Ethiopian and Eritrean forces abducted 500 people, UNHCR says.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN representative body on refugee affairs, has accused Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of forcibly evacuating 500 people displaced by fighting in Tigray.

“They are young men and women and their whereabouts have not been confirmed.” UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said in a statement.
He added that the families of the displaced were “deeply concerned” about the relocation. The spokesman called on the Ethiopian federal government and the Eritrean Army to release the hostages as the fighting has negatively affected their education and employment and well being.

Ethiopian federal government forces attacked Tigray autonomous region in november 2020 after the government and TPLF clashed over the postponement of the elections, killing thousands, forcing more than 2 million people to flee their homes, including some women and other vulnerable groups.

Vedios recorded from scenes related to this story seen by Mustaqbal had shown that the Ethiopian army rounded people before shooting indiscriminately while some of them who escaped for their lives in the heavy fighting in Tigray were tortured.

Plans were reported of the US president Joe Biden to impose travel and visa restrictions on individuals in the office of the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and president of Eritrea Isias Afwerki.