ADDIS ABABA, 31 March 2022, (TON): A lawyer working with them said “Ethiopia has released several former government officials from prison.”

The group of ethnic Tigrayans included former members of the government-appointed administration and a member of the ruling party.

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said on March 18 that at least eight officials had been arrested, but gave no names, or reasons for the arrests.

The lawyer and a second source said at the time 12 Tigrayan officials, an activist and another man had been arrested in raids on March 7 and 8 – a total of 14 people.

“All of them were released today and are now on their way to Addis Ababa from Afar,” said a lawyer working with the detainees, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

The government has sought to arrest leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has been fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government for the last 16 months. But since the conflict erupted, Tigrayans from all walks of life have been arrested and held without charge for weeks or months.