The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday said Eritrean soldiers killed more than 100 civilians in a November massacre in war-torn Tigray’s Aksum city, reported Africa News.
The findings were published in a report released by the commission on Wednesday. The report corroborates separate investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch into the same killings in the historic town of Axum.
“Information collected during this preliminary investigation confirms that during the two days of November 28 and November 29, grave violations of human rights were committed and that in Axum, over one hundred residents… were killed by Eritrean soldiers,” the commission said.
It said that as these grave human rights violations may amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the overall human rights situation in the Tigray region.
The new report comes a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted for the first time that neighboring Eritrean troops had gone into Tigray. He indicated that they may have been involved in abuses against civilians.
Addis Ababa and Asmara continued to deny the involvement of Eritrean forces in the conflict for months and described reports of their alleged atrocities in the region as misinformation and propaganda.
The Ethiopian prime minister had sent troops into Tigray on November 4 after he blamed the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, for attacks on federal army camps.
Abiy said a month later the fighting was over but the reports of murder, looting, and rape by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have prompted calls for investigations.
As per reports, the fighting between government troops and the region’s former ruling party has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes.
The United Nations and the United States have called for the Eritrean troops to leave Tigray.
