Ethiopian army accused

2005-03-24 20:33

Nairobi - Ethiopia's army has committed massive human rights abuses that may constitute crimes against humanity against the indigenous Anuak population in the country's southwestern Gambella region, a leading rights watchdog charged on Thursday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the army had launched a systematic campaign against the Anuak beginning in late 2003 and that a recent announcement that six soldiers would be tried for their involvement fell far short of addressing the matter.

"The Ethiopian military has committed widespread murder, rape and torture against the Anuak population in the remote southwestern region of Gambella since December 2003," the group said.

"The abuses ... could amount to crimes against humanity," it said in a 64-page report entitled "Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region" released here.

The Ethiopian government angrily denied the accusations, saying the report was based on "lies" and was politically motivated ahead of May general elections.

"Human Rights Watch has produced a completely unfounded report, based on lies," information minister Berekat Simon told AFP by phone in Addis Ababa just hours after the group unveiled the scathing report.

'Legitimate target for attack'

HRW said the campaign against the Anuak community - ostensibly part of a crackdown on armed groups responsible for brutal attacks - was launched after the massacre of some 400 civilians in Gambella town by mobs and soldiers.

It said the military was treating "Gambella's entire Anuak population as a legitimate target for attack".

In the days that followed the massacre, "the military launched a series of attacks on Anuak villages that destroyed well over 1 000 homes and left several dozen villagers dead," the report said, citing testimony from witnesses to and victims of the abuses.

Many smaller incidents ensued in which Anuak men were routinely beaten and sometimes killed, women raped and houses looted during sweeps of villages that forced thousands of people to flee their homes, it said.

"Many of the victims were shot down from behind as they tried to flee attacks on their villages," the report said.

"Beatings and torture of Anuak civilians by soldiers have become such common occurrences in much of the region that many of the victims ... said that they consider it to be a normal part of their existence," it said.

The group dismissed as inadequate last week's announcement by Addis Ababa that six soldiers would be tried in connection with the violence in Gambella, about 450km southwest of the capital, that continued through early 2004.

"The Ethiopian government must address its responsibility for the horrific crimes that the army has committed against Anuak civilians in Gambella," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division.

'Highlanders'

"While serious abuses have continued, the government has focused only on prosecuting a handful of soldiers involved in the December massacre," he said.

Throughout the troubles in Gambella, Ethiopia's government had denied allegations that the army was involved despite widespread scepticism from international donors, including the United States and European Union.

Officially, the government has said a total of 253 people were killed and blamed the majority of deaths on fighting between the Anuak and so-called "highlanders" or people originating from other areas of Ethiopia.

Last week, though, the results were released of an official investigation that found enough evidence to try six soldiers involved in the December 13 2003 killings.

But Human Rights Watch said the prosecutions should be expanded to cover the entire period of violence.

- AFP