UN report says Ethiopia's war marked by 'extreme brutality'

The U.N. human rights chief says Ethiopia’s yearlong war has been marked by “extreme brutality" as a joint investigation into alleged atrocities faults all sides for committing abuses

GENEVA -- The U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday that Ethiopia’s yearlong war has been marked by “extreme brutality” as a joint investigation into alleged atrocities faulted all sides for committing abuses, but avoided saying who was the most to blame.

The investigation was hampered by authorities’ intimidation and restrictions and didn’t visit some of the war’s worst-affected locations.

The report, a rare collaboration by the U.N. human rights office with the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, was released a day before the war’s one-year mark and as Africa’s second most populous country enters a new state of emergency with rival Tigray forces threatening the capital.

The U.N. told The Associated Press that the collaboration was necessary for its team to gain access to a troubled region that Ethiopian authorities have largely prevented journalists, rights groups and other outside observers from entering.