Politics

Right groups accuse Ethiopian forces of ethnic cleansing in Tigray region

Published

3 years ago

April 7, 2022

Two international human rights groups, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused Ethiopian forces from the Amhara region of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the neighboring Tigray region.

The new report jointly issued by the two rights groups on Wednesday, revealed that hundreds of thousands of civilians in western Tigray have been unlawfully killed, sexually assaulted, forced from their homes with threats and denial of aid, which “amounted to crimes against humanity as well as war crimes,” the report said.

The report also reveal widespread abuses against civilians in the embattled Tigray region allegedly perpetrated by security officials and civilian authorities from the neighboring Amhara region.

“Sometimes, these abuses are with the acquiescence and possible participation of Ethiopian federal forces.

“The abuses are part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Tigrayan civilian population that amount to crimes against humanity as well as war crimes.”

The report, a result of months-long investigation including more than 400 interviews, also allege that several atrocities have been reported in the Tigray war, with Ethiopian government troops and their allies, including troops from neighboring Eritrea, commiting most of the crimes.

Ethiopian federal authorities have, however, strongly refuted the allegations but they have been accused of deliberately targeting Tigrayans for violent attacks since the outbreak of war in November 2020.

Western Tigray has long been a contested territory and has been a point of contention between the ethnic Amhara and Tigray communities for decades.

The Amhara authorities say the area was under their control until the 1990s when the Tigray-led government which ruled Ethiopia for nearly 30 years, redrew internal boundaries that put the territory within Tigray’s borders.

The outbreak of the war brought these longstanding and unaddressed grievances to the fore with Amhara regional forces, along with Ethiopian federal forces, reportedly seizing these territories and displacing Tigrayan civilians in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign, the report added.

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.