A new report concludes that Ethiopian forces committed genocidal acts during the Tigray war. Issued on Tuesday by the U.S.-based New Lines Institute, the 120-page draft cites multiple credible independent sources indicating that Ethiopian forces and their allies carried out “acts constituting the crime of genocide” during the conflict from 2020-2022. The authors urge that Ethiopia be brought before the International Court of Justice.
The Tigray war began in November 2020 when the regional government’s bid for autonomy prompted the Ethiopian military to enter the northern region. Thousands died in the two-year conflict, which officially ended in November 2022. Both sides accused each other of atrocities, including massacres, rape, and arbitrary detentions, but deny responsibility for these abuses.
A United Nations report issued last September indicated that war crimes and crimes against humanity were still being committed nearly a year after the fighting officially ended. The New Lines Institute report now asserts there is sufficient evidence that Ethiopia’s actions violated the Genocide Convention, targeting civilians with mass killings and starvation tactics. The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the allied Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), and various regional militias are said to have “possessed the intent to destroy Tigrayans as an ethnic group.”
The report identifies at least four genocidal acts: killing Tigrayans, causing serious bodily or mental harm, inflicting life conditions aimed at their destruction, and measures to prevent births among Tigrayans. Additionally, social media posts by “certain individuals” are cited as public incitement to genocide.
Ethiopia has denied its forces committed war crimes and has been accused of preventing international scrutiny. Eritrea claims accusations against it are defamatory. However, the new report, compiled over two years with contributions from dozens of legal experts, supports the UN’s findings and states there is a “reasonable basis to believe” that the countries are responsible for war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.
The authors call on the international community to pressure Ethiopia through bilateral rel
