An Ethiopian human rights commission group has found minors in the custody of Ethiopian forces in Western Gambella.
The minors, some found to be as young as 11 were arrested alongside members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Tigrayans have been held since November, and the state still has not started investigations into their culpability.
“The Commission was alarmed to find two boys aged 11 and 12 and a girl aged 14 detained since mid-December 2020 on suspicion of being members of OLF Shane,” it said, following the arrest of Tigrayans and a breakaway group from the Oromo Liberation Front.
There is renewed tension in the country as the parliamentary elections, through which a Prime Minister is chosen, draws closer.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party faces pressure from the country in the face of the Tigrayan crisis.
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Ethiopia runs a federal system of government with at least 10 regions having their parties including the TPLF, run by Tigrayans and the Oromo Liberation Front for the people of Oromo.
Abiy benefited from a coalition of various parties in 2018 when they kicked out the TPLF which had ruled for 27 years.
Opposition parties have revealed harassment of their members by the national government, with human rights activists asking for a look into Ethiopia’s current situation.