Doctors Without Borders has accused the Ethiopian government of failing to adequately investigate the killings of three of its aid workers, as detailed in a report released on Tuesday. The organization calls for justice, implicating Ethiopian soldiers in the slayings.
This report marks a significant development in a four-year effort for accountability regarding the violence against humanitarian workers. The bodies of the three aid workers were discovered on a roadside in the northern Tigray region in June 2021, amid a brutal civil war.
Raquel Ayora, a senior official with Doctors Without Borders, stated, “Our team was executed,” emphasizing that the perpetrators must have known they were targeting civilians.
While the report refrains from naming specific individuals, it suggests that Ethiopian soldiers may be responsible. This aligns with a 2022 investigation that identified an Ethiopian military officer who allegedly ordered the attack on the aid workers.
In the period leading up to the killings, Doctors Without Borders observed increased hostility from the Ethiopian government and its forces toward international aid organizations. The group also reported the presence of retreating Ethiopian troops in the area of the attack.
Despite repeated assurances from the Ethiopian government regarding an ongoing investigation, the families of the victims have yet to receive credible information about the circumstances of the deaths. Paula Gil, head of M.S.F. Spain, criticized the authorities for failing to provide credible investigation results, suggesting a lack of political will to disclose the findings.
The Ethiopian prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The conflict in Tigray began in November 2020 due to rising tensions between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigrayan regional government, resulting in widespread starvation, sieges, and ethnic massacres primarily conducted by the Ethiopian military and allied forces.
The slain aid workers — MarÃa Hernández, Yohannes Halefom, and Tedros Gebremariam — were last seen in June 2021 while searching for casualties stemming from the conflict. Their bodies were later found near their burned vehicle.
The report released on Tuesday included findings from an internal review initiated by Doctors Without Borders following the killings. The organization documented extensive efforts to obtain information from the Ethiopian government, which included numerous meetings and communications with officials.
The internal review concluded that the attack on the aid workers was a deliberate and targeted killing. Initially, the Ethiopian government attributed the incident to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, yet it did not disclose its findings citing an ongoing investigation.
Doctors Without Borders contested the government’s claims that its forces had withdrawn from the area by the time of the attack, citing evidence that Ethiopian troops were still active in the vicinity during the incident.
The report indicated that there are concerning witness accounts that directly implicate Ethiopian soldiers in the attack, stating, “What remains to be clarified is the extent and nature of their involvement in the attack.”
Estimates suggest that over 500,000 individuals died as a result of the Tigray conflict, with at least five million displaced in 2021 alone. Although a peace agreement was reached in November 2022, the situation remains fragile amid ongoing regional tensions and the devastating impact of the war.