ADDIS ABABA, September 12, 2023 — Disturbing revelations have come to light through leaked videos and images, shedding a stark spotlight on the deplorable conditions endured by Amhara detainees in various concentration camps across Ethiopia. These grim mass detention facilities are located in Gelan, Ashewa Meda, and Yirgalem.
Today, despite the Ethiopian federal government’s initial denial of the existence of the concentration camps depicted in the leaked images, it has now admitted to the presence of mass detention camps in Gondar, Bahir Dar, Shewa Robit, and Aswah Arba.
The images, evoking eerie parallels to Nazi-style concentration camps, lay bare the inhumane and nightmarish treatment suffered by malnourished detainees. What is particularly distressing is the presence of numerous Amhara children in these makeshift concentration camps, which were essentially transformed from factories and warehouses into prisons, reminiscent of the haunting memories of Auschwitz.
The mass detentions were carried out without arrest warrants, and the prisoners have not been charged with any crime. They were rounded up solely because they were Amhara.
