Since the Tigre People’s Liberation Front captured a large part of Tigre in late June, its forces have captured several major cities in the neighboring Amhara region. But in recent weeks they have faced stiff resistance from local forces and mounting allegations of violence against civilians.
Amhara officials were accused of killing at least 120 civilians in Dabat district, about 50 miles north of the ancient city of Gondar, after three days of intense fighting in early September. Those allegations have not been independently confirmed.
Birhanu Mulu, manager of the hospital in Nephus Mewcha town, south of Gondar, said Baghayan fighters caused other destruction, ransacking their hospital and destroying machinery and medicine. “Currently there are no patients in the hospital,” he said over the phone. It was treating civilians and soldiers injured by tigers before the attack.
Tigrayan officials dismissed the claims of the killings as “fabricated allegations” and called for an independent investigation.
There has been a flurry of reports of rights abuses, including sexual violence, genocide and ethnic cleansing, ever since Mr Ahmed accused local fighters of attacking a military base, beginning in November. Soldiers were sent.
Most of the charges were centered on the Tigrayan – Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers and those fighting the Amhara militia. But new research from Human Rights Watch says that one group has been victimized by both sides.