In Ethiopia, the recently declared state of emergency allows authorities to arrest Salesian missionaries, as they are considered "supporters" of the rebel Tigrayan forces. Among those detained were also 72 humanitarian aid truck drivers and 16 other United Nations humanitarian staff members.
Ethiopian government forces raided a center run by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Addis Ababa and arrested 17 people, including priests, religious brothers, and employees. This occurred amidst a general climate of uncertainty and tension in the country, provoked by the year-long war between the government and Tigrayan forces.
According to reports, the raid was carried out on November 5 at a center in Gottera, Addis Ababa, the capital. The 17 arrested individuals were taken to an unknown destination, and the reason for their arrest remains unclear.
Meanwhile, the Salesians, who have been working in Ethiopia since 1975, continue to pray for peace and unity in the country, as well as for the safe return of their arrested brothers.
Also read | David Perry Becomes a Hero After Foiling an Attack
A Tense Situation
The war in Ethiopia has not spared civilians, as thousands have died and millions have been displaced, forced to flee their homes in search of safer environments. The situation has been worsened by near-famine conditions, particularly in the northern Tigray region, where government blockades have been established to prevent food, medicine, and other aid from reaching Tigrayan forces.
On November 2, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency for six months after dissident Tigrayan forces claimed to have taken control of two strategic cities and considered marching on Addis Ababa.
The state of emergency allows the government to impose a curfew and arrest individuals suspected of supporting the Tigrayan forces that have been fighting the government for a year.
Government Crackdown
On Sunday, November 7, the head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Daniel Bekele, stated that the Commission had received information about arrests of Tigrayans in the capital and was monitoring these arrests.
The police, for their part, denied targeting the Tigray ethnic group, stating that those arrested were suspected of having ties to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
On Wednesday, November 10, the United Nations stated that Ethiopian security forces had arrested and detained some 72 aid delivery truck drivers who were working for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Semera, the regional capital of Afar and the transit point for aid convoys striving to reach the Tigray region.
The day before, on Tuesday, the UN stated that 16 of its local staff members and their dependents had been arrested in Addis Ababa. The ethnicity of the detained UN staff was not immediately specified, but sources indicated they were Tigrayan.
In early October, Ethiopian authorities had expelled seven senior United Nations officials, accusing them of interfering in the country's internal affairs.
Churches Are Not Spared
In an interview with Vatican News, Father Giuseppe Cavallini, a Comboni missionary who has worked in Ethiopia for 30 years, explained that even churches have not been spared from the government crackdown.
"A few days ago," he said, "soldiers entered the Catholic cathedral in Addis Ababa looking for people of Tigrinya ethnicity. And these raids are being carried out throughout the capital."
Father Cavallini also noted that many churches and missions in other places, including in Tigray, have been looted or destroyed during the fighting. He recalled, in particular, a Comboni mission in the western Benishangul region that was razed to the ground, forcing priests and religious sisters to flee.