U.N. sees possible war crimes in "reckless" Ethiopia war as U.S. warns citizens to prepare to flee

Johannesburg — The United Nations released a report on Wednesday warning that atrocities committed by both sides in the brutal war in Ethiopia may amount to crimes against humanity, as the spreading conflict sparked a warning for U.S. citizens to prepare to leave the country. Fighting has raged in the northern Tigray region for a year now, with reports of massacres, gang-rapes and ethnic cleansing, and the war has worryingly crept closer to the capital in recent days.

"We have reasonable grounds to believe that during this period, all parties to the Tigray conflict have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. Some of these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday, highlighting the report by the UNHCR. She called the war "reckless," and urged an immediate end to the fighting.

The report draws on 269 interviews, many containing graphic details of rapes and mutilations by Eritrean soldiers on military bases. Eritrea has sent troops across the border to help Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed try to quash Tigrayan rebels.