The Ethiopian government is forcibly moving tens of thousands of people in the remote western Gambella region, with villagers being told that their resettlement is connected to the leasing of large tracts of land for commercial agriculture, according to a human rights group. Waiting for Death, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, said the population transfers under the "villagisation" programme are being carried out with little consultation or compensation. People are being moved to new villages that have inadequate food and lack health and education facilities, said HRW. Relocations have been marked by threats, assaults and arbitrary arrest for those who resist the move. HRW, which conducted 100 interviews in Ethiopia from May to June last year, as well as with Gambellans who have fled to refugee camps in Kenya, said it found "widespread" human rights violations at all stages of the programme. "The Ethiopian government's villagisation programme is not improving access to services for Gambella's indigenous people, but is instead undermining their livelihoods and food security," said Jan Egeland, the organisation's Europe director. "The government should suspend the programme until it can ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place and that people have been properly consulted and compensated for the loss of their land."