Witnesses: Eritrean troops still killing civilians in Tigray

NAIROBI, Kenya - The Eritrean troops are still going ballistic against civilians in the Tigray region, multiple accounts from eyewitnesses indicate, even in the middle of the ongoing peace talks in the Republic of South Africa which brings on board the two warring parties.

At the same time, Associated Press [AP] reports, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] is making steady progress in Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, even though the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] refuted the claims in a statement on Friday.

However, despite the claims of continuing hostilities, it is difficult to assess the situation given that telecommunication and internet services have been shut down in Tigray, with journalists barred from accessing several strategic towns since renewed fighting erupted in August.

Estimates by the United Nations show that thousands of people mainly innocent civilians may have been killed in the war which started in November 2020, with millions displaced. The World Health Organization Chief Dr. Tedros Adhenom warned of possible genocide.

The AP spoke with witnesses from the towns of Shire, Axum, and Adwa, where Ethiopian and allied forces are present as they battle Tigray forces. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. It is not clear how many civilians have been killed in recent weeks.

An aid worker from Axum who relocated to Shire this week fearing for his life said civilians were being killed by Eritrean forces there since at least Sunday, the Associated Press reports.

“I witnessed four dead bodies in a village some 4 kilometers away from Axum” while fleeing Tuesday, he said, and described the bodies as being in civilian clothing. “People are living under nights of terror.”

According to the witnesses, the untamed Eritrean soldiers have been burning food crops in Tigray besides denying locals access to basic needs, in what is viewed as a weapon of war. At Shire, the foreign troops looted vehicles and household items besides controlling the strategic local airport.

Ethiopian forces occasionally tried to stop Eritrean forces, the two witnesses said. "But they simply watch them most of the time,” the man from Axum said. “Sometimes they try to stop them, but it is beyond their capacity.”

The Ethiopian government has remained mum over the current terror in the northern state, with stakeholders accusing Abiy Ahmed of "doing too little" to restore peace. Talks in South Africa are chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo but so far, not much progress has been made.

Witnesses further said Eritrean troops searched United Nations offices in Shire but the spokesperson of the Ethiopian government is yet to comment on the situation. There is hope that the situation will be contained in the coming months, with TPLF calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

For peace to prevail, TPLF insisted that Eritrean troops ought to withdraw first from various towns in the Tigray region, and in addition, the Ethiopian government ought to restore basic services such as electricity, banking, and humanitarian aid in the troubled region.

A leader of the Tigray forces, Tadesse Werede, said Thursday the Ethiopian government should ensure that Eritrean forces leave Tigray for any peace effort to be sustainable.

In the earliest weeks of the war, witnesses told the AP of widespread looting and violence including killings and rapes by forces from Eritrea, whose government under the only president the country has ever had, Isaias Afwerki, has long been hostile to Tigray leaders. For months, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed denied the Eritreans' presence in Tigray.

Eritrea has been caught at crossroads over the Tigray war, with President Isaias Afwerki accused of perpetuating mass killings of people, a strategy with TPLF argue is meant to exterminate the people of Tigray. The US has been pushing for reconciliation between the two parties.