the announcement of talks happened hours after a run reported an incident in the gulf of oman and accused the u.s. of trying to capture a tanker carrying its oil. >> i seen the iranian claims. they are false and untrue. there was no such effort by u.s. naval assets to seize anything.

what this refers to his back on the 24th of october. u.s. navy assets did monitor iranian forces illegally boarding a merchant vessel in the gulf of oman. the united states fifth fleet erected to ships and aerial assets to monitor that situation. at no time where u.s. forces attempting to retake or engage in the situation. we acted completely in accordance with the law, so it is a bogus claim. >> a joint investigation by the u.n. human rights commission says government forces and rebels are responsible for serious violations. the report says the conflict has seen extreme brutality. new jersey democratic governor phil murphy has narrowly won reelection as the state's first democratic governor to win a second term in four decades.

the party suffered a loss in virginia where republican glenn youngkin defeated terry mcauliffe. day four of the cup 26 u.n. climate summit has focused on ways to fight global warming. most world leaders -- after several key agreements. israel has cut electricity in the occupied west bank. the israeli electricity company says it is taking action against the palestinian authority's failure to clear its debt. the blackout affects areas near jerusalem and bethlehem. those are the headlines. the news continues after "inside story." ♪

>> ethiopia's year-long war marked by brutality from all sides involved. a u.n. probe finds evidence that may amount to crimes against humanity. as the nation enters a new state of emergency, action could be needed to bring an end to this conflict rather than further escalate the situation. this is "inside story." ♪ >> welcome to the program. a new turn in ethiopia is year-long conflict is threatening to tear the country apart. rebels from the northern region have teamed up with a small faction within the ethnic group the aromo and are threatening to advance toward the capital asddis -- addis ababa.

it has announced a state of emergency and urged people to take up arms to defend their neighborhoods. the government has launched a ground and air offensive in a bid to push them back. as we see on the map we are about to show you, they are making their way from to go i -- tiguay into neighboring regions and down the highway to addis ab aba. the u.n. has found evidence that all side have violated international human rights. there are indications those actions may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. the u.n.'s human rights chief says the year-long conflict has been marked by extreme

brutality. first, a report from al jazeera. >> these mass graves in northern ethiopia unearthed what the u.n. says could be were crimes in the tigray conflict. joint ethiopian and u.n. human rights investigation says rebels in tigray killed more than 200 ethnic -- last year. the conflict has extended beyond tigray into neighboring regions and it has been devastating for civilians. the u.n. report found soldiers who backed if eop federal army as well as ethiopian government soldiers and tigray rebels have committed widespread crimes including rape, torture, and killings of civilians. >> all parties have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian, and

refugee law. some of this may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. >> ethiopia's government has largely welcomed the report while exposing reservations about aspects of the findings. it has promise to set up a task force investigate the allegations. rebels in tigray said the report is flawed, citing the enforcement of the ethiopian human rights commission. but on the ground, the conflict is intensifying. rebels say they have captured two northern towns and a major highway leading to the capital addis ababa. the prime minister has urged ethiopians to unite and fight the rebels and has warned that attempts to make ethiopia like libya and syria will not succeed. he was elected in a landslide victory, facing mounting pressure to end the war from ethiopia's largest humanitarian aid donor, the united states. >> as the war approaches its one-year anniversary, the united

states and others cannot continue business as usual. relations with government with ethiopia. -- of ethiopia. the partnership we have enjoyed is not sustainable while the military conflict continues to expand. >> the biden administration has suspended ethiopia from a crucial trade agreement with the u.s.. >> a very significant decision by the united states. it is important to understand it has not happened yet. there is a january 1 date at which it may become effective. if there is no movement east -- movement toward peace in ethiopia. ethiopia is likely to lose about a quarter of a billion dollars. >> that could mean more hardship for ethiopians. the u.n. investigation only looked at reports of abuse until

late june where the rebels regained much of tigray. it does not include any attacks or civilian abuse since then. priyanka group to, inside story -- priyanka gupta, inside story. >> let's bring in our guests. from addis ababa, we are joined by an independent journalist. in nairobi, senior ethiopia analyst at international crisis group. from amsterdam, we are joined by the manager of a website who documents -- the documents the tigrayan story. how dangerous is the situation? does it pose a threat to its existence, sovereignty, unity for ethiopia as the justice minister has said? >> certainly we are seeing a serious threat to the federal government and its authority here.

that is primarily because of the continued advances by the tigray forces since july, primarily through east amhara region. they have taken control of cities. this reflects the latest in a series of battlefield victories which have weakened the federal military considerably after the federal military was pushed out of tigray in june. this puts the tigray forces in a position to head east to control the djibouti corridor, ethiopia's main trade route. they could then exert significant economic pressure on the leadership as well as potentially rerouting aid supplies directly to tigray. they could also try to push southwards towards addis ababa, and there they have established some sort of operational connection with the oromo

liberation army, the other armed movement which is determined to force the prime minister and his government power. in response, we have seen doubling down of positions from the prime minister, from the amhara government, all out mobilization, citizens being called to arms to prevent the advance of the tigray forces. we have seen this mobilization the last few months and it has not been successful. there is no reason that or this very sweeping state of emergency that is being put in place which may well result in the mass arrest of tigrayan citizens who are increasingly seen as collaborators with tigray forces, but there is no reason to think that will turn the tide on the battlefield. so really, it is an incredibly perilous situation for the federal government. unless the federal leadership is able and willing to make some necessary concessions to the tigrayan demands, particularly

on the issue of the blockade which is presenting humanitarian relief -- preventing humanitarian relief for tigray, we are likely to see advance and destabilization for the country at large that comes with that. >> would tigrayan forces really march on the capital? do they have the military strength and the support to take addis ababa? what are their aims? >> they have stated their aims very clearly, i believe. the main aim is to break the blockade. they have been adjusting their demands from the time they took -- and the government has refused. they say we are not going to perish in the blockade, we are going to try everything we can to break the blockade. i believe they have the ability

to march on addis ababa, especially after the physical linking up with the oromo liberation army. we have to member the military is really broken down. they have brought the strongest divisions to tigray and they were decimated there. they brought every force they could muster and they have been decimated. i do not think there is much military resistance. of course the government, they are asking citizens to stop the advance, but in terms of really conventional military engagement , i don't think the ethiopian government has options anymore.

>> what are we to make of the call to arms by the government to the people of the capital? is it just scaremongering? what does the state of emergency mean for people? how will their lives change under it? >> ethiopians to begin are used to this endless state of emergency that has been implemented even before this prime minister came to power. we know how to live and exist with endless state of emergency. what makes this different is the fact that the country is really hurting. i was in amhara regions recently and i was in tigray previously. we were allowed to go and report from there. what we are hearing, what the

international human rights watch was really expressing was the fact that these crimes were happening by old actors. we have seen it. it is uniform like allegations we have been hearing. amhara, you can meet a young woman and she can say she was abused or sexually violated and you -- her voice will be echoed when you go to tigray. that is what is scary about what is happening in ethiopia. it is not just the foreign investors that are fleeing from ethiopia, which were important to the nation at one point. or the u.s. embassy saying all its citizens should leave ethiopia because of ongoing conflicts. everything that is happening in ethiopia, and what is overwhelming is where this country is heading at the moment. >> people watching and listening

will not know the intricacies of ethiopian politics. what is it going to take to diffuse the situation? what are the tplf's demands? why is the government not willing to implement those demands? >> clearly the demands are unreasonable from the federal government's perspective. >> but what are they? what are they, william? >> to have the blockade issue. the tigray leadership, they want unhindered aid access, banking, telecommute occasions, and electricity. because of the way the war was conducted, because of the intervention considered illegal by tigray's leadership, they want to remove risks. they are -- it is a very territorial issue. as the federal government withdrew after these defeats, that left amhara region in

control of western and southern tigray. it has been administered as part of tigray since 1995. they have been pushed out in southern tigray, but they remain in control in western tigray, and leadership is set on covering that from amhara. there are also questions about their ability to run a referendum on independence as a nationstate, which is a longer issue. these are the types of demands, but i think because of the ongoing conflict, because the federal government has classified the tigray issue as a terrorist organization, they consider the region to be run by terrorists, they are not willing to deliver aid without the restrictions. they believe it may be diverted. perhaps they are just trying to subjugate and weaken the region. they have also not been willing to provide these services. it has been considered the

regional government illegal. the tigray moves against the federal military to weaken it is hardly something the powers that be in addis ababa are going to go along with. these are the agreements -- the disagreements that are driving the conflict. i think it is the humanitarian aspect, if the federal government can finally prioritize that, which will also be seen as a concession to tigray, perhaps we could break this kind of deadlock or at least the escalatory dynamics. as i said in my first answer, so far there is no sign of that. we just have the federal government and its allies doubling down in terms of the all out mobilization and that is only likely to incentivize the tigray commanders to push forward faster than they already have. >> we talked about how dangerous

the situation is free throw pia -- for ethiopia. is there anyone with the authority and respect to bring the two sides together? or does there need to be some kind of military victory for one side or the other before there can be talking? >> i think it is already too late. first, have to really understand what happened in tigray. it is a genocide that has been planned for a long time. really, i feel insulted when people compare it to what happens in amhara. this is not the same case. this is a genocide and the blockade as part of genocide. they have told everyone their plan is to wipe the people of tigray out. they have told the european envoy.

this blockade is part of that. they say if we prolong the war, they will perish in this blockade. we have to understand the context. taking the war to addis is important because those who have planned and executed this genocide must be brought to justice. there is no negotiation now. it is too late, we paid too much. second, negotiation means there is no way this -- these people will be brought to justice. these are very important things. the international community has failed to deliver his responsibility. -- its responsibility. it cannot enforce a humanitarian corridor for tigray where people are dying every day from starvation. there is no option now. this regime is an illegitimate regime with an illegitimate

party. and has no right to rule and it is a criminal clique that has to be brought to justice. now it is already too late. the tigrayan general says now the war is over, there is no point in negotiation, which i think is what they are trying to do. >> what is your view on that? is it too late? the accusations of genocide, the prime minister says the u.n. report dispelled what he said were false accusations of genocide against his government. but the u.n. says the ethiopian government tried to limit the investigation, which of course was carried out jointly by the human rights commission. are the victims of extreme

brutality on all sides likely to see justice? >> if you allow me to reply to your guest. if the election in ethiopia is as illegitimate as he claims -- it was not perfect, per se. i think the election in tigray had the same standard where no position was elected was won by 98 plus percent of the population that was claimed. the elections can always be debated, but if you are criticizing one, you have to criticize both. going back to perhaps a negotiation settlement, it is never too late. people are obviously dying. we talk about genocide in tigray , the amharas are talking about genocide that may have happened in their own regions. there has to be some kind of understanding that too many people are dying in ethiopia.

whether you call it genocide or not, the people on the ground, they are focused on -- the focus is to survive. people are being killed. the difference between one to the other is in terms of numbers. but again, i have always enjoyed traveling outside of addis ababa . i was able to speak to lots of victims and they echoed the same kind of allegations. this kind of report is a down payment of the kind of report we need. i don't know if ethiopia or the u.n. will find enough resources to investigate, but all kinds of allegations, whether you call it genocide, comes from all sides. >> is it too late for negotiations? what do you make of the u.n.'s findings? >> in terms of negotiations, the issue is, as i said, it is as

described. it is a good articulation of the tigrayan position. unless there are those types of really significant concessions from the federal government, which might serve to pause the tigrayan advance, in terms of the humanitarian situation, the restoration and services, may be the beginnings of political amnesty for tigrayan and oromo leaders -- unless we get that, the tigrayan forces are going to push forward. the leaders have said there is no negotiation to be done with prime minister abiy. i don't think without concessions we are going to move to negotiations, but it is the right thing to call for. there are all sorts of reasons to be concerned about what could result from a tigray push combined with the oromo liberation army. look at the state of the amhara

region. it would be in rebellion to any government formed of the tigray leadership and the oromo liberation army. with regards to genocide, we have already import area we have seen media reports. we know severe abuses have been committed by the eritrean forces, the by the government, by the amhara. the report talks about abuses by tigrayan militia as well. clearly there has been very severe restrictions placed upon the region in terms of those services, trade, and aid. that seems to be a deliberate policy by the federal government. i and my organization are not in a position to call it genocide. that is up to human rights investigators and international lawyers. >> what is it going to take the end -- to end the suffering of people in ethiopia?

>> i would like to say a little bit on the report, they call it a joint investigation by the ethiopian human rights commission. i think from the tigrayan position, i find this to be an insult. you do not allow the perpetrator of the crimes to be part of the investigation. nowhere in the world should you do something like this. this is what they have done. it is really wrong on methodology. >> as i understand it, the only way the u.n. could get in to investigate was to have a joint investigation. otherwise they would not have been allowed to go in. >> that is a valid point, but for that point, you don't make a

report that basically whitewash as the crimes of the regime and also really -- victims we feel are being hurt again by this investigation. it has not included the main concerns. >> i'm sorry to cut you short, we are almost out of time. i want to get samuel's reply to what you just heard. >> you know, going back to compromise, ethiopia has been highlighted by the spokesperson of the state department in washington, d.c.. it needs world leadership to end what has been happening in this country. canceling a trade agreement with the u.s. is going to wipe out hundreds of thousands of jobs. people are dying. there has to be an international

leadership to end what is happening in ethiopia. everybody is just focusing on this ethnic warfare we have been seeing is ethiopia for many years. >> we are out of time. thank you for watching. you can see the program any time by going to the website, al jazeera.com. for further discussion, join us at our facebook page at facebook.com/ajinsidestory. and you can join the conversation on twitter. from the team in doha, thanks for watching. ♪

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