By Addis Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Ethiopia said on Tuesday that nearly 3,600 people were killed extrajudicially in northern states by Tigray rebels between September 2021 and January 2022.
A ministerial committee that published the report was formed last year after the UN high commissioner for human rights, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in a joint investigation blamed both warring parties for rights abuses.
War resumed in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigray rebels on Aug. 24, extending an almost two-year-long conflict that has already killed thousands and displaced millions of others.
Hopes for peace talks between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government were handed a welcome boost earlier this month after the rebels said they were willing to halt fighting and take part in a dialogue led by the African Union.
According to the report, the TPLF killed 3,598 civilians in Amhara and Afar regional states.
Another 1,315 people sustained injuries, while 2,212 females including girls and minors were raped by the TPLF fighters, it added.
Meanwhile, another report by the UN human rights experts on Ethiopia released on Monday accused both parties of committing abuses, and expressed fear of continued rights violations now that the war has resumed.