Kidnapping, Looting, Killings, and Forced Recruitment Are Spreading in Raya

Wazema has been able to confirm, from information it has gathered, that kidnapping, looting, and killing are spreading in the Raya area, whose ownership is disputed between the Amhara and Tigray regions, and that the forced recruitment of young people into military service is also increasing.

ዋዜማ- በአማራና በትግራይ ክልል የይገባኛል ውዝግብ ባለበት የራያ አካባቢ እገታ፣ ዝርፊያና ግድያ እየተስፋፋ መሆኑንና ወጣቶችን አስገድዶ ለውትድርና መመልመልም እየተበራከተ መምጣቱን ዋዜማ ካሰባሰበችው መረጃ ማረጋገጥ ችላለች።

According to information Wazema gathered from residents of the area, victims, and their families, especially in the five districts of Raya, the abduction of people for ransom and the forced kidnapping and recruitment of citizens, including minors, into armed groups have become increasingly widespread.

ዋዜማ ከአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች፣ ከተጎጂዎችና ቤተሰቦቻቸው ባሰባሰበችው መረጃ ፣ በተለይ በራያ አምስት ወረዳዎች ሰዎችን አግቶ ማስለቀቂያ ገንዘብ መጠየቅ፣ ታዳጊዎችን ጨምሮ ዜጎችን አስገድዶ በማገት የታጣቂ ቡድን አባላት እንዲሆኑ መመልመል እየተስፋፋ መጥቷል።

A witness living abroad, who paid 600,000 birr to secure the release of his brother from captivity, says this kidnapping, looting, and killing are also being carried out on the basis of identity and political outlook, evidence that politics has become a cover for criminal acts.

ይህ እገታ ፣ዘረፋና ግድያ ማንነትንና የፖለቲካ አመለካከትን መሰረት አድርጎ ጭምር የሚካሄድ በመሆኑ ፖለቲካው ለወንጀል ድርጊት ሽፋን ለመሆኑ ምስክር ነው ይላሉ ወንድማቸውን ስድስት መቶ ሺሕ ብር ከፍለው ከእገታ ያስለቀቁና በውጪ ሀገር የሚኖሩ እማኝ።

Although it varies from place to place, residents say the acts are mainly being committed by armed men who identify themselves as members of the Tigray Interim Administration's security forces; they also say they know that groups described as Amhara Fano fighters are taking part in the abuses.

እንደየአካባቢው ቢለያይም በዚህ ድርጊት በዋናነት የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ አስተዳደር ፀጥታ አባላት ነን በሚሉ ታጣቂዎች የሚፈፀም ሲሆን የአማራ ፋኖ ታጣቂ ናቸው የተባሉ ቡድኖችም በድርጊቱ ውስጥ ተሳታፊ መሆናቸውን እንደሚያውቁ ነዋሪዎች ይናገራሉ።

In testimony he gave Wazema on the matter, a teacher in Alamata town said the expanding lawlessness has created favorable conditions for ordinary robbers and thieves as well, making it confusing to identify with certainty those involved in the crimes.

እየተስፋፋ የመጣው ህገወጥነት ለተራ ዘራፊና ቀማኛ ምቹ በመሆኑ የወንጀሉ ተሳታፊዎችን በእርግጠኝነት ለመለየት አደናጋሪ መሆኑን አንድ የአላማጣ ከተማ መምህር ስለጉዳዩ ለዋዜማ በሰጠው ምስክርነት ላይ ተናግሯል።

In Raya Alamata town, where killings and kidnappings occur repeatedly, two young men were killed in succession last week. An unidentified young man was found killed near the market area of Alamata town on Hidar 13, 2018 E.C.; similarly, on Hidar 15, 2018 E.C., a young man named Abdi Mekonnen was killed.

ግድያና እገታ በተደጋጋሚ በሚፈጸምባት ራያ አላማጣ ከተማ ባለፈው ሳምንት ኹለት ወጣቶች በተከታታይ ተገድለዋል። አንድ ማንነቱ ያልታወቀ ወጣት ህዳር 13፣ 2018 ዓ.ም በአላማጣ ከተማ ገበያ አካባቢ ተገድሎ የተገኘ ሲሆን፣ በተመሳሳይ ህዳር 15፣ 2018 ዓ.ም አብዲ መኮንን የተባለ ወጣት ተገድሏል።

Abdi, who had been a member of the Amhara police before the administration established from the Amhara Region side collapsed, was killed at around 2:00 in the evening that day after being stabbed with a knife by individuals said to be fighters of the Tigray Interim Administration, his colleagues told Wazema.

በአማራ ክልል በኩል የተቋቋመው አስተዳደር ከመፍረሱ በፊት የአማራ ፖሊስ አባል ነበረው አብዲ የተገደለው፣ በዕለቱ ምሽት 2፡00 ገደማ የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ አስተዳደር ታጣቂዎች ናቸው በተባሉ ግለሰቦች በጩቤ ተወግቶ መሆኑን ባልደረቦቹ ለዋዜማ ተናግረዋል።

In addition to the killings, residents said many people, including a religious father, have been abducted by armed men.

ከግድያው በተጨማሪ አንድ የሃይማኖት አባትን ጨምሮ በርካቶች በታጣቂዎች መታገታቸውን ነዋሪዎች ገልጠዋል።

Residents of the town told Wazema that Priest Nayew Derbew, administrator of Abo Gebre Menfes Kidus Church, was kidnapped and taken away by armed men from Korem town at night on Hidar 18, 2018 E.C.

ቀሲስ ናየው ደርበው የተባሉ የአቦ ገብረመንፈስ ቅዱስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን አስተዳዳሪ፣ ህዳር 18፣ 2018 ዓ. ም ከኮረም ከተማ በምሽት በታጣቂዎች ታፍነው መወሰዳቸውን የከተማዋ ነዋሪዎች ለዋዜማ ተናግረዋል።

Sources said the armed men demand up to one million birr to release the religious father and young people they have kidnapped. Individuals who had previously been abducted told Wazema that people kidnapped because of their political views and for money are also subjected to physical beatings.

ታጣቂዎች ያፈኗቸውን የሃይማት አባትና ወጣቶችን ለመልቀቅ እስከ አንድ ሚሊዮን ብር እንደሚጠይቁ ምንጮች ገልጠዋል። በፖለቲካ አመለካከትና ለገንዘብ የሚታፈኑ ሰዎች አካላዊ ደብድባ እንደሚፈጸምባቸው ም ከዚህ ቀደም ታግተው የነበሩ ግለሰቦች ለዋዜማ ተናግረዋል።

Among the religious fathers kidnapped by fighters of the Tigray Interim Government in roughly the past month are Memhir Haregeweyn Ayalew, finance officer of the Raya Diocese, which was newly established a year ago; Liqe Siyuman Priest Kahsay Meresa, administrator of Qilsha Debre Selam Medhane Alem Church; Merigeta Yemane Birhan Tafese, head of the Raya Alamata parish office; and other young people.

ባለፈው አንድ ወር ገደማ ውስጥ በትግራይ ጊዜያዊ መንግስት ታጣቂዎች ከታፈኑ የሃይማኖት አባቶች መካከል፣ ከአንድ ዓመት በፊት እንደ አዲስ የተቋቋመው የራያ ሀገረ ሰብከት ሂሳብ ሹም መምህር ሀረገወይን አያሌው፣ የቅልሻ ደብረ ሰላም መድኃኔአለም ቤተ ክርስቲያን አስተዳዳሪ ሊቀ ስዩማን ቀሲስ ካህሳይ መረሳ፣ የራያ አላማጠ ቤተ ክህነት ጽ/ቤት ኃላፊ መሪጌታ የማነ ብርሃን ታፈሰና ሌሎች ወጣቶች ይገኙበታል፡፡

Residents of the area whom Wazema spoke with said that, in addition to differences over political outlook, people with money, from rural areas to towns, are being repeatedly kidnapped by armed men. One Wazema source described the situation in the area by saying, "If someone of decent means is found, he is kidnapped."

ከፖለቲካ አመለካከት ልዩነት በተጨማሪ ከገጠር እስከ ከተማ ገንዘብ ያላቸው ሰዎች በየጊዜው በታጣቂዎች እንደሚታገቱ ዋዜማ ያነጋገረቻቸው የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ተናግረዋል። አንድ የዋዜማ ምንጭ ደግሞ በአካባቢው ያለውን ኹኔታ “አቅሙ ደህና የሆነ ሰውን ከተገኘ ይታፈናል” ሲሉ ገልጠውታል።

A trader from the Raya area told Wazema that after forces he described as TPLF fighters attempted to kidnap his children and wife, he was forced to take his family and move to Addis Ababa.

አንድ የራያ አካባቢ ነጋዴ ልጆቹንና ሚስቱን የህወሓት ታጣቂዎች ናቸው ያላቸው ኃይሎች ለማገት ሙከራ ካደረጉበት በኋላ ቤተሰቡን ይዞ አዲስ አበባ ለመግባት መገደዱ ለዋዜማ ተናግሯል።

One mother living in Alamata town says she sold her neck and forehead gold jewelry and paid 400,000 birr to the armed men to secure the release of her kidnapped son.

አንድ የአላማጣ ከተማ ነዋሪ እናት የታገተ ልጃቸውን ለማስለቀቅ፣ የአንገትና የግንባር ወርቃቸውን ሸጠው ለታጣቂዎች 400 ሺህ ብር ከፍለው ማስለቀቃቸውን ይናገራሉ፡፡

Families who have no money on hand have gone as far as selling land and even resorting to public appeals for alms, known as "irtiban," in order to free relatives who have been kidnapped.

እጃቸው ላይ ገንዘብ የሌላቸው ቤተሰቦቻቸው የታገቱባቸውን ሰዎች ለማስለቀቅ መሬት ከመሸጥ እሰከ “እርጥባን” እሰከተባለ የአደባባይ ልመና ደርሰዋል፡፡

Although fighters of the Tigray Interim Government had previously carried out arrests based on political views, it is only in recent times that they have begun demanding ransom money.

የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ መንግስት ታጣቂዎች ከዚህ ቀደምም በፖለቲካ አመለካከት ላይ የተመሰረተ እስር ሲፈጽሙ የነበረ ቢሆንም፣ የማስለቀቂያ ገንዘብ መጠየቅ የጀመሩት ከቅርብ ጊዜያት ወዲህ ነው።

The killings and kidnappings, including those of religious fathers, are being repeatedly carried out in the Raya districts of Alamata, Korem, Zata, Ofla, and Azebo.

የሃይማኖት አባቶችን ጨምሮ ግድያና እገታ በተደጋጋሚ የሚፈጸመው አላማጣ፣ ኮረም፣ ዛታ፣ ኦፍላና አዘቦ ባሉ የራያ ወረዳዎች ውስጥ ነው።

In addition to kidnapping, beatings, and the looting of property, residents indicated that in some rural areas there is an ongoing effort to forcibly recruit young people for military training. Sources said that fighters of the Tigray Interim Government, who are currently moving widely through the disputed Raya areas, are active in rural villages recruiting young people for military training.

ከእገታ፣ ደብደባና ንብረት ዘረፋ በተጨማሪ በአንዳንድ የገጠር አካባቢዎች፣ ወጣቶችን በግዳጅ ለወታደራዊ ስልጠና የመመልመል እንቅስቃሴ እየተደረገ መሆኑን ነዋሪዎች ጠቁመዋል። የአሁኑ ወቅት በአወዛጋቢ የራያ አካባቢዎች በስፋት የሚንቀሳቀሱት የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ መንግስት ታጣቂዎች፣ በገጠር መንደሮች ወጣቶችን ለወታደራዊ ስልጠና ለመመልመል እንደሚንቀሳቀሱ ምንጮች ገልጠዋል።

One resident of the area said, "In the rural areas, they take laborers away saying they are needed for work, and then they put them into training."

አንድ የአካባቢው ነዋሪ “በገጠር አካባቢዎች ወዛደሮች ለሥራ ይፈለጋሉ ብለው ከወሰዷቸው በኋላ ወደ ሥልጠና ያስገቧቸዋል” ብለዋል።

Sources said that in the limited rural areas where Fano fighters move from time to time, they pressure young people to join them by saying, "While we are fighting, what are you doing?" Although, in the limited places where they operate, they gather the community and ask for support, residents indicated that they have not so far encountered forced recruitment by them.

የፋኖ ተጣቂዎች አልፎ አልፎ በሚንቀሳቀሱባቸው ውስን የገጠር አካባቢዎች ላይ ወጣቶች እንዲቀላቀሏቸው፣ ‘እኛ እየታገል እናንተ ምን ትሰራላችሁ’ በሚል ጫና እንደሚፈጥሩ ምንጮች ገልጠዋል። ምንም እንኳን በሚንቀሳቀሱባቸው ውስን ቦታዎች ላይ ማኅበረሰቡን እየሰበሰቡ ድጋፍ እንዲሰጣቸው ቢጠይቁም፣ እስከአሁን የግዳጅ ምልመላ እንዳልገጠማቸው ነዋሪዎች ጠቁመዋል።

It is said that fighters of the Tigray Interim Government are forcibly taking control of government institutions run under the administration appointed from the Amhara Region side and under the local command post. Wazema has learned that over the past two weeks they have forced workplace heads to leave through threats and intimidation, and have taken control of health, water, and transport institutions.

የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ መንግስት ታጣቂዎች በአማራ ክልል በኩል በተሰየመው አስተዳደርና በአካባቢው ኮማንድ ፖስት ሥር የሚመሩ መንግሥታዊ ተቋማትን በኃይል እየተቆጣጠሩ ነው ተብሏል። ባለፉት ኹለት ሳምንታት ውስጥ የሥራ ኃላፊዎችም በዛቻና መስፈራሪያ እንዲለቁ በማድረግ የጤና፣ የውሃና ትራንስፖርት ተቋማትን መቆጣጠራቸውን ዋዜማ ተረድታለች።

It is known that a command post deployed by the federal government exists in the areas where fighters of the Tigray Interim Government are carrying out killings, kidnappings, looting, and the forced removal of institutional heads from their posts.

የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ መንግስት ታጣቂዎች ግድያ፣ እገታ፣ ዘረፋና የተቋማት ኃላፊዎችን በጫና ሥራ የሚያስለቅቁባቸው አካባቢዎች የፌደራል መንግሥት ያሰማራው ኮማንድ ፖስት መኖሩ ይታወቃል።

However, a local official close to the matter told Wazema that the command post has been unable to stop the movements of Tigrayan forces, saying it was acting so that "conflict would not be created."

ይሁን እንጂ ኮማንድ ፖስቱ ‘ግጭት እንዳይፈጠር’ በሚል የትግራይ ኃይሎችን እንቅስቃሴ ማስቆም አለመቻሉን ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው አንድ የአካባቢው ባለሥልጣን የዋዜማ ተናግረዋል።

It will be recalled that Wazema has reported repeated killings in the disputed Raya areas, especially in Alamata town.

በአወዛጋቢ የራያ አካባቢዎች በተለይ በአላማጣ ከተማ በተደጋጋሚ ግድያዎች መፈጸማቸው ዋዜማ መዘገቧ ይታወሳል።

In a statement it issued on Hidar 17, 2018 E.C., the TPLF demanded that the command post deployed by the federal government in the disputed Raya areas withdraw. The TPLF said its demand that the command post leave the disputed Raya areas was based on the argument that it had been given a six-month time limit but had remained for more than three years, which it said was improper. [Wazema]

በአወዛጋቢ የራያ አካባቢዎች የፌደራል መንግሥት ያሰማራው ኮማድ ፖስት፣ ለቆ እንዲወጣ ሕወሓት ህዳር 17፣ 2018 ዓ፣ም በሰጠው መግለጫ ጠይቋል። ሕወሓት ኮማንድ ፖስቱ አወዛጋቢ የራያ አካባቢዎችን ለቆ እንዲወጣ የጠየቀው፣ ለስድስት ወር ጊዜ ገደብ ተሰማቶ ከሦስት ዓመት በላይ መቆየቱ አግባብነት የለውም በሚል ነው። [ዋዜማ]