ALBAWABA - Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Ethiopian forces of committing "widespread attacks amounting to war crimes against medical professionals, patients, and health facilities" in the Amhara region.
The report included interviews with 58 people, including eyewitnesses and victims of the attacks, HRW documented attacks by federal forces and a pro-government militia against "medical workers, healthcare facilities, and transports in at least 13 towns".
The Amhara region fell into an emergency state later in August 2023 after fighting erupted there between federal forces and the Fano "self-defense" militia.
"Soldiers beat, arbitrarily arrested, and intimidated medical professionals for providing care to the injured and sick, including alleged Fano fighters. Troops also unlawfully attacked ambulances and prevented hospitals from functioning," the HRW report reads.
The report added that international law clearly states "special protection is offered to health facilities, medical professionals, patients, and ambulances,".
Laetitia Bader, HRW deputy Africa director, said that federal forces in Ethiopia are "operating with near impunity and are unsurprisingly disregarding civilian lives by attacking medical facilities,".
Media access to Amhara has also been severely restricted, and the mandate of a UN panel of experts examining crimes in Ethiopia expired in October, resulting in minimal future monitoring of rights violations in the nation, according to Human Rights Watch.
The violence in Amhara has raised fears about Ethiopia's stability, months after a peace accord was struck in November 2022 to end a two-year war in the neighboring province of Tigray.
A report released last month by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that "Ethiopian federal forces and the Fano militia had been involved in numerous violations of international humanitarian law, resulting in over 2,000 civilian casualties in the Amhara region," HRW said.
