Today’s on Friday August 26, 2022, air strike in Mekelle is yet another cowardly and barbaric act, and the
fact that the victims were innocent children and non-combatant civilians makes it particularly cruel, an act
of a war crime for which Mr. Abiy will be held responsible. In the past two years, Mr. Abiy has
indiscriminately bombed civilian targets in Mekelle and other smaller towns, including a marketplace in
Togoga.
Emboldened by the apathy of the international community, the onslaught on Tigray by the Ethiopian
regime continues without respite. The regime-imposed humanitarian blockade has already killed
hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray over the last 21 months in its campaign to exterminate
Tigrayans. Two days ago, the regime has launched a second round of the war to finish weakened Tigray
and complete its genocidal campaign.
Security and Justice for Tigrayans (SJT) urges the world community at large and the European Union, the
United States, and the African Union to condemn the bombing of civilian targets and the killing of children.
We also demand the world to apply utmost pressure on Mr. Abiy’s regime to stop the war and mayhem
immediately and seek a political solution to the crisis. The international community and the United
Nations, in particular, have the legal and moral obligation to stop this war waged on civilians.
The world community has let the Rwanda Genocide happen as it silently watched when close to a million
people perished. We urge the international community to bravely stand against genocide and punish the
culprits of war crimes and crimes against humanity to face justice.
