APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Ethiopian Human Rights Council has issued a statement accusing the government forces of shelling and killing civilians in various areas of the Amhara regional state.
“The shelling occurred in connection to the ongoing conflict between the federal government and a non-state armed group known as Fano,” EHRC said on Monday in a statement.
“There have been credible reports of strikes and shelling in various areas, including Debre Birhan, Finote Selam, and Burie, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to residential areas and public spaces,” EHRC said.
EHCR said in Bahir Dar, capital of the regional state, civilians have been killed on the streets or outside their homes and some individuals have been specifically targeted for searches, beatings, and killings.
It said the neighbouring Gondar city has also witnessed civilian casualties and property damage, with reports of extrajudicial killings by security forces in Shewa Robit.
However, the Commission said further investigation and verification of these reports are necessary.
The conflict and road blockades have also impeded the delivery of humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Amhara region, according to the EHRC. As a result, refugees and asylum-seekers in the northern Gondar zone, particularly in Dabat district, are now in an extremely vulnerable situation with heightened protection concerns.
Considering these urgent concerns, the EHRC has called upon all parties involved in the conflict to immediately cease all violations and abuses of international human rights law.
It further urged the conflicting parties to agree, without any preconditions, to an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The federal government is also called upon to put an end to widespread detentions, grant regular and unconditional access to the EHRC and other oversight bodies to all detention facilities for effective monitoring, release all arbitrarily arrested or detained individuals, and review the legality of their detention through a competent judicial authority.
The EHRC also reported numerous arrests of individuals of Amhara ethnicity as well as the detention of irregular migrants from Eritrea, some of whom may be seeking asylum in Ethiopia.
However, the EHRC stated that it has been denied access to monitor the conditions of detainees since the State of Emergency was declared.
MG/as/APA