Adigrat massacres

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Adigrat before the Tigray War

The Adigrat massacres were mass extrajudicial killings by the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) that took place in and near Adigrat in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during late 2020 during the Tigray War. These included 86 civilians killed in Zalambessa around 13 November 2020, 8–15 in Hawzen on 25 November, 80–150 at the Maryam Dengelat church near Idaga Hamus on 30 November.

November[]

After shelling the town of Zalambessa on 13 November 2020, the EDF and ENDF killed 86 civilians, mostly during house-to-house searches.[1]

On 21 November, shortly after capturing Idaga Hamus, the EDF executed 24 civilians.[2]

After the EDF took control of Adigrat itself, the EDF took 12 civilian men to the edge of the town and executed them.[2] Official Ethiopian federal sources said that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) took control of Adigrat on 21 November.[3]

On 25 November, the EDF executed 8–15 civilians after handcuffing them at the Addis Pharmaceutical Factory in Adigrat and 8 civilians in their houses in Hawzen.

On 30 November, the EDF killed between 80 and 150 civilians in the compound of Maryam Dengelat church 5 km south-west of Idaga Hamus, according to Nyssen. Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) reported the number of executions by the EDF at the Maryam Dengelat church as 150, with an unknown date.[4]

December[]

In late December, Zenebu, a witness from Hawzen interviewed by Associated Press, stated that she saw 70 bodies of people lying on the ground who she recognised. She stated that a 12-year-old boy in Hawzen had been killed by soldiers after carrying out errands for them. She attributed the killings to the ENDF, Amhara forces and the EDF. She identified EDF members as Eritrean based on cheek markings and their dialect of Tigrinya.[5]

The EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation reported the massacres in this locality, without going into further detail.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Zalambessa Alumni Committee (27 March 2021). "Brief Information on the Crimes Committed and Horrendous Situtaion Inflicted on the People of Zalambessa and Its Surroundings by the Military Forces of Eritrea and Ethiopia". Tigrai Online.
  2. ^ a b Zelalem, Zecharias; Brown, Will (8 January 2021). "Eritrea's brutal shadow war in Ethiopia laid bare". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Ethiopia says it captured Tigrayan town of Adigrat". Al Jazeera English. 21 November 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 31 – 20 December" (PDF). Europe External Programme with Africa. 20 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Witnesses: Eritrean soldiers loot, kill in Ethiopia's Tigray". AP News. 26 April 2021.
  6. ^ Tibebu, Israel (3 November 2021). "Report of the EHRC/OHCHR Joint Investigation into Alleged Violations of International Human Rights, Humanitarian and Refugee Law Committed by all Parties to the Conflict in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (PDF). EHRC, OHCHR. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
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