War crimes committed by all sides in Ethiopia's northern Tigray conflict, US says

Washington pledges to work with the country as it implements a 'credible transitional justice process'

Ethiopian National Defence Forces soldiers in 2021 in Dabat, 70km north-east of the city of Gondar. AFP

US President Joe Biden's administration has determined that all sides in Ethiopia's brutal northern Tigray conflict committed war crimes, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

The conflict, which ended with a peace deal in November, is estimated to have killed half a million civilians in Tigray alone.

“I condemn the unspeakable violence against civilians and destruction that occurred in northern Ethiopia,” Mr Blinken said, as Washington's 2022 Human Rights Report was published.

“Recognising the atrocities committed by all parties is an essential step to achieving a sustainable peace. Those most responsible for atrocities, including those in positions of command, must be held accountable.”

Mr Blinken said that a “careful review of the law and facts” led to the determination that members of Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces, Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces and Amhara forces all committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

He said Amhara forces committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer, and ethnic cleansing through their treatment of Tigrayans in western Tigray.

UN-backed investigators last year detailed war crimes and crimes against humanity by Ethiopian government forces, Tigray forces and Eritrea’s military — including rape, murder and pillage — during the nearly two-year conflict.

The US 2022 report details numerous human rights abuses in Ethiopia last year, including unlawful or arbitrary killings, extrajudicial killings by the government, enforced disappearance by the government and torture.

Mr Blinken said that Washington would work with Ethiopia as it implements a “credible transitional justice process” and would “stand with Ethiopia as it honestly faces the abuses in its past, provides accountability for the harms committed against citizens and moves towards a future of lasting peace.”

Washington announced $331 million in new humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia last week through the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), following Mr Blinken's recent trip to the country.

He met Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen to discuss the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement that “has resulted in considerable progress in re-establishing peace across northern Ethiopia,” the State Department said.

Washington said the officials also discussed the need for “unhindered access by international human rights monitors” to conflict-affected areas and areas where the US can be “supportive” in the process of transitional justice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Redwan Hussien Rameto, second left, representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda, second right, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, sign a peace agreement regarding the African Union-led negotiations to resolve conflict in Ethiopia at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation offices in Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

Representatives from Ethiopia and representatives from Tigray attend a press conference. AFP

Redwan Hussien Rameto, representative of the Ethiopian government. AFP

Getachew Reda, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. AFP

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, left, arrives for peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. AFP

Youngsters walk next to an abandoned tank south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia. AFP

The airport in Bahir Dar, the capital city of the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia. AP

Protestors outside the Emirates stadium in London raise awareness of conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Reuters

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi, centre, speaks with Clementine Nkweta-Salami, right, UNHCR regional bureau director for the East, Horn and Great Lakes regions of Africa. AP Photo

A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force and the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia. Reuters

Ethiopians protest at a rally organised by the city administration against what they say is interference by outsiders in the country's internal affairs and against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the party of Tigray's fugitive leaders, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. AP Photo

A man waves an Ethiopian flag as he join others gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during a demonstration in support of Ethiopia armed forces. AFP

A satellite image shows the deployment of heavy weaponry in the town of Serha, Eritrea, near the border with Ethiopia's Tigray region. Reuters

A man gestures as he shouts during a protest at the Embassy of the United States of America in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AFP

Workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross deliver lifesaving medical supplies into Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia. Reuters

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, left, meets with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters. AP Photo

A convoy of trucks part of the World Food Programme (WFP) on their way to Tigray are seen in the village of Erebti, Ethiopia. The Afar region, the only passageway for humanitarian convoys bound for Tigray, is itself facing a serious food crisis, due to the combined effects of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the drought in the Horn of Africa which have notably caused numerous population displacements. More than a million people need food aid in the region according to the World Food Programme. AFP

Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.