Anti-Tigrayan sentiment is a broad opposition, discrimination, hatred and bias against

Tigrayans The Tigrayan people (, ''Təgaru'') are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch. The daily lif ...

that reside in northern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. During the

EPRDF The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...

era, anti-Tigrayan views have been common among

Ethiopians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global Ethiopian diaspora, diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute #Ethnicity, several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighbor ...

, particularly after the 2005 general election. Not only the irregularities of election caused the sentiment, but also the EPRDF (dominated by majority Tigrayans) was becoming more authoritarian dictatorship. It also created discontent among

Amharas Amharas (; ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amh ...

and

Oromos The Oromo people (, pron. ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo''), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic ...

; the Oromos demanded justice after an abrupt master plan to expand boundaries of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

into

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

, resulted in mass protests.

During the Tigray War

The Tigray War has manifested negative attitude against the Tigrayans. The Ethiopian federal government promoted hate speech statements against the ethnic group, as well as dehumanizing them in rare occasions. They have been subjected to massacres by the federal troops, Amhara regular and irregular forces, and Eritrean soldiers. Around 500,000 Tigrayans died as a result

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

famines A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usuall ...

and shortage of healthcare supplies. From July 2021, the

Ethiopian Federal Police The Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP; ) is the law enforcement agency of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Established in 1995, the agency aims with objectives of maintaining or safeguarding the public security, human and democratic rights ...

began arresting thousands of Tigrayans in Addis Ababa. The Police claims that they have been arrested because they are supporting the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...

(TPLF).

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

said that they were detained because of ethnicity. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

estimated that more than 15,000 Tigrayans civilian were arrested between November and February alone amidst the state of emergency. About 9,000 were still in detention as opposed to the government assertion that they have now released.

Human Right Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including war crimes, crimes against ...

stated that the government used arbitrary arrests, mistreatment, and force disappearance against Tigrayans where thousands are deported from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

instead receiving assistance from

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

(UNHCR).

Eritrean Army involvement

Eritrean involvement in the Tigray War has increasingly committed war crimes against Tigrayans after sending its thousands of soldiers in support of Ethiopian federal forces. According to rights groups, aid workers and news outlets, the Eritrean troops massacred hundreds of civilians, looted businesses and arbitrarily detained civilians already facing extraordinary suffering.

References

{{Discrimination Discrimination in Ethiopia Prelude to the Tigray war