Ethiopia convicts soldiers of crimes against civilians in Tigray

Ethiopia’s military prosecutors have convicted three soldiers of rape and pressed charges against 28 others suspected of killing civilians in the ongoing conflict in the northern Tigray region, the attorney general’s office announced.

In addition, 25 other soldiers are charged with rape and other forms of sexual violence, according to a statement on Friday.

The statement by the attorney general’s office also confirmed reports of two massacres in Tigray. It said 229 civilians were killed in the town of Mai Kadra at the beginning of November.

Moreover, the Ethiopian government also for the first time accused troops from neighbouring Eritrea of killing civilians in the war-hit region.

It said 110 civilians were killed in the city of Axum on November 27 and 28 “by Eritrean troops”.

“The investigation shows that 70 civilians have been killed in the city [of Axum] while they were outdoors,” said the report, adding that some of those killed might have been “irregular combatants”.