UN Warns against Ethnic Violence in Ethiopia

On Saturday, a senior UN official warned that the risk of 'atrocity crimes' in Ethiopia remains high and is likely to worsen if the country does not urgently fight ethnic violence, hate speech, and religious tensions.

The United Nations (UN) Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu said that she received reports of serious human rights violations and abuses, committed by the parties to the conflict in the Tigray region and their allies.

"This includes extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, looting of property, mass executions, and obstruction of humanitarian aid," Nderitu said in a statement.

The UN senior official also noted that she also received "disturbing reports of attacks against civilians based on their religion and ethnicity" in other areas across the country.

Last December, Tigray’s government task force said it had reached an agreement with the United Nations under which Addis Ababa would invoke decisions on the entry for aid agencies.

The war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) broke out on Nov. 4.

The conflict is thought to have killed thousands and displaced more than 950,000 people, according to United Nations estimates. About 50,000 of them fled to Sudan.