More than 50,000 ethnic Amhara people who were forcefully displaced from Welkait Tegede and Setit Humera districts, which previously fall under the administration of the Tigray Regional State, have returned to their former living areas, Ashete Demelew, Chief Zonal Administrator in the area has said.
The residents in Welkait Tegede and Setit Humera districts claim their territories were annexed from Amhara Regional State by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led government which took power in Ethiopia 30 years ago.
The residents claimed in the process of annexation, the identity, history and cultural make up of the Welkait Tegede, Setit Humera and Telemt districts have been taken away, rewritten and utterly decimated by TPLF and its state machine.
“At least 500,000 ethnic Amharas reportedly were subjected to forced displacement from Welqaite Tegede, Setiti Humera and Telemt districts fleeing mass detention, killing and grave human rights abuses against them,” Ashete said.
According to the administrator, the number of Amhara people who are returning in those districts is on the rise after the Amhara Regional State regained the districts following the law enforcement operation conducted against TPLF in November 2020.
