Government accused of genocide

The powerful head of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church has accused the government of committing genocide against the Tigrayan people. In his first public comments since the war began in Tigray six months ago, Patriarch Abune Mathias said the government was working day and night to destroy the region. ‘I don't know why they want to wipe the people of Tigray off the face of the earth,’ he said. BBC News reports that Ethiopia’s federal authorities have denied committing genocide and insist they are targeting Tigray’s regional leaders and not civilians. The patriarch, himself a Tigrayan, said his earlier attempts to speak out had been censored.