Gambela massacre

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Gambela massacre
LocationGambela, Gambela Region, Ethiopia
Date13–15 December 2003
TargetAnuak people
Attack type
Deaths65 (Ethiopian claim)
300+ (EHRC)
424 (Anuak groups)
InjuredUnknown
PerpetratorsENDF's 43rd Division
non-Anauk civilians

The Gambela Massacre was a three-day-long massacre in the city of Gambela targeting Anuak people in December of 2003. The Massacre perpetrated by the ENDF and "highlander" militias after an ambush of ARRA employees.

Background[]

In 2002 Conflict between the Nuer and Anuak communities in Gambela killed over 100 and distanced thousands.

Throughout 2003 ethnic clashes in and around Gambela had left dozens dead. Anuak Anuak militias and highlanders militias had routinely battled over the countryside. In the second half of 2003 Anuak militias killed about 20 highlander civilians.[1]

Ambush[]

On the morning of 13 December 2003, a car carrying employee from the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs looking to build a Sudanese refugee camp in the City was ambushed by suspected Anuak groups about thirty kilometers outside Gambela. The ambush killed all eight government employees in the car.[2]

Massacre[]

After the ambush of ARRA personnel, a crowd of so-called "highlanders" (Amhara, Oromia, and Tigryian people) had formed near the regional council building where the bodies had been shown, the crowd then became increasingly angry. Soon highlander civilians and ENDF soldiers armed with machetes, axes, sticks, and iron bars in groups of about 30-50 began to roam through the Anuak neighborhoods of Gambela killing people and setting fire to buildings and homes. The building they could not set fire to had grenades thrown through the windows of the structure. In one incident the crowd descended onto the house of Okwier Oletho an Anuak pastor where people had sought refuge about 12 people were killed there. Anuak civilians fled into the forests surrounding the town and 382 had sought refuge in a catholic church. By the end of the massacre, 440 homes were destroyed and an estimated 300 people had been killed and 70,000 people were displaced. The worst affected neighborhoods of Gambela were Omminingah, Owalingah, Tier Kidi, and Addis Zefer.[3][4][5]

Victims[]

Anuak groups complied a list of at least 88 of the victims.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "Targeting the Anuak Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region". Human rights whatch. 23 March 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ "The December 2003 Massacre". Human rights watch. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  3. ^ "The December 2003 Massacre". Human rights watch. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Ethiopia: Remembering the December 13th Massacre". culturalsurvival. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Ethiopia_23_Jan_04_The_Anuak_of_Ethiopia" (PDF). Genocide watch. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  6. ^ "To: All Anyuak People in North America From: ACANA Executive Committee". way back machine. Archived from the original on 2005-02-21. Retrieved 23 October 2021.

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