Gov't troops committed crimes in Gambella, says HRW

Ethiopian troops committed widespread killings, rape and torture against the indigenous Anyuak population in an oil-rich western province, a rights group said on Thursday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said numerous attacks by soldiers and civilians from other ethnic groups killed more than 500 people in the Gambella region in 2003 and 2004, bordering Sudan. However, the government dismissed the report. "The situation in Gambella is settled and everything is peaceful now," government spokesman, Zemedkun Teckle, told IRIN. "The people there are living peacefully right now. We are very surprised [and] do not understand why Human Rights Watch is now trying to ignite this issue." The allegations come in a 64-page report entitled, "Targeting the Anyuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region". It details the killing of more than 400 Anyuak in December 2003, adding that the killings and rape continued into mid 2004. More than 100 people were killed after the initial fighting. The violence erupted after Anyuak gunmen allegedly ambushed a government vehicle, killing eight people. The Anyuak were then targeted in reprisal killings. Gambella, which has a total population of 228,000, is ethnically diverse with people from the Nuer, Anyuak, Majanger, Komo and Opo tribes. HRW said the abuses detailed in the report could amount to crimes against humanity, a claim rejected by the Ethiopian authorities. "The Ethiopian government must address its responsibility for the horrific crimes that the army has committed against Anyuak civilians in Gambella," Peter Takirambudde, executive director of HRW's Africa Division, said. "The government claims that the military is trying to bring stability to Gambella's countryside," Takirambudde added. "But in fact it's the army that is terrorising the rural population with impunity." The attacks left many Anyuak farmers afraid to travel to their fields, which often lie in isolated areas far from the villages they live in, HRW said. The total area under cultivation in Gambella dropped by 25 percent in 2004 and relief agencies attributed this alarming development mainly to insecurity in the region, it added. "While serious abuses have continued, the government has focused only on prosecuting a handful of soldiers involved in the December massacre," Takirambudde added. The government, however, said it had taken steps to bring the killers to justice. "Parliament already nominated a committee who have investigated this matter," Zemedkun added. "The government has made it clear that it is committed to bring to justice those who were in the army involved and those who were responsible for this. "Accordingly, those who are guilty or those individuals who have evidence against them will be tried and six soldiers are awaiting trial," he concluded.