Residents of Eritrea in the Ethiopian capital have reported widespread arrests within their community, sparking fears among refugees and asylum seekers who have fled their homes in search of a better life.
Although unprecedented, the scale and intensity of crackdowns in Addis Ababa is remarkable, with hundreds reported to have been closed in recent weeks.
Police in the city did not respond to BBC requests for comment but the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission – an independent body set up by the country’s parliament – said it would launch an investigation.
Eritrea and Ethiopia share a border and tensions between the two neighbors have been going on for decades.
Ties appeared to strengthen following the 2018 peace deal, but then deteriorated again.
One of the Eritrean refugees, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said he was arrested after someone overheard him speaking Tigrinya – the language spoken in Eritrea, and Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
“We were sitting in a shop when someone heard us speaking Tigrinya and called the police.
“Six police officers came and arrested us. Later, the inspector demanded money to release us, the payments were arranged secretly to avoid evidence,” he said.
Many Eritreans in Addis Ababa are refugees fleeing forced conscription and government repression in their country of origin.
More than 20,000 Eritreans have crossed into Ethiopia this year, adding to the 70,000 refugees already registered in the country.
While some Eritreans sought safety in Ethiopia after a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan 18 months ago,
One refugee told the BBC that her sister was arrested on her way to the shops and held in custody for three weeks.
“I can’t visit him because I’m afraid of being arrested too, so I’m sending friends from Ethiopia to look for him and deliver food and clothes. I’m afraid they might deport him to Eritrea,” he said.
Returning to Eritrea would put many refugees at risk of arrest.
Although some of those arrested have been released, many are still incarcerated. Some have been detained for weeks or even months without due process.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) told BBC Tigrinya that it had received reports of Eritrean refugees being detained and expressed grave concern over the matter.
Refugees are becoming increasingly desperate, many are looking for other ways out of Ethiopia. But there are reports that Eritreans have even been arrested when they tried to ask about the travel documents they need to leave.
Their arrests have raised concerns about the safety of Eritrean refugees across Ethiopia. In the Alemwach refugee camp in the Amhara region, refugees spoke of looting, kidnapping, and physical beatings by armed groups.
“Some refugees were shot, others were stabbed for their belongings, such as mobile phones. At least nine refugees were killed last year,” said a representative from the camp.
Some refugees came close to the arrest and deportation of Eritreans in 1998-2000 between the two countries, when thousands were forcibly expelled from Ethiopia.
Relations have deteriorated since the end of a two-year civil war in the northern region of Tigray, Ethiopia.
Flights and telephone calls between the two countries have been suspended, and communication between their leaders has been cut off.
Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia are asking the international community, especially the UN and human rights organizations, to intervene.
An Eritrean who has lived and studied in Addis Ababa for six years, described the arrests as arbitrary and deliberate.
“It targets both documented and undocumented Eritreans. Even mothers who visit family members have been arrested,” he told the BBC.
One refugee said: “Detention is unfair, and our lives are in danger. We escaped persecution in Eritrea, but we faced it here.”
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