The UN-backed commission said it had found evidence of violations by all sides that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanityNairobi (AFP) – Ethiopia warned on Wednesday that efforts by UN-backed investigators to probe abuses committed during the war in the country's north could "undermine" the progress of a peace agreement signed last year. In its first report published in September last year, the UN-backed International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said it had found evidence of violations by all sides that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. On Wednesday, Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen said the commission "could undermine the AU-led peace process & the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement with inflammatory rhetoric", referring to the African Union, which mediated the negotiations. Access to the region of six million people remains restricted, and it is impossible to verify independently the situation on the ground. The war erupted in November 2020 after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sent troops into Tigray, accusing the TPLF of attacking army bases there.

Source: Ethiopian News February 16, 2023 01:57 UTC