Ethiopia military honor soldiers killed in Tigray

Ethiopian military personnel and the public commemorated federal soldiers killed by forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) at the start of the conflict a year ago, during a ceremony in Addis Ababa.

Lieutenant-General Bacha Debele of the Ethiopian National Defense Force joined current and former troops and other attendees at the event, vowing to "never kneel to the force of the enemy."

The ceremony continued into the evening with a candle-lit service.

The conflict that has killed thousands began in November 2020 after a political falling-out between the Tigray forces that long dominated the national government and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s current government.

The United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday that all sides in Ethiopia's yearlong war in the Tigray region have committed abuses marked by "extreme brutality" that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ethnic Tigrayans across the country have reported being targeted with arbitrary detentions, while civilians in Tigray have described gang rapes, human-caused famine and mass expulsions.

The investigation, a rare collaboration by the U.N. human rights office with the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, was hampered by authorities’ intimidation and restrictions, and didn’t visit some of the war’s worst-affected locations.

The U.N. told The Associated Press the collaboration was necessary for its team to gain access to a troubled region that Ethiopian authorities have largely prevented journalists, rights groups and other observers from entering.

The report was released a day before the first anniversary of the start of the war and as Africa’s second most populous country enters a new state of emergency, with rival Tigray forces threatening the capital, Addis Ababa.