The Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide (CITG) expresses its deep concern over the worsening situation at the Hitsats Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Center. This concern is based on findings reported in August 2025 in “The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Tigray: A Special Assessment Report,” which assessed 92 IDP centers across Tigray. The Hitsats IDP site in the Northwestern Zone of Tigray was among those assessed.
During the 2025 assessment alone, the Commission documented the deaths of 325 internally displaced persons at the Hitsats IDP site. These deaths were primarily attributed to the lack of food, medical care, and other basic necessities. The report also documented cases of death, physical injury, and forced disappearance, with the commission recording the names and identities of the victims.
The findings of the CITG investigation reflect the extreme vulnerability of internally displaced persons to grave human rights violations, with killings emerging as the most widespread form of victimization. The assessment further indicates the existence of systematic deprivation of basic needs across IDP sites.
Food assistance was found to be irregular and inconsistent with humanitarian standards. In many cases, food distribution had been suspended for several months. When food was delivered, its quality was often poor, including spoiled maize grain or sorghum unfit for human consumption. The quantity of food provided was frequently below standard and often not based on household size. As a result, many IDPs were forced to sell part of their food rations to cover milling costs or to purchase basic cooking necessities such as salt and pepper.
Vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, unaccompanied children, and persons with chronic illnesses, were frequently excluded from aid due to flaws in biometric registration systems and bureaucratic neglect. Some displaced persons had not received any assistance since their displacement.
Healthcare conditions across IDP sites were equally alarming. The assessment found an acute absence of medical services, with essential medicines, treatment for chronic illnesses, maternal and child health services, and mental health support practically non-existent. Numerous cases of death resulting from starvation, untreated illnesses, and preventable conditions such as hypertension and diabetes were reported.
Several IDP sites recorded multiple deaths caused by the compounded effects of starvation, malnutrition, lack of medicine, and poor hygiene. In IDP camps such as Hitsats and Endabaguna, death tolls reached staggering levels, including elderly individuals who died from neglect and children who perished due to malnutrition.
The Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide calls for urgent attention and action to address the dire humanitarian and human rights situation in all IDP centers and host communities in Tigray.
Let’s bring to Justice the Genocides, rehabilitate the IDPs,who were evicted from their ancestor Homes.God Bless you!