By John Ikani
Ethiopia’s Armed Forces killed more than 50 civilians in an air strike in the northern region of Tigray in January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
50 others were injured when a drone dropped bombs on a school compound housing thousands of people displaced by fighting, it added.
Most of the victims were women, children and elderly people sleeping in makeshift tents.
It also accuses Ethiopia of committing a war crime because there were no military targets in the area.
The rights watchdog in a statement went on to “urge the Ethiopian government to carry out a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of the apparent war crime and appropriately prosecute those responsible.”
The conflict in northern Ethiopia began in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to disarm and detain the region’s dissident leadership.
Since then, fighting dragged on and spread, displacing hundreds of thousands and fuelling a severe humanitarian crisis.
The conflict has claimed thousands of lives, and both sides have been repeatedly accused of human rights violations and atrocities.
In March, UN Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet reported that at least 304 civilians were killed and 373 injured between late November and late February in aerial bombardments apparently carried out by the Ethiopian military.
