Human Rights First Ethiopia, a domestic civil society organization, has sounded the alarm over what it describes as a deepening crisis of human rights violations in the Tigray and Afar regional states.
In a report released this week, Human Rights First Ethiopia documented killings, injuries, and unlawful detentions, warning that political fractures in both regions are being compounded by impunity and disregard for constitutional protections.
The report traces the latest unrest in southern Tigray to the resignations of leaders of the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA), which it said left a vacuum of legitimacy. Public anger has since spilled into the streets of towns such as Maychew, Mehoni, and Chercher, where demonstrators have demanded that only elected representatives govern their localities.
According to the report, on August 18, 2025, tensions in Mehoni turned violent. Armed men confronted the town’s security office deputy head in the central square, forcibly seizing his weapon. The standoff quickly escalated into gunfire that injured six civilians including a 16-year-old child.
Two men—identified in the report as Zinabu Asro Kahsay and Abdusalam Ali—sustained life-threatening injuries. Both were initially treated at Mekelle’s Ayder Referral Hospital, with the latter transferred to Addis Ababa for advanced care afterwards.
Less than two weeks later, on August 31, fresh protests erupted over administrative appointments made by the TIA. Human Rights First reported that heavily armed and masked security forces blocked roads, intimidated residents, and physically assaulted civilians. One person was killed and another injured in the crackdown.
Although suspects in the shootings were eventually handed over to Mehoni police, the civil society criticized the interim administration for failing to hold security forces accountable.
The report stated that the lack of prosecution sends a dangerous signal of tolerance for abuses.
It also spotlighted Afar Regional State, where 12 former combatants linked to breakaway Tigrayan forces remain detained without trial. Six are being held in a Semera police station, while the other six are reportedly confined in Dubti—outside formal custody and under the control of an armed faction calling itself the “Tigray Peace Army.”
Among those detained in Dubti is a man identified as Shewit Bitew. None of the detainees have been brought before a judge, in violation of the 48-hour rule enshrined in Ethiopia’s constitution.
“We urge the armed groups in Afar who refer to themselves as the ‘Tigray Peace Army’ to recognize their responsibility for those being held and to follow legal processes,” reads the Human Rights First report released on September 16, 2025.
It further called on the Afar regional administration to secure the release of the detainees or charge them in a court of law.
The organization warns that escalating division in Tigray has only accelerated a cycle of unrest and abuses. It cited protests in Mekelle, Mehoni, and Chercher over TIA appointments made under Lieutenant General Tadesse Worede.
“These incidents constitute grave violations of the constitutional rights to life, liberty, peaceful assembly, and due process,” the organization wrote.
The watchdog urged the Tigray interim administration to prosecute perpetrators of the Mehoni shootings and to guarantee citizens’ right to peaceful protest. It also pressed Afar authorities to immediately release or charge the detainees in line with the law. At the federal level, the organization called for stronger oversight to ensure that both regions comply with constitutional and international human rights obligations.
The report contends that impunity in both regions is fueling further unrest and undermining citizens’ trust in state institutions.
