13/08/2025
2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ethiopia
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
While a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in late 2022 between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front continued to largely hold, the Amhara and Oromia regions experienced conflict between government forces and Amhara Fano militia forces and the Oromo Liberation Army, respectively. From August 2023 through June 4, a state of emergency was in effect under which there were reports of widespread government violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions. Reports of conflict-related human rights abuses in the Amhara and Oromia regions continued through the year, even after the state of emergency expired, and despite the initial state of emergency decree containing language specific to the Amhara Region. In addition, there was a crackdown on fundamental freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly throughout the country, with numerous reports of intimidation and restrictions on journalists, civil society members, human rights defenders, and opposition members, as well as several suspensions of independent human rights organizations.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; transnational repression against individuals in another country; serious abuses in a conflict; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests of journalists and censorship.
The government took limited steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses. The government stated it prosecuted some lower-level officers for abuses, but details were scant.
There were reports of widespread killings of civilians, mass forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, r**e and other forms of violence against women and girls, looting, and destruction of property by Amhara militias and affiliated groups in western Tigray. There were also reports of widespread unlawful killings of civilians and government officials in the Amhara and Oromia regions and elsewhere, including by the Oromo Liberation Army and Amhara Fano militia. Local militia groups in the Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, and Somali regions reportedly carried out attacks and killings of civilians, displacing thousands. The government reportedly engaged in dialogue with some groups and prosecuted some nonstate actors.
Section 1.
Life
a. Extrajudicial Killings
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) reported numerous cases of unlawful or extrajudicial killings within the context of continued conflicts in Amhara and Oromia regions and other parts of the country, including Tigray. HRW documented several cases of executions of detainees.
There were numerous instances when the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and regional police forces reportedly used excessive lethal force against civilians within the context of conflict. On February 13, a Reuters investigative report revealed the Oromia Regional Government’s Koree Nageenya (Security Committee in the Afaan Oromoo language) committed widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions, particularly targeting ethnic and religious minorities and political opponents.
On April 9, unknown assailants killed Bate Urgessa, a prominent opposition politician, in Meki town, Oromia Region. The EHRC called for an independent investigation into the killing, emphasizing the need for accountability and justice, but there was no public release of the investigation as of year’s end.
b. Coercion in Population Control
There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.
c. War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Evidence of Acts that May Constitute Genocide, or Conflict-Related Abuses
In 2022, the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), ending active hostilities, which continued to hold throughout the year, although reports of abuses by Eritrean troops along the border and by militia groups persisted. In March 2023, the U.S. Secretary of State “determined members of the ENDF, Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), TPLF forces, and Amhara forces committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia. Members of the ENDF, EDF, and Amhara forces also committed crimes against humanity, including killings, r**e and other forms of sexual violence, and abuses. Members of the Amhara forces also committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer and committed ethnic cleansing in western Tigray.”
During the year, the Amhara and Oromia regions experienced conflict between government forces and Fano militia and the OLA, respectively.
In August 2023, the government imposed a state of emergency related to conflict in the Amhara Region that applied nationwide, under which numerous abuses were reported. Despite the expiration of the emergency decree on June 4, abuses continued in both Amhara and Oromia regions.
During the year, government counterinsurgency campaigns against the Fano militia in Amhara Region, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Oromia Region, and militias in the Benishangul-Gumuz, Central Ethiopia, and Gambella regions continued, with numerous reports of unlawful killings, including killings of civilians. In addition, there were reports of extrajudicial killings by the EDF and regional militia in the Tigray Region, as well as reports of killings of civilians by other militia groups.
According to the OHCHR, from January 2023 to January, at least 1,351 civilians were killed in the country due to attacks by government forces, Eritrean troops, antigovernment militias, and unknown actors. Of these, 740 civilians were killed in the Amhara Region. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles by government forces resulted in 248 civilian deaths between August 4 and December 31, 2023, and destroyed vital infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and water infrastructure, according to the OHCHR update. Between November 2023 and April, the EHRC documented numerous instances of unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by government forces in conflict-affected areas of North, West, and East Gojjam zones, as well as Bahir Dar and nearby areas, South Gondar, North Shewa and Oromia Special Zone of Amhara Region. Similar incidents were reported in North, South, West, Southwest, and East Shewa zones, Horo Gudru Wollega, West Guji Zone, and West Arsi Zone in Oromia Region.
On January 29, at least 89 civilians were killed by government troops in Merawi town near Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, according to media reports. On April 12, Amnesty International released its investigation into this incident, which followed clashes between Amhara Fano militia and the ENDF. The report corroborated eyewitness accounts with satellite imagery to conclude ENDF soldiers rounded up residents from their homes, shops, and the streets, and summarily executed more than 50 individuals. Both Amnesty International and HRW criticized the government’s lack of credible efforts to provide justice and prevent such atrocities.
On May 12, Deutsche Welle (DW) Amharic reported two drone strikes in the North Shewa zone of the Amhara Region’s Kewet and Molale districts killed at least 10 civilians. An eyewitness in Kewet District stated a drone strike hit a school, resulting in the death of seven schoolteachers who had gathered for holiday festivities on the school compound. Another witness from Molale District reported a drone strike on the same day attacked a residential house, killing three civilians along with three Fano members. The EHRC announced it was investigating the incident.
On June 15, the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) reported in Oromia Region, a member of the ENDF r**ed a woman, age 18, and subsequently shot her to prevent her from reporting the incident in the region’s Bule Hora District. The soldiers also threatened her entire family and killed her father. In Oromia Region, media reported the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and government authorities blamed the OLA for killing four monks at the Ziquala Monastery in East Shewa Zone, while political opposition groups accused government security services of the killings.
The OHCHR recorded 594 incidents of human rights abuses affecting 8,253 victims, with government actors responsible for 70 percent of the abuses.
On July 3, HRW released a report titled, If the Soldier Dies, It’s on You: Attacks on Medical Care in Ethiopia’s Amhara, highlighting government security forces’ abuses. These forces, which included the ENDF and government militias, deliberately deprived the civilian population of essential items such as food, drinking water, and medical aid, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, according to the report. The report documented instances where humanitarian access was denied, and where humanitarian workers were attacked, further hindering relief efforts. Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian property, including schools and health-care facilities, continued, causing widespread fear and disruption, according to the report.
Between August 2023 and May, HRW conducted 58 interviews with victims, witnesses, health professionals, and aid workers. Specific incidents highlighted the severity of the situation. For example, in December 2023, an apparent drone strike targeted an ambulance in the South Wollo Zone, killing the driver and a patient. In another instance, hospitals in the South Gonder Zone were repeatedly raided by government forces searching for patients with gunshot or trauma wounds, whom they suspected of being affiliated with Fano fighters. These raids led to wrongful arrests and the destruction of medical supplies. The report also noted the continued hostilities disrupted the delivery of medical supplies, leading to acute shortages in hospitals and health-care centers. This severely affected these facilities’ ability to provide adequate care.
On February 29, Refugees International reported despite the COHA, the situation in Tigray remained dire, with deliberate deprivation of essential items such as food, drinking water, and medical aid severely impacting the civilian population. According to the report, Eritrean troops, Amhara forces, and others had not fully withdrawn from parts of Tigray and at times denied humanitarian access, and there were reports of attacks against humanitarian workers, further complicating relief efforts. Civilians and civilian properties, including schools and health-care facilities, were deliberately targeted.
Many families resorted to desperate measures, such as feeding their children cattle roots feed or forcing them to sleep longer to stave off hunger pains. The Tigray Bureau of Health reported 60 percent of households were experiencing moderate or severe hunger, a rate even higher than during the 2020-2022 war.
https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/ethiopia
