Ethiopia Freezes Bank Accounts Opened in Tigray

People across Ethiopia who opened their bank accounts in Tigray find their accounts frozen. They can not withdraw or transfer money. While it is intended to target Tigrayans, many former non-Tigrayan students and other Ethiopians who, for different reasons, opened their bank accounts in Tigray are also affected.

We are talking about bank accounts outside Tigray. Banks in Tigray have been closed following the start of the war. But now some banks are offering limited services only within Tigray.

This is the latest development in the ethnic profiling and targeting of Tigrayans. From day one, Abiy Ahmed has made it clear that his mission is to target Tigrayans. It started with imprisoning, firing and forcing to retire many high profile Tigrayans. Then it went down to Tigrayans at all levels of work. Thousands (some estimates say about 51,000) Tigrayas from Addis Abeba and environs have been rounded up in concentration camps. Some reports also say Tigrayans from the military have been rounded up in different parts of the country.

After expelling Tigrayans from any federal posts and institutions, Abiy Ahmed went after Tigrayans in regional and international organizations such as the AU. The latest attack on a high-profile Tigrayan working for an international organization is WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom.