Sparked by the regional elections held by the government of Tigray in September 2020, the war on Tigray (in which Amhara and Eritrean forces are participating alongside the Ethiopian
federal army) is the culmination of two and a half years of escalating hostilities and political disagreements. Multiple events (e.g., routine demonization of Tigray and Tigrayans by the
government of Ethiopia and related media, actions to economically weaken the Tigray region, exclusion of Tigray from the federal response to locust invasion and to the COVID-19 pandemic, etc.) led up to the start of the war. This ruthless multipronged assault on the Tigrayan civilian population includes the indiscriminate killings of civilians, systemic rape of women and girls, territorial annexation and ethnic
cleansing, and engineered mass starvation. Food reserves and crops, as well as livestock and farming implements, have been looted or destroyed while food aid is blocked from reaching those who need it and farmers are prevented from farming, putting millions at risk of famine with long-term consequences. The deliberate disruption of water, electricity, banking and communication services has left the population without access to basic services, while the looting and destruction of health, education, agricultural and manufacturing facilities have collapsed the region’s economy. Aid agencies have reported that hundreds of people have started dying of hunger.

The wanton killings, weaponized starvation, widespread rape and sexual violence, ethnic profiling and cleansing, and the systematic decimation of Tigray’s economy and food system all constitute acts of war crimes, and are part and parcel of a planned and meticulously-implemented genocide of the people of Tigray. Urgent action by multiple actors is needed to alleviate the suffering of the population in the immediate and to help ensure its survival.