NEW YORK – Sixteen Ethiopian staff working for the United Nations were in detention Tuesday after government raids targeting ethnic Tigrayans, the United Nations said, as foreign envoys scramble to end the country’s year-long war.
The detentions in Addis Ababa followed the declaration of a six-month nationwide state of emergency last week after Tigrayan and Oromo rebels claimed major advances on the ground, raising fears of a march on the capital, France 24 reported.
Some UN staff members were taken from their homes, humanitarian sources said, shortly after a senior UN envoy visited Tigray to plead for more aid to civilians.
Sixteen UN staffers, all Ethiopian nationals, remained in detention while another six were freed, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the world body’s headquarters.
“We are of course actively working with the government of Ethiopia to secure their immediate release,” Dujarric said.
“There has been, as far as I know, no explanation given to us on why these staff members are detained,” he said.
Lawyers say arbitrary detentions of ethnic Tigrayans—commonplace during the war—have spiked in the last week, ensnaring thousands, with the new measures allowing the authorities to hold anyone suspected of supporting “terrorist groups” without a warrant.
Tensions between the Ethiopian government and the UN have been high throughout the war, which has killed thousands of people and, according to the UN, pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions due to a de facto humanitarian blockade on Tigray.
In September, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry announced it was expelling seven senior UN officials for “meddling” in the country’s affairs.
Foreign envoys and the UN are now hoping that a fresh push led by the African Union will lead to a ceasefire.
UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths on Tuesday called for peace following a weekend visit to Tigray’s regional capital Mekele where he met leaders from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group.
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