Photograph: EHRC-screenshot
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has urged the Ethiopian government to stop arbitrary detention in the Amhara region immediately.
The commission says it has monitored mass arrests in Gonder, Bahir Dar and other parts of the region starting mid-September that have been committed without due process of law and following the human rights declarations.
“Civil servants, members of the political parties, media practitioners, civil societies have been taken to temporary stations without a court order,” said the commission in a press statement.
The commission’s statement came right after 6 days of Amnesty International’s condemnation over the “ongoing arbitrary detention of hundreds of people, including members of the academic community, in major towns across Ethiopia’s Amhara region since 28 September 2024”.
Heavy gun fires have reportedly been heard in many places in Ethiopia’s Amhara region following the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) announced the commencement of a major military operation against Fano militias last Tuesday.
Fano forces have been battling the government forces for more than 17 months now, although the government planned to dismantle them within two weeks.
