Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Horn News Hub).
Tigrayan Concern groups in UK condemn use of force in Raya Azewo and urge shift towards peace
London – British citizens of Tigrayan origin have voiced alarm over what they describe as the heavy-handed tactics of the Tigray Interim Administration (TIRA), the Tigray Defence Force (TDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in handling political disputes in southern Tigray.
In a statement issued this week, the groups said the authorities’ reliance on “disproportionate force” had resulted in the killing of one civilian and the serious injury of three others in Raya Azewo, Enderta, on 2 September. They accused the region’s interim leadership of using coercion to suppress demands for self-administration, rather than engaging in dialogue.
The statement also recalled earlier incidents, including the broad daylight killing of a local council speaker in Adi Gudum, Wejerat. “What the public wanted from the TIRA and TPLF was to extricate the region from collective trauma, rebuild the devastated economy and ensure civilian security,” the groups said. “Instead, we are witnessing unnecessary bloodshed.”
The signatories said the violence undermines the fragile peace Tigray is struggling to consolidate after the 2020–22 Genocidal war, which claimed an estimated 1 million lives. They urged regional leaders to focus on implementing the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, particularly the restoration of Western Tigray to Tigrayan control, rather than destabilising southern areas.
The groups warned that lawlessness and insecurity are forcing many young Tigrayans into dangerous migration routes to the Middle East, where they risk exploitation by traffickers or death at sea.
“Killing your own people to simply remain at the helm of power is wholly abhorrent and ought to be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all Tigrayans irrespective of political persuasion,” the statement read.
The signatories called on TIRA, TDF and TPLF to end the use of force, ensure the safe return of internally displaced people, and work collectively to build a political culture of tolerance.
“The future of Tigray must be rooted in peace, law and order – not in silencing dissent with bullets,” they said.
