The Global Society of Tigrayan Scholars has issued an urgent appeal to international bodies, warning of what it called “grave human rights violations” in Tigray following the March 2025 overthrow of the Interim Administration by a faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, backed by military commanders.
In a letter addressed to the UN Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa, the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and human rights organizations, GSTS said the human rights situation “has now reached a tipping point.”
According to GSTS, the Tigray Interim Administration, led by President General Tadesse Werede, “has fallen under the full control of a narrow political faction within the TPLF,” reducing its president to “the role of a protégé.” The group said earlier gains under former president Getachew Reda including media freedom, free movement, and political participation “have been severely rolled back.” The letter alleged widespread abuses across Southern Tigray, the Southeastern Zone, Eastern Zone, Tembien, and Northwestern Tigray. These include “forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, unlawful removals from office, intimidation, terror, and suppression of self-administration.”
GSTS also cited “coercive political cleansing,” the dismissal of civil servants, suppression of dissent, and restrictions on movement imposed by military forces. The group accused authorities of “large-scale land grabbing, illegal gold mining, illicit trade, smuggling, human trafficking, and embezzlement of public resources.”
“These violations undermine the rule of law, deepen political polarization, exacerbate instability, and inflict severe and widespread suffering on the people of Tigray,” the letter said.
GSTS urged international institutions to “immediately and publicly condemn the ongoing human rights violations,” press for “an independent investigation,” and prevent the interim administration from using military force to suppress civilians.
“The people of Tigray, already enduring deep pain and trauma from years of war, continue to live in fear and terror, facing systematic oppression, political hostage-taking, and the denial of their fundamental human and civil rights,” GSTS said. The group said it stands ready to provide information and cooperate with international organizations “to protect human rights, promote accountability, and restore peace and stability in Tigray.”