ETHIOPIA: REFUGEES SHOT OUTSIDE KEBRIBEYAH AND MY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000250

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR (JANET DEUTSCH),AF/E (JOEL
WIEGERT),AF/RSA (LEARNED DEES),AND DRL (SIMONE JOSEPH)
GENEVA FOR RMA
BRUSSELS FOR POL/REF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2015
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PHUM ET SO
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: REFUGEES SHOT OUTSIDE KEBRIBEYAH AND MY
AYNI CAMPS

Classified By: Inga Heemink, Refugee Coordinator, for reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Since December 21, there have been three
separate incidents involving Government of Ethiopia (GoE)
security personnel near Kebribeyah and My Ayni refugee camps.
On December 21, police arrested eight Somali refugees in
Kebribeyah camp near Jijiga and three were subsequently found
shot and killed. On January 1, another Somali refugee was
killed in Kebribeyah camp. Security personnel fired on and
killed a female Eritrean refugee and seriously wounded two
others from My Ayni refugee camp when their vehicle failed to
stop at a police check point. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has asked the
Administration of Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) for
formal investigation on all incidents. UNHCR has also
repeatedly requested and has been denied access to the
arrested refugees believed to be held in Jijiga. End
summary.

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SHOOTINGS OUTSIDE KEBRIBEYAH CAMP
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2. (SBU) UNHCR reported that on December 21, Ethiopian
police entered into Kebribeyah refugee camp, arrested eight
male Somali refugees, including one 14 year old and one 17
year old, and turned them over to Ethiopian security
personnel (Note: It is currently unclear which branch of the
police arrested the refugee and if the refugees were turned
over to the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) or local
militia. End note.). Three of the refugees were shot and
killed, allegedly by the military/militia. Their bodies were
discovered by locals on December 21 in Gilo village
approximately thirty kilometers from the camp. UNHCR believes
that the remaining five refugees are detained in Jijiga. The
GoE initially told UNHCR that the individuals arrested were
internally displaced Ethiopians (IDPs) and not refugees.
When shown proof from the UNHCR Progress database that the
eight individuals were indeed registered refugees, the
authorities claimed that they were Ethiopians posing as
refugees. Further investigation by UNHCR revealed that the
arrested refugees had lived in the camp for years and one of
the eight individuals was born in the refugee camp.
According to UNHCR field staff, local authorities alleged
that the refugees might have been loosely linked to the
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF),but they provided no
evidence to this effect.


3. (CO) On December 30, UNHCR issued a formal letter of
protest to the Administration of Refugee and Returnee Affairs
(ARRA) and the GoE, requesting an investigation and report of
the circumstances that led to the death of Hashi Hassan
Cadare (age 27),Mohammed Abdi Omer (age 14),and Mohamed
Omer Mohamed (age 23),and insisting that due process be
carried out for those in detention. When the Refugee
Coordinator (Refcoord) asked about the status of the
investigation, ARRA Deputy Director Ato Ayalew Aweke claimed
that "the appropriate government body" was investigating the
incident but would not divulge any details on which
government agency was involved. UNHCR Deputy Country
Representative Cosmas Chanda reported that the arrested
refugees have not appeared in court and, while they are
believed to be detained in Jijiga, UNHCR does not know if
they are in Jijiga prison, in one of the secret prisons, or
in another location. Despite repeated UNHCR requests to
visit the refugees, local authorities have refused, with no
explanation provided, to grant access to date.


4. (SBU) In a separate incident on January 1 a Somali refugee
named Hasim Ali Daiar was shot and killed, allegedly by a
police offer, in Kebribeyah town about 100 meters from the
UNHCR Filed Office (Note: The camp is located in the town of
Kebribeyah and it is difficult to differentiate the two. End
note.). ARRA is investigating the shooting but has not
provided UNHCR any additional information to date.

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SHOOTING OUTSIDE MY AYNI CAMP
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5. (CO) During the night of January 18, Ethiopian security
personnel (currently unclear if they were police or ENDF)
fired on a vehicle which failed to stop at a checkpoint six
kilometers from the village of Embamadre in Tigray region.
Eight Eritrean refugees from My Ayni camp were in the vehicle
and one female refugee, Yohana Gebreyohannis Kahsa, was
killed. Two other refugees were seriously injured and
admitted to a nearby health facility. The incident is still
under investigation as it remains unclear whether there was
an exchange of gunfire between the security personnel and
occupants of the vehicle when it failed to stop. Preliminary
reports from UNHCR and ARRA indicate that the vehicle may
have been part of a trafficking scheme to take refugees to
third countries such as Sudan and Egypt (Note: GoE policy
requires all refugees reside in camps, but many Eritrean
refugees choose to pursue secondary migration to Europe and
the Middle East in lieu of staying in the isolated My Ayni
camp with no prospects for further education or employment.
End Note). According to International Rescue Committee (IRC)
staff who work in My Ayni camp, ARRA is very concerned and
embarrassed about this incident as it has long advocated for
preferential treatment of Eritrean refugees and does not want
any negative publicity.

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COMMENT
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6. (CO) ARRA Deputy Director Ato Ayalew Aweke was clearly
uncomfortable and hesitant to discuss these incidents when
the Refcoord brought up the subject during a January 27
meeting to express USG concern and to underscore the need for
a formal investigation and UNHCR access to the detained
refugees. The GOE has historically been welcoming to
refugees and has rarely entered camps to arrest or otherwise
molest refugees. The occurrence of two fatal incidents in
Kebribeyah camp in one month, especially with the allegations
of ONLF involvement, suggests an increase in targeting
refugees in violation of the GoE obligations as party to the
1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,
the 1967 Protocol, and the 1969 OAU Convention on Refugees.
The Refcoord will follow up with ARRA and UNHCR on these
incidents and reiterate to the GOE that all levels of their
government need to understand and follow international
humanitarian law on the protection of refugees.





YATES