The Weeknd donates $1 million to fund relief work in Ethiopia

Singer The Weeknd has said he is donating $1 million to fund humanitarian work in Ethiopia.

The Canadian singer also called on his fans to follow him in his gesture of solidarity.

It was in a message on Twitter that the R&B star expressed horror at the ‘senseless murders and displacements’ in the East African country.

"My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction," he wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, was born in Canada but is the son of two Ethiopian immigrants.

This is not the singer’s first philanthropic gesture. Last June, he donated $1 million to help people affected by the pandemic. He also gave $500,000 to nonprofit organizations committed to racial equality.

The United Nations has been appealing for funding to respond to what has been termed as a serious humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s northern state of Tigray, which has been caught in fighting between government forces and Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels.

Government and rebel troops, as well as Eritrean soldiers, have been accused of committing atrocities.