was facing a war for its survival waged against it by forces affiliated with the T.P.L.F. “A war of revenge and cruelty is being inflicted on the people” of the regional state, the statement said, adding it was a “crucial time for us to stand together, more than ever, to bury our enemies and ensure our survival in the face of the threat to our very existence.” Accordingly, the regional state called on all able-bodied high school and tertiary students, as well as teachers and all the youth whose age and health qualify and, are fit for military service to do their part “by joining and strengthening our defense forces and special forces and playing a supportive role.”