ethnic violence – UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog

Civil War in Sudan: What is Happening and How to Help

none — Image 1. Sudan Civil War Refugee Holding up Sudan’s Flag. Source: Yahoo Images.

After claiming over 20,000 lives, the civil war in Sudan rages on due to the deadlock position of the opposing sides. The conflict began in April of 2023 and is now coming up on two years of fighting, displacement, and destruction in the region. Nearly 8.2 million civilians have been displaced, and about 46,700 people were forced to leave within the span of a week, October 20-27. As families seek safety in other locations, some face challenges such as hunger, violence, and lack of medical aid. Those who remain face severe threats, including potential sexual assault and fear for their life. The situation grows more precarious as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as “Hemedti” remain resistant to negotiations. Waiting for ceasefire operations to take place is not a realistic option. Sudanese people need protection now. International humanitarian law requires governments to take on the responsibility of protecting their citizens. It is time to respond to the humanitarian crisis occurring in Sudan.

Political Context Behind the Civil War

The tendrils of political unrest had been growing in Sudan for many years, but the catalyst event for the war took place in April of 2019 when the military coup deposed the president of 30 years. President Omar al-Bashir was arrested and forced from power in a military coup led by SAF and RSF forces after decades of government power. It began with protests spreading across the country demanding his removal due to his influence in the Darfur ethnic cleansing and the secession of South Sudan. The International Criminal Court has charged al-Bashir with five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes. The corruption, mass-killing, and humanitarian issues were significant factors behind the military coup of 2019. Afterward, the SAF, RSF and civilian political leaders were faced with the question of how to integrate the RSF into the SAF, and who would assume leadership of the newly consolidated government. Negotiations to resolve the issue petered off and violence quickly became the deciding factor. These two military factions, SAF and RSF, were battling for control, which led to the current civil war taking place in Sudan.

Consequences of War

Since the coup in 2019, an unprecedented form of fighting has occurred in Sudan. During previous civil wars, the government was fighting rebel groups. In this case, RSF is a legal paramilitary force at war with SAF another military organization. As war spreads across the country, the civilian death toll rises and the lives at risk continue to climb. Civilians are still subjected to torture and summary executions, while women and girls endure widespread sexual violence. The conflict has decimated the country’s healthcare system further exacerbating the situation. More than 70 percent of health facilities are currently non-functional due to looting, occupation, or destruction. Healthcare workers are unable to provide aid to victims of the conflict because they lack resources and pay. Many basic services such as access to food, safe drinking water, and a clean and healthy environment, have been reduced. High rates of malnutrition coupled with low levels of immunization have resulted in catastrophic impacts, particularly for children. Disease outbreaks will continue to spread without proper healthcare infrastructure.

The geographic disposition of Sudan has compounded the effects of the civil war with almost 600,000 people affected by heavy rains and flooding across the country. According to the Sudan Floods Dashboard, this has resulted in an estimated 180,835 people have been displaced, 97 people have been killed, and 124,196 households have been destroyed. Flooding has intensified food insecurity, especially in areas where an estimated 230,700 people are at high risk of famine. These communities have been devastated by the recent severe weather, exacerbating an already critical situation. The civil war in Sudan has left millions suffering, large populations forced to leave, and much of Sudan cut off from humanitarian assistance.

Need for Resolution

The Sudanese Civil War has plunged the country into devasting turmoil. The two sides fighting, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have no intention to stop anytime soon. Multiple efforts toward a U.N.-brokered humanitarian cease-fire only yielded partial success. In March of this year, the UN Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of violence in Sudan, but the resolution did not succeed. Initiatives like the Emergency Response Rooms, the Sudanese American Public Affairs Association, mutual-aid networks, and other civil society organizations have been highly active on the ground, courageously working despite immense danger. However, their numbers have dwindled as Sudan’s persistent violence continues to take a toll.

Without cooperative intervention, the crisis will only continue to escalate, leading to more lives lost and the future of hope distant. As a part of the international community, we must play a more active role in mediating the conflict and supporting peace efforts in Sudan. A peaceful resolution to the Sudanese Civil War is not only essential for the stability of Sudan but is also a humanitarian imperative. The brutality of the conflict—marked by widespread torture, summary executions, and pervasive sexual violence— is a clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Donating to institutions like the International Rescue Committee can help support an integrated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program, child protection services and support for women and girls, including services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), health and nutrition services provided through static health facilities, and livelihood assistance through multi-purpose cash aid to internally displaced persons and members of the communities that host them. Together we can call for an end to the civil unrest in Sudan. Raising awareness about the crisis in Sudan is essential to mobilize support and resources for those affected. Using social media to repost advocacy organizations such as the Carter Center, the Sudan Relief Fund, and Mercy Corps International Sudan is a great way to use the platform to advocate for Sudan. As members of a global community, it is our moral obligation to ensure that Sudan can rebuild and move toward a future of peace and prosperity.

Crisis in Ethiopia: An Overview of the Conflict in Tigray

Purpose of image is to provide context of Tigray's location within Africa — The Tigray Region, highlighted in red, has been a source of major tension within Ethiopia because of ethnic and cultural divides. SOURCE : Yahoo! Images

Like many other nations in Africa, Ethiopia has had a long and storied history. Known as one of the world’s oldest nations, Ethiopia first emerged as one of the world’s first Christian states, centered around the ancient kingdom of Aksum. As European powers began to colonize the interior of Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Ethiopia thrust itself onto the world stage after a game-changing victory against colonial Italy during the 1896 Battle of Adwa. Ethiopia remained one of a very few African states to have never been extensively colonized, with Ethiopia’s monarchy only falling under the rule of fascist Italy briefly before being freed by the Allied Powers in World War II.

Ethiopia became a powerful advocate for the decolonization of Africa following the end of the Second World War. Haile Selassie I, who ruled as Ethiopian emperor from 1930 until his assassination in 1974, brought Ethiopia into both the League of Nations and the United Nations. He also made Addis Ababa the center of international cooperation in African politics with the establishment of the Organization for African Unity (now known as the African Union).

Despite Ethiopia once being regarded as a center of African progress and unity, great troubles have befallen this ancient nation. After the ancient monarchy ended with the assassination of Emperor Haile Selassie II and the establishment of a new military government, conflict began in the Ethiopian region of Tigray.

Beginning with the establishment of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region began a decades long conflict with Ethiopia’s new government in 1975. Tigray, which is located in Northern Ethiopia, has long supported a mostly agrarian population, with local peoples growing crops such as cereals, legumes, coffee, and cotton. The Tigray people, who make up about 10% of the population of modern-day Ethiopia and 50% of the population of Ethiopia’s northern neighbor Eritrea, are known to have descended from Semitic peoples, and today most ethnically Tigrayan people adhere to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo (Coptic) Church, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Despite numerous cultural and religious similarities between the Tigray people and the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups (which account for about 60% of Ethiopia’s total population when combined), linguistic differences and political rivalry have been the cause of multiple conflicts between the Tigray people and the central Ethiopian government, including the war that began in November of 2020.

An Overview of the War in Tigray

In November 2020, the Ethiopian central government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, began a campaign against the TPLF, which had retreated back to the region of Tigray after being ousted by Ahmed’s new government despite Ahmed’s former ties with the party. Despite the Ethiopian government’s stated mission “to arrest the political and military leadership of the ousted regional government in what it still refers to as a law enforcement operation“, civilian structures in Tigray communities such as hospitals, schools, factories, and businesses have been ravaged by the conflict. Reports from among the ethnic Amhara elite in Ethiopia have found that many view the conflict as a war of expansion, and Amhara militia and special forces have been “pivotal” in aiding Ahmed’s war campaign. Because of Tigray’s history as an agrarian powerhouse for Ethiopia, despite possessing little arable land and sparse vegetation, many experts have pointed out that the war in Tigray seems to be over “access to and control of land“, and as the region of Tigray has been cultivated for millennia, it is a prime target for control by the new ruling elite of Ethiopia.

Before the military campaign began, tensions began to rise between Tigray and the Ethiopian government as Ahmed postponed regional parliamentary elections due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In defiance of the central government, Tigray held elections in September 2020, and these elections were quickly deemed illegitimate by the federal government. Early in November, it was reported that TPLF forces attempted to steal weapons from a federal military base in Tigray, and the conflict began hours later after a declaration from Prime Minister Ahmed. Despite the government’s reports, the TPLF declared that the preemptive strike was necessary, as special forces had arrived just days before in preparation of an assault on the TPLF.

Swift action was taken against the TPLF, despite the presence of ethnically Tigray officers within the Ethiopian military, causing several instances of in-fighting between rival units. Phone and internet communication within the region was restricted, and the Federal Council of Ministers declared a six month state of emergency within Tigray that took effect on November 4, 2020.

As the conflict continues to rage, human rights accusations against Ahmed’s government swirl. Several reports have found that special forces within Tigray have committed multiple attacks against civilians. Devastation reached all parts of the Tigray region, and it has been reported that as of December 2021, up to 400,000 people within Tigray may be living in “famine-like” conditions, despite a unilateral ceasefire from the Ethiopian government that was issued on June 28, 2021. A report from the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner found large amounts of human rights abuses occurring in Tigray between October 2020 and June 2021, including “extrajudicial killings, torture, pillaging, sexual and gender-based violence, and the forcible displacement of civilians.” The war in Tigray has left up to “nine in ten people” in the region needing humanitarian assistance, and over two million people have been displaced by the conflict. Thousands of refugees from the region have ended up in Sudan, worsening the water crisis that is beginning to happen in the region.

Potential Solutions

Following a special session of the United Nations that was called for by concerned parties in the European Union, The United Nations drafted a resolution on the conflict in Tigray and set up an international human rights probe into the conflict. Key aspects of the resolution include calls to all parties participating in the conflict to halt “direct attacks against civilians…including on the basis of their ethnicity or gender”. The draft also called for an end to attacks on civilian assets such as crops and livestock, and provided guidance to the Ethiopian government regarding ending the conflict within the region and providing transitional justice mechanisms, specifically for “accountability, reconciliation, and healing“. The Ethiopian government will be responsible for updating the UN Human Rights Council on the conflict’s progress during its 50th session, which will occur in June 2022.

Some human rights advocates have also called for Prime Minister Ahmed to be stripped of his 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, of which he was awarded for “his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.” Ahmed has taken a particularly active role in the conflict, making multiple appearances on the frontlines as battlefield commander, and has also been accused of using the peace deal he brokered with Eritrea in order to more successfully subdue Tigray.

As the conflict continuing to violate human rights within Tigray, human rights watchers are hopeful that the United Nations may be able to produce a peaceful resolution to the conflict within Tigray. With the Ethiopian report due in June, there may be hope for a brighter future within the region.

Violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia

In the northernmost part of Ethiopia, there is a region composed of an ethnic minority called the Tigrayans that oppose increasing the power of the central government. This region has 7 million ethnic Tigrayans, which is 7% of Ethiopia’s population, and they have a significant influence on national affairs. The conflict between the government of Ethiopia and Tigray has been growing since the current Prime Minister took power in 2018. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wants to unify the country by increasing the power of the federal government and taking power away from autonomous regions like Tigray.

Prior to Abiy taking office, the regional government called Tigray People’s Liberation Front had a lot more authority. TPLF had been in power for more than three decades until they were forced to step down by protestors. President Abiy created a political party that united several ethnic minorities to form the Prosperity Party. TPLF decided to not become a part of this party and remain in control of the Tigray region. After this decision was made, key Tigray leaders were taken out of power due to accusations of corruption. The Ethiopian government also delayed elections in 2020, which the leaders of Tigray opposed. In resistance to Abiy’s government trying to take away their autonomous power, Tigray held regional elections in September 2020.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on the left in Tshwane, South Africa — GovernmentZA

In response to the regional elections, the federal government declared them illegitimate and cut funding to the region in October. Ethnic tensions in Ethiopia have been a problem since the military junta overthrew the centuries-old monarchy in 1974. The TPLF and another political party representing the Oromo people pushed against the junta because they perceived the takeover as a domination of the Amhara people and language. Since then, violence has occurred as tensions rise between different ethnic groups. In July 2020, accusations of ethnic cleansing against Oromo youth were made when groups targeted Amhara and Gurage people in the Oromia region. Most ethnic groups in Ethiopia have faced violence from other groups or exclusion by the central government depending on which political party was in power.

The situation in Tigray escalated to violence in November 2020, when TPLF laid siege to a key Ethiopian military base at Sero. In response to the attack by mortar and tanks, the Ethiopian government launched an offensive against the Tigray region. By the end of November, the federal government’s forces had retaken Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray. In the aftermath of the conflict, accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans have been made against the government of Ethiopia and their Eritrean allies. The most notable figure to bring this light has been the leader of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael. In an interview in February, Gebremichael called for an independent probe into the alleged killings, rapes, and torture.

A protest in Addis Ababa against the TLPF when they were in power in 2014 — Gadaa.com

The US State Department has released credible reports and accounts that support claims of ethnic cleansing and other human rights abuses. Reports include indiscriminate shelling on civilians by the Ethiopian government and looting by soldiers after Tigrayans fled the area. The abuse allegations are not limited to the government of Ethiopia. Eyewitnesses report that Eritrean soldiers fired on a crowd of Tigrayans leaving Maryam Dengelat church in Dengelat, a village in the east of the Tigray region. CNN also spoke to doctors that are reporting sexual violence used as a weapon against women in the area.

The conflict has led to tens of thousands of Tigrayans fleeing as refugees into neighboring Sudan. Thousands are believed to have been killed, though numbers are only estimates since human rights organizations are unable to get into the area due to fighting. One Ethiopian official said around 2.2 million people have fled their homes. In the past few weeks, journalists have finally been able to get into the region to release witness accounts and situation reports. In recent decades, Ethiopia has been a close ally of the United States and a stable presence in the Horn of Africa. Analysts worry that the recent human rights abuses and conflict may upset this status and make Ethiopia a source of instability.

People from the Trigray region of Ethiopia — Rod Waddington

Reports of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Tigray are just the most recent reports of violence against minorities in Ethiopia. The linguistic and religious makeup of the country makes it one of the most diverse in the region. Minority Rights Group International keeps a world directory based on census data, and Ethiopia consists of over 90 distinct ethnic groups that speak 80 different languages. The country is 43.5% Orthodox Christian and 33.9% Muslim, with the remainder following Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and traditional religions. The largest ethnic groups include the Oromo at 34.9% of the population, Amhara at 27.9%, and Tigray at 7.3%. The unique makeup of groups with different beliefs creates a difficult terrain for the government in power to navigate and future cooperation against violence is necessary to end the hate against minority groups.