Ethiopia denies alleged use of chemical weapons during Tigray conflict

ADDIS ABABA – The government of Ethiopia has denied the alleged use of chemical weapons by federal forces during its war against insurgents in the northern region of Tigray after a report by The Telegraph said “…civilians in northern Ethiopia have suffered horrific burns consistent with the use of white phosphorus, a potential war crime.”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia noted the report published today on the Telegraph by Mr. Will Brown, the Africa correspondent of the magazine based in Nairobi, about the alleged use of ‘chemical weapons’ in the Tigray region,” the Ethiopian foreign ministry said in a statement tonight.

“Ethiopia has not employed and will never use such banned munitions because it takes its international obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention extremely seriously. As a victim of chemical weapons attack itself, Ethiopia also condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons by anyone anywhere,” added the strong-worded statement.

The statement further said the government of Ethiopia had “forewarned the international community about the publication of such a malicious and irresponsible report, which does not have any other purpose than fueling further tension.”

“It cannot be seen any different from the ongoing effort to ratchet up pressure against the Ethiopian government.”