In the grand rallies of the Amhara community of Ethiopia across the world, protesters have condemned the international community’s and broadcasters’ silence on the ongoing Amhara “genocide” in Ethiopia.
The rallies occurred in London, the UK, Washington D.C. and Minnesota, the U.S., and Pretoria, South Africa on Sunday 10 November 2024.
A similar rally was also held in Frankfurt, Germany, on November 9, 2024, where the Amhara communities of Ethiopia were seen in larger numbers than ever before, carrying placards reading “Stop Amhara Genocide.”
In the huge rally in London, the Amhara community of Ethiopia artistically displayed the atrocities that are being committed in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, saying “Stop Amhara Genocide,” “UAE-Stop Sponsoring Amhara Genocide” and “British government- Break your Silence”.
They blamed international broadcasters like BBC and Al-Jazeera for not covering the “genocide” in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, demanding to break their silence.
The protesters in Washington D.C blamed the current U.S. government for enabling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to fund the “war on Amhara.”
They strongly denounced the Joe Biden administration’s ignorance of the active “genocide” against the Amhara people in Ethiopia.
“A massive war on Amhara started right after IMF released 1 billion dollars to the Ethiopian government. For the ongoing drone attack, we should also go to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and denounce the delivery of drones to the Ethiopian government,” said a priest from the U.S.
Drone strikes in Amhara region
Intensified drone strikes have been recorded since the beginning of October 2024 that killed hundreds of civilians in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
Drone strikes killed dozens of civilians in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
In the latest report, 50 civilians including pregnant women were reportedly killed by drone strikes in Ethiopia’s Amhara region on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Eyewitnesses told BBC Amharic that three consecutive drone strikes massacred innocent people aged from child to elder in North Gojjam Zone, South Achefer Wereda (district) of the Amhara regional state.
Similarly, the Ethiopian government forces reportedly carried out such a drone strike near Debre Berahan City, North Shewa Zone of Amhara region on November 4, 2024.
Earlier this month, on October 16, 2024, drone strikes reportedly killed several civilians surrounding Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara regional state, and other areas in Gojjam and the North Shewa Zones (provinces) of the region.
Multiple Drone strikes killed civilians in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
A renewed fight started at the beginning of October 2024, following the ENDF’s announcement of a “decisive offensive” against Fano militias on October 1, 2024.
According to the recent report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the use of drones by the ENDF/Ethiopian Air Force caused 248 civilian deaths with 18 registered drone strikes in the region just between 4 August and 31 December 2023.
594 incidents of human rights violations and abuses impacting 8,253 victims have been registered in Ethiopia, whereby the state actors are responsible for 70 percent of the violations, the report indicates.
OHCHR also underscored that the situation in the Amhara region is “concerning” with a total of 740 civilian deaths recorded in 2023 alone, “most of which were attributed to the government security forces”.
On November 6, 2024, Amnesty International called for an end to the month-long detention of thousands in the Amhara Region, expressing that Ethiopia’s troops are arbitrarily jailing thousands of civilians in makeshift detention camps in the region that Amnesty calls a “routine tactic”.
“Ethiopia has entered a new era of disregard for national, regional, and international human rights obligations,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
