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Call on Anti- organizations, Think Tanks, Movements and the International Community to Urge the Federal Government of to Stop the War and Open Unfettered Humanitarian Access in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia

We are writing this urgent letter to draw your attention to the ongoing war in the Tigrai region of Ethiopia and to urge you to do all that is possible to end the war and avert the extant humanitarian catastrophe.

On November 4, 2020, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, declared an all- out war on the Tigrai region and its people for conducting a regional election on September 09, 2020 in accordance to the national constitution, in defiance of the Federal Government, which postponed the sixth Ethiopian general election indefinitely under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic. PM Abiy Ahmed’s administration calls the ongoing conflict a “law enforcement”, or a “rule of law” operation, and vehemently denies that it is an all-out war. However, this is not the case and the regime is pushing the “law enforcement” narrative with an intention to lower diplomatic pressure and to give the impression to the international community that it will come to an end quickly. In doing so, PM Abiy Ahmed seeks to have a freehand in conducting the war and the various atrocities against the citizens of Tigrai given that armed conflicts are regulated under international law.

It is worthy to note that this war is a culmination of the unprecedented events that have been building up since PM Abiy Ahmed took office in April 2018. The peace agreement between PM Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea, that earned the Ethiopian PM the , did not bring peace to the region. Instead, it led to a state of and was sadly used to form a coalition of forces against the Tigrai government and its people to launch the current war in order to consolidate the hegemonic rule of both leaders in the region. During the past two and half years, the Federal openly facilitated the wider insinuation of ethnic hatred against Tigraians throughout Ethiopia to justify the war against Tigrai and gain national support. This included the targeting, profiling and mass arrests of Tigraians (without due legal process); blockading federal roads that led to Tigrai; and encouraging the animosity and rhetoric of the neighboring to arm against Tigrai with pretext of land reclaims. Despite these unprecedented challenges, Tigrai was the only region in the country that was experiencing peace and development until PM Abiy Ahmed waged open war on November 4, 2020 in order to strategically destabilize it.

The world should therefore note that, this war was planned for the last two years and half, essentially by strategically depriving Tigrai in order to weaken its peoples economically and with military buildup and the military cooperation of PM Abiy Ahmed, President Isaias Afewerki and the Amhara regional state. With the proven involvement of Eritrean forces and drones, the war on Tigrai has become internationalized and has the potential to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa and beyond.

With the war, now ravaging the region for over 42 days, Tigrai, a home to nearly 7 million people, continues to suffer from the complete blockage of all forms of basic

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human necessities, communication and services. For over a month, all basic services including air and ground transportation, phone, internet, banking, fuel, electric power, and drinking water have been fully stopped. The war has so far led to more than 50,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan, the majority of which are women and children; and more than 1.3 million internally displaced people (IDPs).

The gross atrocities being committed against the people of Tigrai indicate that the war is being waged not only to derogate the constitutional rights of the Tigrai people and its’ democratically elected regional government, but to also crush the economy of the region and subjugate the people of Tigrai. There are ample reports that civil infrastructures (i.e. hydroelectric dam, universities, and telecommunications), factories (i.e. sugar, pharmaceutical, medical laboratories, textiles, dimensional stone, leather and fur, etc.), and private companies (i.e. hotels, government offices). have been looted and transported to Eritrea. However, the entire scope of the destruction and civilian casualties is not fully known due to the information gaps that exist because of the information blackout.

The military and political involvement of Eritrea is acknowledged by the US Government, which has now called for immediate withdrawal1. Nevertheless, due to lack of strict monitoring, the Eritrean forces are still highly engaged in the fighting. Latest reports also show the involvement of Somalian ground forces, and drones potentially stationed at the Eritrea’s Asseb base.

Although the Federal Government of Ethiopia had declared victory and has deceitfully claimed to have ceased the conflict after the capture of Mekelle, the capital of Tigrai, on the 28th November, the war continues to rage with daily indiscriminate and carpet- bombings and shelling using drones, fighter jets, ground artilleries, and door – to – door killings in various urban and rural areas. , on the 3rd of December, cited doctors in Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle reporting the deaths of at least 27 civilians and injuries of more than 100 due to indiscriminate artillery barrages on civilian areas in Mekelle, home to 500,000 residents. They also revealed severe shortages of oxygen and essential medical supplies in the hospitals, no water and electricity–– and thus no sterilization–, which presents severe challenges for providing even basic care2. Civilian starvation is also being used as a weapon of warfare. There are further reports of silent deaths of vulnerable residents at home in Mekelle and elsewhere in Tigrai due to starvation from the lack of food supplies, electricity and water, lack of cash due to the enforced bank closures and the collapse of the health services. Although, COVID-19 was largely under control before the military assault in Tigrai, the community transmission of the virus is alarmingly increasing especially in refugee camps, which cannot enforce distancing. Deaths due to COVID-19 and other communicable and chronic diseases (such as diabetic and hypertensive patients with no access to medicine) are now completely unaccounted for.

1 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/u-s-urges-withdrawal-of-eritrean-troops-from-ethiopia 2 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-civilian-casualties.html

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Despite the UN and Federal Government of Ethiopia’s agreement on 2nd of December for an ‘unimpeded’ humanitarian access3, the latest UN mission to the region was met with hostility as its field staffers were shot at and detained on 8th of December4. This shows the unwillingness of the Federal Government of Ethiopia to allow the start of humanitarian operations both in the areas held by the joint federal Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, and Tigrai Defense Forces. Four aid workers have been killed in the war5. Amidst the violence and humanitarian blockages, millions of innocent civilians are being subjected to mass starvation and collective punishment.

The war has also directly impacted large segments of the population affected by HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, diabetes and other chronic health conditions, who have been deprived of access to life-saving medicines; and more than 600,000 (10% of the population) people who rely on safety-net programs6; and nearly 100,000 Eritrean Refugees who were under the international community’s support7. There are overwhelming reports of killing of Eritrean refugees8 and deportation of the refuges to Eritrea, in violation of international law.

Therefore, the Global Society of Tigrai Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) and co- signing organizations, hereby are calling on all anti-war organizations, think tanks, movements and the international community at large to:

1. Make efforts for immediate cease-fire of all forms of hostilities, withdrawal of external forces, interdict the use of drones against civilians and public infrastructures, and commencement of humanitarian aid operations in all areas, both in the areas controlled by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, and Tigrai Defense Forces. 2. Open humanitarian corridor via Eastern Sudan to ensure the IDPs in Western Tigrai and the entire population of Tigrai to access much-needed humanitarian aid and medical supplies. 3. Pressure the Federal Government of Ethiopia to immediately restore basic services (electric power, telecommunication, internet, bank, roads, flights, etc.) as well as deliver life-saving medical and other supplies to people in all areas of the Tigrai region. 4. Hold the Federal Government of Ethiopia responsible for failing to respect the agreements it reached with the UN, for creating hostility on the UN mission and for deliberately hindering humanitarian operations, all of which are in contravention to humanitarian laws. 5. Facilitate for an independent and UN mandated investigation on all forms of atrocities, massacres, and crimes in the Tigrai regional state and its people

3 https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1079112 4 https://www.goskagit.com/news/world/ethiopias-forces-shoot-at-detain-un-staffers-in-tigray/article_bd0ac65f- 65b1-5761-bcf1-99f5362a20b9.html 5 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55274583 6 https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ethiopia_situation_report_no.1_tigray_humanitarian_upda te_7_november_2020.pdf 7 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55147858 8 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/11/disturbing-un-says-safety-of-eritrean-refugees-greatly-at-risk

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6. Impact on the UN Security Council to openly condemn Eritrea’s involvement, and most importantly to monitor Eritrean forces withdrawal and hold it accountable for its involvement in the invasion of Tigrai. 7. Hold the Federal Government of Ethiopia accountable for its severe breaches of international humanitarian law under the Geneva Conventions. Although Ethiopia has ratified several of the United Nation’s major human rights conventions, the Geneva Conventions and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, it has failed to ensure includes the protection of civilians and has orchestrated gross violations such as the intentional blockage of humanitarian aid for residents of Tigrai.

The GSTS 15th December 2020

CC ▪ The ▪ The UN Secretary General ▪ The European Commission ▪ The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) ▪ The UNHCR ▪ The United Nations Security Council ▪ The International Criminal Court Prosecutor ▪ The African Union Commission ▪ The ▪ The Genocide Watch ▪ The Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) ▪ The Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (GAVI) ▪ The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRD) ▪ The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) ▪ The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International ▪ The United Nations (WFP) ▪ The World Health Organization (WHO) ▪ The World Vision International ▪ The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ▪ The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ▪ The Media

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