Vice President of the Tigray Interim Administration, General Tadesse Woreda, stated Saturday that the Interim Administration will take tough measures to ensure that the increasing security threats and crimes in Tigray are addressed and controlled. In line with this announcement, the Tigray Interim Administration released a statement revealing a new initiative to combat crime in the region.
In his press briefing on the escalating security concerns in Tigray, General Tadesse said that the crimes currently plaguing the region cannot be addressed through conventional policing measures. He stressed that tackling this crisis will be a top priority for their security forces and all law enforcement agencies, who will work tirelessly to regain control of the situation. General Tadesse further underscored that regardless of whether the perpetrators are government officials, security personnel, or investors, they will take all necessary steps to address and resolve the mounting security threats and criminal activities in Tigray. He concluded by assuring that this initiative will remain steadfast in the face of any challenges that may arise along the way.
The Interim Administration’s initiative follows extensive investigations conducted by committees formed after the November 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement, a treaty signed between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to a establish “permanent cessation of hostilities” and end the Tigray War. According to the statement, the administration has begun detaining suspects involved in serious crimes that have been plaguing the region. The communiqué emphasized that the primary goal of this initiative is to eradicate illegal activities and bring criminals to justice. Furthermore, the administration reported that authorities have already started arresting individuals involved in major crimes, specifically mentioning illegal iron ore smuggling as one of the targeted activities.
Serious crimes and human rights violations continue to plague the Tigray region. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that even after the November 2, 2022 ceasefire agreement, local authorities and Amhara forces have continued to forcibly remove Tigrayans from Western Tigray Zone. HRW describes this as an “ethnic cleansing campaign” that has been ongoing since the outbreak of armed conflict in November 2020. According to the organization, this campaign has allegedly involved war crimes and crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detention, torture, and forced deportation of Tigrayans.
Compounding these concerns, twenty-seven Tigray-based civil society organizations recently issued an urgent call to action to address the dramatic increase in gender-based violence against women in the region. These groups have strongly criticized the Tigray Transitional Government’s security and justice institutions for failing to prevent these crimes and hold perpetrators accountable. Selamawit Giday, who heads the Rise and Shine Women’s Protection Center, one of the organizations involved, emphasized the profound societal impact of this violence. She urged the Tigray regional administration to ensure that its security and justice institutions enforce the law with integrity, impartiality and accountability. The gravity of the situation is illustrated by a Mekelle city police report cited by DW, which revealed disturbing statistics: in the past eleven months alone, 12 women were murdered, 80 raped, 10 kidnapped and 178 faced attempted murder.
