The government of Ethiopia on Tuesday rejected a report by U.N. investigators that it has committed crimes against humanity in its Tigray region in the ongoing fighting with the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Ethiopia’s permanent representative to the U.N. in Geneva, Zenebe Kebede, said the commission was “politically motivated” and its conclusions were “self-contradictory and biased,” APA can learn on Tuesday.
“There is not any single evidence that shows the government of Ethiopia used humanitarian aid as an instrument of war,” the envoy said, describing the report as “a mockery” and “rubbish.”
“Therefore, we have no other option but to reject this report.”
He said investigators had ignored atrocities by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ruled Ethiopia for decades before Abiy came to power in 2018, and which Addis Ababa considers a terrorist group.
The Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said it had found evidence of widespread violations by all sides since fighting erupted in Tigray nearly two years ago.
Fighting between government forces and their allies, and rebels led by the TPLF, reignited in August after a five-month lull.
The return to the battlefield comes as diplomatic efforts intensify to try to peacefully resolve the nearly two-year war in Africa’s second-most populous country.
MG/abj/APA