Members of the Amhara Special Forces seat on the top of a truck while another member looks on in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP)

Ethiopian Military Detains BBC Reporter Girmay Gebru

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in African News March 2, 2021

The Ethiopian military has detained the BBC reporter in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit region of Tigray. Witnesses say Girmay Gebru along with four other people were taken from a café in the regional capital, Mekelle.

Mr. Girmay Gebru is reported to have been taken to a military camp in Mekelle.
BBC is, however, yet to establish the reason for the detention of one of their own. On the other hand, it has expressed its concern to the authorities in Ethiopia

‘’We have expressed our concern to the Ethiopian authorities and are awaiting their response,’’ a spokesperson for the BBC said.

In recent days, the military detained three other people in the region for unknown reasons. The three include a local journalist, Tamirat Yemane, and two translators – Alula Akalu and Fitsum Berhane. They worked for the Financial Times and the AFP news agency respectively.

The government of Ethiopia has fought rebel forces in Tigray since November. Months had gone by with a total media blackout since the start of the conflict in Tigray. However, last week the government granted access to some international media organizations last week.

Both AFP and the Financial Times had permission to cover the conflict in the area. Eyewitnesses said soldiers in military uniform carried out the operation to capture and detain Mr. Girmay.

Fighting continues in Tigray despite the government declaring victory over the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Hundreds of people have died in the conflicts and tens of thousands displaced.

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