The Ethiopian military has been accused of committing atrocities in an area of the country where the internet has been shut down for more than a month and a half, according to human rights monitors. This situation began when the federal government declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region in response to a militia group taking control of several towns.
Furthermore, the mobile internet network in Amhara went completely offline on August 3, and despite calls from over 300 rights organizations, the internet has remained largely unavailable, leaving civilians in the region in a near-total information blackout during a military crackdown.
A representative of the coalition of rights organizations noted that there has been no significant improvement in connectivity, leading to a dire lack of information for civilians amidst the crisis.
Additionally, the blackout in Amhara follows a pattern seen in the Tigray region, where internet access was cut off for two years starting in November 2020. Access Now reports that the Ethiopian government has restricted internet access at least three times this year, with a total of 26 documented incidents of shutdowns since 2016, often in response to conflict and political turmoil.
Despite the internet blockage in the Amhara region, reports of human rights violations by the Ethiopian National Defense Force have emerged. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission described arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and civilian casualties in crossfire, with widespread extrajudicial killings reported between July 31 and September 9, 2023.
A 21-page report by the United Nations’ International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia also highlighted increasing violations in the Amhara region and other areas, with alarming reports of abuses against Amhara civilians, even in the face of government-imposed internet and telecommunications disruptions.
