A. ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE AND OTHER UNLAWFUL OR POLITICALLY MOTIVATED KILLINGS
There were numerous reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings, during the year. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) reported numerous cases of unlawful or extrajudicial killings within the context of conflicts in Amhara and Oromia regions and other parts of the country, including Tigray.
There were numerous instances when regional police forces reportedly used excessive lethal force on civil demonstrators. According to the EHRC, on February 17, security forces killed at least three and injured 30 others following the demonstrators’ demands to restore water services to the town of Welkite in Central Ethiopia Region after more than a month of water disruption. On June 2, the government’s Security and Intelligence Task Force acknowledged security forces killed at least three civilians in Addis Ababa during a protest on the demolition of mosques by the Oromia regional government. On July 20, media reported government security forces killed one and injured 16 protesters in Somali Region’s Birqod district following a disagreement with the local government on the use of a water borehole.
The Federal Police Internal Investigative Bureau conducted limited investigation of criminal acts perpetrated by police. The internal unit’s decisions regarding penalties against police were confidential.
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) had a military investigative unit that reported to the military attorney general’s office. Military police passed evidence from their investigations to prosecutors and defense counsels. The ENDF attorney general directed the investigations and heard the cases in military court. On April 25, the House of People’s Representative amended the defense proclamation, giving the military court jurisdiction to hear cases including crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
There were numerous reports of killings by militia groups in the context of conflict-related abuse.
B. DISAPPEARANCE
There were reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.
During the year, local media reports alleged an increase in enforced disappearances of prominent figures critical of the government, including political commentators, former military officers, investigative journalists, and social media activists. On June 5, the EHRC called on the government to disclose the whereabouts of arrested individuals and to bring their cases to court with credible evidence after the government increased arrests of journalists and activists.
On July 12, the EHRC released the Ethiopia Annual Human Rights Situation Report (June 2022 – June 2023) highlighting cases of enforced disappearances where members of the Federal Police, regional security forces, and the ENDF detained individuals from the streets, work, and home and kept them in incommunicado detention at unidentified locations. The EHRC stated the now-defunct Somali Special Force called one of its former members to report to his office in December 2022, and the person was reportedly missing since.
There were also numerous reports of enforced disappearance by both security forces and armed militia groups in relation to conflicts in Amhara and Oromia regions and elsewhere. Truck drivers working on the Addis-Djibouti highway, A1 Road, connecting Ethiopia to Djibouti port, complained the government was not addressing their security concerns, and armed men continued to kidnap and kill drivers. According to several reports, thousands of ethnic Tigrayans remained detained throughout the year in unknown locations in western Tigray and elsewhere. On August 23, local human rights group Human Rights First alleged to news network VOA Amharic at least 3,000 Tigrayan members of the ENDF were in detention in unknown places despite hope for their release as stipulated by the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). The VOA spoke with family members of former military officers who said they still did not know the whereabouts of their relatives, although they had received information regarding their detention from those recently released from the same prisons.
C. TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT, AND OTHER RELATED ABUSES
Although the constitution prohibited such practices, there were reports security officials tortured and otherwise abused detainees.
According to the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), HRW, Amnesty International, and numerous media reports, the government engaged in torture in its security operations and failed to hold soldiers accused of torture accountable.
In a March report to the UN Committee against Torture, OMCT, EHRCO, and Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia reported the government had used torture, excessive force, and other forms of inhuman treatment in conflict regions despite democratic reforms enacted in 2018. During the year, EHRC investigations into prison and detention centers in Amhara, Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Somali regions revealed detainees reported police beat them during arrests and in detention. The EHRC’s monitoring teams found evidence of injuries on some detainees who reported police beatings. In addition, the EHRC stated Oromia police tortured suspects held in unofficial detention centers, including in Oromia police training camps and government offices. Individuals were allegedly beaten and tortured as punishment for supporting armed groups and to extract information. The EHRC’s annual report stated regional police officers across various districts of Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, and Somali regions beat prisoners and detainees for various reasons, including to extract confessions.
On June 5, the EHRC reported it was investigating an allegation government security forces tortured individuals in a police training center in Gelan town of Oromia. According to the EHRC, security forces took the victims from their homes in Addis Ababa to the police training camp starting May 2, after unrest broke out in Amhara Region following the federal government’s initiative to dissolve regional Special Forces.
On June 1, HRW alleged Amhara security forces, militias, and officials in western Tigray tortured, mistreated, and subjected Tigrayan detainees to inhuman treatment, including beatings with iron pipes, electric wires, and sticks. HRW reported detainees described being tied in stress positions for long periods, either at night or in the hot sun in Badu Sidiste, a prison that also served as a camp for Amhara Special Forces.
On May 12, the UN Committee against Torture expressed grave concern regarding complaints of torture and mistreatment by police officers, prison guards, and other military and security force members in police stations, detention centers, federal prisons, military bases, and unofficial or secret detention places. The committee urged the government to allow an independent body to investigate all human right violations, including allegations of torture.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison conditions were harsh and life-threatening due to gross overcrowding, food shortages, physical abuse, and inadequate sanitary conditions.
Abusive Physical Conditions: Gross overcrowding was common, and prisoners often lacked access to quality food, potable water, sanitation, heating, ventilation, lighting, or medical care. Authorities sometimes kept prisoners confined in cells for long periods without an opportunity for movement, exercise, or use of showers or sanitary facilities. Conditions in detention camps were reportedly life threatening.
There were multiple media reports security forces, including members of the ENDF, took prisoners out of detention centers and committed extrajudicial killings.
The law prohibited detention in any facility other than an official detention center; however, the ENDF, regional police, police, local militias, and other formal and informal law enforcement entities reportedly operated an unknown number of unofficial detention centers. During the year, several reports implicated the government in increased use of informal detention centers to keep detainees.
Administration: Authorities failed to conduct investigations of credible reports of mistreatment.
Independent Monitoring: The government permitted monitoring of prisons and detention centers by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and, on some occasions, the EHRC. Following the imposition of a state of emergency on August 4, such access was largely curtailed and granted only on a case-by-case basis. The ICRC and international human rights monitors were reportedly denied access to alleged detention facilities in western Tigray, where many thousands of ethnic Tigrayans reportedly were detained in life-threatening conditions.
D. ARBITRARY ARREST OR DETENTION
The constitution and federal law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government generally did not observe these requirements, especially regarding the mass detentions made under the state of emergency declared on August 4.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees
The constitution and law required judicial authorization for an arrest and required detainees to appear in court and face charges within 48 hours of arrest or as soon thereafter as local circumstances and communications permit. Travel time to the court was not included in this 48-hour period. With a warrant, authorities could detain persons suspected of serious offenses for 14 days without charge. The courts increasingly pushed authorities to present evidence or provide clear justifications within 14 days or release the detainee. Courts also demanded to see police investigative files to assess police requests for additional time.
A functioning bail system was in place. Bail was not available, however, for persons charged with murder, treason, or corruption. In other cases, the courts set bail at amounts few citizens could afford. Police reportedly failed to release detainees after a court decided to release them on bail; sometimes, police filed another charge immediately after the court’s decision, filed repeated bail appeals, or transferred detainees to regional jurisdictions to face another charge. The government provided public defenders for detainees unable to afford private legal counsel, but defendants received these services only when their cases went to trial and not during the pretrial phases. In some cases, a single defense counsel represented multiple defendants in a single case. Some suspects were held incommunicado.
Arbitrary Arrest: There were reports of widespread arbitrary or unlawful detention. The government reportedly detained thousands of ethnic Amhara and Oromo after the August 4 State of Emergency, converting warehouses, schools, youth centers, private residences, and other makeshift facilities to house the growing detainee population, according to media reports.
On February 15, the EHRC reported police in Addis Ababa and Oromia arbitrarily detained journalists and numerous members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) after authorities canceled a protest called by two opposing groups within the EOTC. News network BBC reported government security forces on February 4 used excessive force against followers of the main church, resulting in extrajudicial killings, beatings, harassment, and arbitrary arrests. In investigations in Oromia, Amhara, and Addis Ababa, the EHRC found many detainees had been arrested without court orders or formal investigations, and many had not been brought before court within the time the law prescribed. In addition, the EHRC reported many police stations held suspects whose charges were dropped or who should have been released in accordance with court orders. In some cases, children reportedly were held in detention on suspicion of involvement in criminal activity, contrary to the law requiring their release on unconditional bail.
On June 1, the EHRC reported security forces in Addis Ababa arrested several Islamic community members around Anwar Mosque for peacefully demonstrating against the demolition of at least 19 mosques deemed “illegal” by the Oromia regional government in Sheger City. Media reported Addis Ababa police cracked down on a May 27 protest within the premises and the surrounding area of the mosque, resulting in two killed and more than 40 injured, and many more arbitrarily detained.
There were reports Amharan militia arbitrarily detained thousands of Tigrayans in western Tigray.
Pretrial Detention: The proportion of the inmate population in pretrial detention and average length of time held were not available. Lengthy legal procedures, large numbers of detainees, judicial inefficiency, and staffing shortages contributed to frequent trial delays, in some cases lasting years.
E. DENIAL OF FAIR PUBLIC TRIAL
The law provided for an independent judiciary, but the government did not always respect judicial independence and impartiality. Although civil courts largely operated with independence, criminal courts were weak and overburdened. Media and human right groups reported police repeatedly denied fair public trial, including through harassment and detention of defense lawyers.
Trial Procedures
The constitution provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally did not enforce this right.
The federal Public Defender’s Office provided legal counsel to indigent defendants, but the scope and quality of service reportedly were inadequate due to attorney shortages. A public defender often handled more than 100 cases and might represent multiple defendants in the same criminal case. Numerous free legal-aid clinics, primarily based at universities, also provided legal services. In certain areas of the country, the law allowed volunteers such as law students and professors to represent clients in court on a pro bono basis. There reportedly was a lack of a strong and inclusive local bar association or other standardized criminal defense representation.
The constitution recognized both religious and traditional courts. Many rural citizens had little access to formal judicial systems and relied on traditional mechanisms for resolving conflict. By law, all parties to a dispute had to agree to use a traditional or religious court before such a court could hear a case, and either party could appeal to a regular court at any time. Sharia (Islamic law) courts could hear religious and family cases involving Muslims if both parties agreed before the start of the formal legal process to use the sharia court. Sharia courts received some funding from the government. Sharia courts adjudicated most cases in Somali and Afar regions, which were predominantly Muslim. Other traditional systems of justice, such as councils of elders, functioned predominantly in rural areas. Women often believed they lacked access to fair hearings in the traditional court system because local custom excluded them from participation in councils of elders and there was persistent gender discrimination.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
On July 24, HRW called for immediate release of seven Oromo opposition figures arbitrarily detained for three years due to the government’s repeated violation of due process and court orders. HRW stated the government kept Abdi Regassa, Dawit Abdeta, Lammi Begna, Michael Boran, Kenessa Ayana, Gaada Oljira, and Gaada Gebissa in a prolonged and unlawful detention despite several judicial orders directing their release. HRW stated authorities of the Oromia police repeatedly violated the detainees’ due process rights, forcibly disappearing them or holding them incommunicado, denying them access to their lawyers and family members for weeks or months – at times up to eight months – and frequently moving them between makeshift and official detention sites, further hampering their families’ and lawyers’ access.
In August media reported the arrest of political figures and elected officials including Christian Tadele, a prominent lawmaker from the National Movement of Amhara opposition party and an outspoken government critic in connection with the conflict in Amhara. The EHRC on September 1 stated it had visited 53 detainees kept in a military camp in Awash Arba, Afar Region, including Tadele, and lawmakers Yohannes Buayalew (a member of Amhara Regional Council) and Kassa Teshager (a member of the Addis Ababa City Council) who were both arrested in their constituencies and transferred to Afar Region. During the visit, detainees told the EHRC they experienced ethnic slurs and harassment during their transfer to Awash Arba. The Federal Police justified transferring detainees to the military camp due to overcrowding in the Federal Police detention center in Addis Ababa. Detainees said their families did not know their whereabouts, and the detention center was built in an extremely hot area and lacked basic services.
F. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
There were some reports the government sought to intimidate critics outside its borders. In one instance, a journalist faced potential forcible repatriation from Saudi Arabia. In some cases, diaspora journalists reported their families remaining in Ethiopia had received threats.
G. PROPERTY SEIZURE AND RESTITUTION
On May 31, the EHRCO released the findings of its investigation into a government-sponsored house demolition and forced eviction mainly in Oromia Region, in areas surrounding the capital Addis Ababa, to make way for a newly established Sheger City administration. The local independent human rights group stated actions of the Oromia regional government violated economic, social, and cultural rights of citizens and domestic legislation protecting human rights and property rights. The EHRCO stated the government’s demolition and forced eviction campaign in parts of Addis Ababa, Sheger City, and Adama town administrations in Oromia left 111,811 households disposed of their homes since October 2022. On July 27, the Ethiopian Institute of the Ombudsman stated it had received more than 100,000 complaints from persons whose homes were demolished. On March 31, the EHRC stated despite the government’s claim of targeting only “illegal houses,” the demolition included those with proper title deeds and with appropriate legal backing. The EHRC further asserted the demolition lacked warning, consultation with communities, and compensation.
H. ARBITRARY OR UNLAWFUL INTERFERENCE WITH PRIVACY, FAMILY, HOME, OR CORRESPONDENCE
The law generally required authorities to obtain court-issued search warrants prior to searching private property, although the government did not always enforce this. The law also recognized exceptions for “hot pursuit” cases in which a suspect entered premises or disposed of items that were the subject of an offense committed on the premises. This legal exception also applied when police had reasonable suspicion that evidence of a crime punishable if convicted by more than three years’ imprisonment was concealed on or in the property and a delay in obtaining a search warrant could allow for the evidence to be removed. Freedom House reported the government used location tracking and other technical means to surveil online and telephone communications of individuals, including politicians. Digital surveillance and the use of individual informants to spy on citizens was reportedly widespread. Authorities purchased an Israeli surveillance system from the company Cellebrite, which they had reportedly used to hack into the mobile phones of detainees since 2021. In addition, the government had partially or fully blocked internet services, blocked or filtered websites for political reasons, and there was reportedly no mechanism to appeal website blocking.
There were reported break-ins into offices of local human rights groups and private media that appeared critical of the government, including the February 13 burglary of the EHRCO office. That incident targeted a single laptop where documents for a human rights investigation were reported to have been stored. On July 17, another local group, the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), called on responsible authorities to protect civic society and media offices after unidentified robbers broke into the office of the Ethiopia Insider, a private online media platform. CARD recounted similar targeted robberies during the year on civil society organizations and media and stated it had become a major threat to the civic and media space. In a July 17 statement, Ethiopian Insider reported the robbers broke into its office and stole valuable newsroom equipment critical for its operation. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on July 18 expressed concern regarding the robbery and urged authorities to investigate the incident credibly and ensure accountability. By the end of the year, the government had yet to announce what kind of actions it was taking to protect media and civil society organizations.
I. CONFLICT-RELATED ABUSES
The November 2022 COHA brought an end to active hostilities between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the ENDF in the northern part of the country, although violence in Amhara, Oromia, and elsewhere threatened a fragile peace, and there were some reports of violence in Tigray. On August 4, the government imposed a state of emergency, under which numerous violations were reported.
The September 18 report by ICHREE identified grave and systematic violations of international law and crimes committed in Tigray, as well as in Amhara, Afar, and Oromia regions. Violations included mass killings, rape, starvation, forced displacement, and arbitrary detention. According to ICHREE, the conflict in Tigray had not ended, with Eritrean troops and Amhara militias engaging in violations.
Killings: During the year, government counterinsurgency campaigns against the Fano militia in Amhara Region, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Oromia, and militias in the Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella regions continued, with numerous reports of unlawful killings, including killings of civilians. In addition, there were reports of extrajudicial killings by the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) and regional militia in Tigray, as well as reports of killings of civilians by other militia groups.
On August 18, Amnesty International stated it had received allegations ENDF airstrikes had resulted in mass killings in Finote Selam, Bahir Dar, and Shewa Robit. Independent media called on the government to grant access to the Amhara Region for independent investigators. Reuters reported members of the ENDF, who entered the town of Majete in Amhara Region after two weeks of fighting with Fano militia in the area, went on a house-to-house search on September 3 and killed approximately two dozen civilians including children and the elderly. On September 15, the EHRC reported what it called “seriously concerning” and “widespread” extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions in the Amhara Region. According to the EHRC, from July 31 to September 9, the ENDF committed extrajudicial killings of civilians and allegedly captured members of Fano militia in nine towns (Adet, Debre Markos, Debre Tabor, Jiga, Lemi, Majete, Merawi, Mertolemariam, and Shewa Robit) of the Amhara Region. On September 11, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said more than 200 individuals were reportedly killed after the declaration of State of Emergency in Amhara.
In June media reported government security forces extrajudicially killed two civilians in Benishangul-Gumuz Region. After a video of the execution created public outcry, the EHRC described it as an “extrajudicial execution” and promised to investigate.
On February 15, the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA) alleged government security forces killed 23 individuals in January.
In August media and the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) – an opposition political party – reported government security forces had committed extrajudicial killings in the Oromia Region. On August 14, the OFC told VOA Amharic security forces had killed at least 12 civilians during operations the prior week in Chobe district of the West Shewa zone in Oromia. Access to western Oromia was extremely restricted, imposing constraints on access to information. On November 2, BBC Amharic reported extrajudicial killings of three civilians in East Shewa zone of Oromia by security forces.
On February 28, the Washington Post reported Eritrean soldiers killed more than 300 civilians days before the COHA to end the northern conflict. On September 4, Amnesty International reported Eritrea extrajudicially executed 24 civilians in Kokob Tsibah district following the COHA. Unidentified groups of militants reportedly carried out attacks and killings of civilians in various parts of Oromia, Gambella, and Benishangul-Gumuz throughout the year. Local militia groups in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Sidama, and Central Ethiopia regions reportedly carried out attacks and killings of civilians as part of long-running regional boundary disputes and intercommunal conflicts. The OLA and Fano militia reportedly killed civilians and government officials in many parts of Amhara and Oromia, especially in western Oromia.
In a June 1 HRW report entitled Ethiopia: Ethnic Cleansing Persists Under Tigray Truce, HRW alleged the extrajudicial killings of Tigrayan detainees by Amharan forces in western Tigray, among other abuses.
Abductions: Government actors reportedly abducted journalists, activists, artists, and others who criticized its security operations and the humanitarian situation resulting from conflict. Eritrean forces reportedly abducted Tigrayans in northern Ethiopia where the two countries shared borders and the EDF maintained its forces. Thousands of Tigrayans reportedly were arbitrarily detained in western Tigray at unknown locations.
On June 1, HRW reported that since the outbreak of the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia in 2020, a mix of security forces, in particular the irregular Fano militia and Amhara forces, had systematically rounded up thousands of ethnic Tigrayans. They reportedly detained ethnic Tigrayan citizens for prolonged periods without charge in police stations, prisons, military camps, and other unofficial sites including warehouses and schools throughout the western Tigray zone. Security forces and interim authorities also reportedly expelled hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans toward central Tigray. Additionally, the EHRC in July stated it was investigating at least seven cases of enforced disappearance in the Oromia Region, including a resident of Gobu Seyo district in West Wollega Zone, whose whereabouts was unknown after police claimed to have transferred him to a detention center in the town of Nekemte on June 16.
Throughout the year media reported increased incidents of kidnapping of civilians by armed groups including by the OLA for ransom and other reasons. On May 29, VOA Amharic spoke with truck drivers who said between mid-April and the end of May, unidentified gunmen killed five drivers and their assistants after they were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, even though family members paid the demanded ransom.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture: According to HRW, OLLAA, and media reports, both the government and militias in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray engaged in torture and ill-treatment of civilians and captured combatants. Victims were reportedly beaten with electric cables and metal pipes, detained incommunicado, threatened with guns to their heads, and deprived of food and water. Civilians in western Tigray were reportedly tortured and ill-treated mainly because of their ethnic identities. Elsewhere, captured soldiers and fighters, as well as civilians suspected of providing support to them, were reportedly tortured.
In its September 18 report, ICHREE documented rape and sexual violence by both EDF and Amhara forces since the COHA and found reasonable grounds to believe EDF members bore primary responsibility for continuing crimes of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in Tigray. ICHREE reported EDF-perpetrated sexual and gender-based violence had been abetted or tolerated by the federal government, which had failed in its legal duty to protect its population from violations by a foreign army, or by Amhara militia present in the areas of western and southern Tigray.
In July 2022, the EHRC reported gender-based violence including sexual violence occurred in all conflict-affected areas of the country. Some organizations reported conflict-induced displacement led to increased reports of rape and sexual violence including sexual slavery and sexual exploitation and abuse. The government reportedly detained thousands of ethnic Amhara and Oromo after the August 4 state of emergency, and there were reports many detainees were held in inhuman and at times life-threatening conditions and subjected to torture.
On September 18, ICHREE stated it had uncovered widespread arrests and detentions of Oromo civilians accused of having links with the OLA. The detentions documented between 2020 and February 2023 were perpetrated primarily by the federal or regional police, Oromia Special Forces, and at times the ENDF, and were accompanied by torture and mistreatment. Family members of suspected OLA fighters were also targeted for arrest and detention – including women who experienced sexual violence while in custody. Arrests, detentions, and killings often took place against a backdrop of curfews and restrictions on movement, contributing to an overarching climate of fear. Large areas of Oromia appeared to have been administered through the mandate of militarized Command Posts, whether or not State of Emergency legislation was in force.
According to the Conduct in UN Field Missions online portal, there were two open allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by the country’s peacekeepers deployed to a UN peacekeeping mission: one submitted in 2018 allegedly involving an exploitative relationship with an adult in the UN Mission in Liberia, and one submitted in late 2020 allegedly involving transactional sex in the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei. By 2021, the United Nations had substantiated the 2018 allegation and repatriated the perpetrator, but the government had not yet reported accountability measures taken. Concerning the 2020 allegation, the United Nations had taken an interim action (suspension of payments), but results of the investigation remained pending, as was any final action.
Other Conflict-related Abuse: In April it was discovered food aid intended for the inhabitants of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions was being diverted and sold on the local market. In June international actors including the United Nations suspended food aid to Ethiopia following a determination that a widespread and coordinated campaign was diverting food assistance from the persons who needed it to be sold in the market. In its September 2022 report, ICHREE found grounds to believe the federal government and regional state governments had implemented a range of measures designed to systematically deprive the population of Tigray and other populations of political opponents of material and services indispensable for their survival, including health care, shelter, water, sanitation, education, and food. International actors announced the resumption of food aid in November.
In June HRW reported that interim authorities in control of western Tigray, as well as Amhara authorities and forces, intended to push Tigrayans out of “this land” and east across the Tekeze river (a natural boundary with the Northwestern Zone of Tigray). According to HRW, these forces, engaged in the forcible transfer of hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans from the territory. On August 29, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated it received allegations Amhara police supported by local militia and the Wolkait youth detained at least 250 Tigrayans in the disputed area of western Tigray and forced them into areas controlled by the Tigray interim administration, until the ENDF intercepted the individuals and gave them a choice to return to western Tigray or remain where they were.