16 United Nations Staff Members Detained in Ethiopia
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16 Ethiopian UN staff were reported to be in detention on Tuesday after the Ethiopian government raided and targeted Tigrayans.
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Local UN staff detained after the government targeted Tigrayans
16 Ethiopian staff working for the United Nations were reported to be in detention on Tuesday after the Ethiopian government raided and targeted Tigrayans, according to UN and humanitarian sources.
Fears of a march on Addis Ababa arose as Tigrayan and Oromo armed men made significant advances on the ground, which led to said raids and detentions, in addition to a six-month-long state of emergency in the country.
According to the humanitarian sources, some UN staffers were forced and taken from their homes, a bit later after senior US envoy visited Tigray to request more aid to civilians.
According to the UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, while 16 UN staff members, all of whom are Ethiopian nationals, remain in detention, 6 were freed.
"We are of course actively working with the government of Ethiopia to secure their immediate release," Dujarric said. "There has been, as far as I know, no explanation given to us on why these staff members are detained."
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price called ethnicity-based detentions "completely unacceptable".
Lawyers report that arbitrary detentions have taken a hike during the previous week, seizing thousands. This comes alongside the government's latest measures to punish any national suspected of supporting "terrorist groups" without a warrant.
In September, Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry announced its expulsion of 7 high-ranking UN officials for "meddling" in Ethiopia's affairs.
On Tuesday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths called for peace following a weekend visit to Tigray's regional capital Mekele, where he met leaders from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). "I implore all parties to heed the UN Secretary-General's appeal to immediately end hostilities without preconditions, and reiterate the (UN's) full support" for efforts led by the African Union, he said.
