The minors as young as 11 and 12 arrested on suspicion of being members of OLF Shane in the western Gambella region were released a week ago and returned home, Gambella region president Omod Ojulu Obub told DW Amharic. In its report on January 25 the Ethiopian human rights commission said that in a Dec. 21-24 visit to the Agnwah zone of Gambella, it found worrying prison conditions, including two boys aged 11 and 12 and a girl aged 14 detained since mid-December 2020. The two boys had been beaten, the report added.

The report also said about 90 mainly ethnic Tigrayans had been in custody in Gambella since early November – when a military operation began against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)- without any investigation starting. “Members of the TPLF suspected of crimes have not been brought to justice in a timely manner, but their case is being heard”, Omod told DW.