UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to take immediate measures to reduce tensions, as the situation in Tigray remains highly unstable, according to UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani at today’s (10 Feb) Geneva press briefing.
The call follows Ethiopia’s allegations that Eritrean forces carried out a massacre in Tigray and its demand for Eritrean troops to withdraw from its territory.
Shamdasani highlighted that recent clashes between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and regional Tigray Security Forces (TSF) underscore the risk of a worsening human rights crisis in northern Ethiopia. “The situation is extremely volatile and could deteriorate further, aggravating an already fragile humanitarian and human rights landscape,” she said.
The spokesperson stressed the need for coordinated efforts by all parties, supported by the international community, to prevent escalation. “Political dialogue and confidence-building measures must take precedence over renewed armed conflict,” Shamdasani added.
Fighting intensified on 26 January in Tselemti and Laelay Tselemti in north-west Tigray, near the Amhara border, prompting the TSF to withdraw from Tselemti on 1 February. Both sides reportedly employed drones, artillery, and other heavy weaponry, with multiple arrests and detentions occurring during and after the clashes.
Civilians remain caught in the crossfire, facing arrests based on alleged affiliations with opposing forces, a practice the UN condemns. In southern and south-eastern Tigray, near the Afar border, fighting continues between the TSF and the rival “Tigray Peace Forces.”
Over one million people remain internally displaced from the 2020-2022 Tigray conflict, which claimed numerous lives and uprooted over two million individuals. Accurate casualty figures remain unclear due to varying reports.
Shamdasani emphasized that all parties must step back and pursue political solutions, with independent investigations into alleged human rights abuses conducted without exception.
The High Commissioner also voiced concern over escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, warning that these disputes could worsen existing humanitarian and human rights challenges across both nations and the wider Horn of Africa.
