
To: The Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
The European Union Directorate-General for International Partnerships
African Union, Human Rights Directorate
Amnesty International
Human Rights watch
Lemken Institute for Genocide Prevention
Subject: Urgent Appeal Regarding Humanitarian Violations in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region
Dear Excellencies,
On behalf of the Amhara people, the Global Amhara Coalition (GAC) writes to convey profound concern at the accelerating humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Recent developments demonstrate a pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law attributed to actions by federal security forces, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
Over the past two years, documented drone and air strikes in the Amhara region exceed 120 incidents, concentrated in towns and districts, including Merawi, Gedeb, Finote Selam, Debre Birhan, and surrounding localities, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties, extensive destruction of infrastructure, and the disabling of essential services. These attacks have destroyed health facilities, rendered schools nonfunctional, and contributed to a scale of displacement and educational disruption affecting millions of children. Independent human rights monitors and eyewitnesses report that recent strikes in areas such as Gashena (Wollo) were indiscriminate, with civilian objects including schools and health centers being converted for military use and subsequently struck, producing disproportionate civilian harm and fatalities concentrated among women and children. Allegations indicate that drones and heavy artillery used in these operations were acquired from multiple foreign sources, and that the use of such weaponry against non-combatant populations raises acute concerns under international humanitarian and human-rights laws.
These aerial campaigns form part of a broader pattern that includes extrajudicial killings, mass detentions, sexual assault, enforced disappearances, and the repeated imposition of emergency
measures that restrict humanitarian access and freedom of movement, including impediments to entry into Addis Ababa. Such measures have exacerbated civilian suffering and impeded impartial humanitarian response. The relentless campaign against the Amhara amounting to ethnic cleansing continues unabated, extending even beyond death. The recent killing and mutilation of 19-year-old Balem Wasse in Gojjam and Tigist Wedaje Yemar in Wello, female members of the Amhara Fano self-defense movement captured by the Ethiopian government forces, serves as a stark example of the regime’s war crimes and brutality. Witnesses reported that soldiers stripped, tortured, and mutilated their bodies after their capture, publicly showcasing Wasse’s desecrated breast while dancing around her corpse — an appalling display of cruelty and war crime.
In light of the foregoing, the GAC respectfully urges the United States government and the wider international community to take the following measures without delay: • Commission an independent, transparent, and impartial investigation into reported drone strikes and related violations, with mechanisms to collect and preserve evidence for accountability.
• Reassess all military, security, and financial assistance to the Ethiopian authorities pending demonstrable compliance with international
humanitarian law and credible accountability measures.
• Advocate for and facilitate immediate, unfettered humanitarian access to affected areas, including restoration of essential services and protection of civilian infrastructure.
• Support credible international accountability mechanisms, including referral to appropriate international investigative or judicial bodies where domestic remedies are absent or ineffective.
The continued impunity for mass and indiscriminate attacks on civilians undermines regional stability and the rules-based international order. The GAC urges decisive diplomatic and policy action to prevent further loss of life, to protect civilians, and to ensure that those responsible for the violations are held to account.
Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. The GAC stands ready to provide further information and to cooperate with any independent inquiries or humanitarian coordination efforts.
Sincerely,
Global Amhara Coalition (USA)
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