VZCZCXRO8790
RR RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #0250/01 0391051
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081051Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7677
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 3323
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0058
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8048
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0009

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. 
 
--------------------------------- 
SHOOTINGS OUTSIDE KEBRIBEYAH CAMP 
--------------------------------- 
¶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. 
 
----------------------------- 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000250  002 OF 002 
 
 
SHOOTING OUTSIDE MY AYNI CAMP 
----------------------------- 
¶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