Timeline of the Tigray War (July 2021–present)

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This Timeline of the Tigray War (July 2021 to present) is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.

Timeline[]

Beginning through June 2020[]

Main articles: Timeline of the Tigray War (Beginning to December 2020) and Timeline of the Tigray War (January–June 2021)

July 2021[]

1 July[]

A bridge across the Tekezé River was partly destroyed.[1]

2 July[]

Around 7000 captured Ethiopian soldiers passed through Mekelle, on the way to a prison north of the city.[2]

6 July[]

The Tigrayan government began mobilization to retake western Tigray from Amhara militias.[3]

10 July[]

Fiyelwiha battle. A large group of Amhara militia from Wereta and the surrounding Fogera district had been occupying the in Tigray. On 10 July, they were defeated by the Tigray Defence Forces; several Wereta militiamen, including the head of the Peace and Security Bureau of the Fogera woreda were killed on the battlefield in , a small town of the in Tigray.[4]

11 July[]

Following defeats of the ENDF and in the Tigray War, the Fano (militia) took revenge on Tigrayan citizens in towns in Amhara region, killing people and looting shops, for instance in Wereta, where three Tigrayans were killed.[5] In retaliation for the lost battle in Fiyelwiha the previous day, the Amhara Fano (militia) and mob murdered three civilians of Tigrayan origin in Wereta on 11 July 2021.[4] Social media displayed imagery of the corpses been drag behind three wheel motorcycles, called “bajaj”.

12–13 July[]

The TDF offensive started on 12 July 2021 resulted in Tigrayan forces capturing southern Tigray, including the towns of Alamata and Korem.[6] The TDF subsequently crossed the Tekezé River and advanced westward, capturing the town of Mai Tsebri and prompting Amhara officials to call on its militias to arm themselves and mobilize.[7]

17 July[]

The TDF says it released about 1,000 captured Ethiopian soldiers at the Amhara-Tigray border.[8]

19 July[]

A 10 vehicle convoy of the World Food Programme was attacked in the city of Semera in Afar region.[9]

20 July[]

After controlling Kobo in the Amhara Region, the Tigray Defense Forces did not harm the civilian population.[10]

Regional forces from Oromia, Sidama, Somalia, and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples are mobilizing to support the ENDF in and around Tigray.[11]

The TDF launched an invasion on Afar Region making gains and repelling an allied counterattack on the TDF lines reportedly capturing vehicles and equipment.[12][13]

22 July[]

The Afar regional government claims that 20 civilians were killed and 70,000 civilians displaced in clashes between the TDF and an alliance of ENDF and regional forces in Afar.[14]

August 2021[]

2 August[]

Bridge on Tekeze River in Humera, from where victims were thrown in the river

The Fano militia, Amhara Region Special Force, and Eritrean Defence Forces allegedly killed dozens, presumably hundreds of civilians in Humera and other locations along the Tekeze River at the end of July, beginning August 2021.[15][16] On 16 July, the BBC reported that Amhara militia were going door to door in Humera, killing and arresting young Tigrayans.[17] By 2 August, press agencies reported the recovery of washed up bodies along the Setit (Sudanese name of Tekeze) in the Sudan border community of Hamdayet, some with gunshot wounds or their hands bound.[15][18] Also, 42 kilometres further down, in Wad al Hulaywah, near the Setit dam in Kassala state, about 20 bodies had been retrieved.[18] While it was difficult to identify the bodies, one had a common name in the Tigrinya language, tattooed on his arm. Some of the corpses had facial markings indicating they were ethnic Tigrayans. People had not been able to catch all the bodies floating downstream because of the water's swift flow during the rainy season.[16]

4 August[]

Mahmud Mohammed, deputy commander of the Afar Special Forces joins the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). Invoking the longstanding ties between Tigray and Afar people, he takes responsibilities for the administration of five Afar Region districts controlled by TDF.[19]

5 August[]

Main article: Galikoma massacre

Lalibela was reported to have been seized by Tigrayan forces.[20][21]

On the same day, also, a medical official in Afar told the AFP that 12 people were killed and 46 others wounded in an attack on displaced civilians in Galikoma made by Tigray People's Liberation Front (according to a hospital director, quoting survivors). According to Afar regional authorities, more than 200 civilians were killed, including 107 children.[22] An Ethiopian Human Rights Commission investigation confirmed that 107 civilians were indiscriminately killed by the TDF in Galikoma.[23]

6 August[]

Ethiopia's foreign ministry said that the TDF attack on neighboring regions have displaced over 300,000 people.[24]

10 August[]

In view of the progression of the Tigray Defense Forces, the city administrations of Bahir Dar and Dessie have imposed a curfew.[25]

The Oromo Liberation Army formed a military alliance with the TDF to "share battlefield information and fight in parallel".[26]

11 August[]

The TDF captures Weldiya[27] and Nefas Mewcha, both in Amhara Region. Weldiya is on the way to Dessie, Nefas Mewcha is on the way to Bahir Dar and Gondar.

13 August[]

, chairwoman of , and Hailu Kebede, foreign affairs head of the Salsay Weyane Tigray party and have been arrested in Addis Ababa by government security forces.[28][29]

15 August[]

An EEPA report stated that TDF controls the towns of Debre Zebit, Nefas Mewcha and Checheho, all located on the main road, east of Debre Tabor.[28]

The same EEPA report also mentioned that in Humera and along the Tekezé River c.150 Tigrayans were killed by ENDF or Amhara militias. Bodies in the Tekezé River were found with their hands bound and fatal gunshot wounds.[28]

16 August[]

An EEPA report stated that the and the Tigray Defence Forces control Sekota (located north of Lalibela).[30]

September 2021[]

31 August–4 September[]

Main article: Chenna massacre

Between 31 August and 4 September, Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) occupied the village of Chenna and adjacent areas in Dabat district. According to residents, TDF soldiers arrived demanding food, then killed those who resisted when fighters slaughtered their animals and looted their properties.[31] The soldiers also shot at nearby Ethiopian troops from residential positions, drawing return fire on the residents.[32][23] Government officials reported that the TDF massacred 120-200 civilians in all.[33][34] Doctors at the hospital in nearby Dabat town put the death toll at 125 and counting.[35] Human Rights Watch spoke to residents who witnessed 26 civilians summarily executed by the TDF in Chenna.[32] The TDF denied the massacre.[36] At least 30 women and girls were raped and sexually assaulted by TDF soldiers in and around Chenna during the occupation.[37]

9 September[]

Main article: Kobo massacre

Residents told VOA News by telephone that the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) killed 600 civilians in Kobo district.[38] According to residents, on 9 September TDF fighters entered villages in Kobo searching for weapons but farmers repelled the soldiers from the villages. As TDF fighters withdrew from those villages to the town of Kobo, they killed men and teenage boys who were working their fields in retaliation along the way.[31][32] Later that day, residents witnessed dozens of civilians summarily executed by TDF fighters in the town of Kobo.[32][37] Spatiotemporal satelite imagery analysis corroborated witness testimony of new graves dug at two church compounds in the town to bury those summarily executed.[37]

15 September[]

On 15 September, the Ethiopian Walta TV interviewed groups of light-armed militiamen in the Zobel hills at the east of Kobo, threatening the vital north–south road across the central Ethiopian highlands.[39]

23 September[]

It was reported that at least 150 people had starved to death in Tigray territories in the month of August, and that at least 400,000 people had reached famine conditions.[40]

27 September[]

The BBC reported that aid trucks were unable to transport crucial supplies to Tigray, as hundreds of trucks that made the journey from other parts of Ethiopia between July and September did not return, due to lack of fuel and hassling of drivers. The United Nations aid chief, Martin Griffiths assumed that famine has taken hold in Tigray, where a nearly three-month long "de-facto blockade" restricted aid deliveries to 10% of what is needed in the war-torn region.[41]

30 September[]

Amid UN concerns about a blockade of aid deliveries to Tigray, the Ethiopian government expelled 7 top UN officials, reportedly because of "meddling" in its internal affairs, giving the officials 72 hours to leave the country.[42][43]

October 2021[]

Early October[]

Main article: 2021 Tigray offensive

An intensive air campaign began against TDF positions in North Wollo by the Ethiopian Air Force.[44]

18 October[]

Main article: 2021 Mekelle air strikes

The Ethiopian Air Force killed three civilians in Mekelle.[45] That day, Tigray forces reported airstrikes in Mekelle, which were first denied, later admitted by the Ethiopian government.[46]

20 October[]

Main article: 2021 Mekelle air strikes

The Ethiopian Air Force carried out a second series of airstrikes targeting inhabited areas of Mekelle city,[47] and also on the small town of Agbe.[48] A large enterprise, Mesfin Industrial Engineering, was also targeted, and one of its engineers got killed.

21 and 22 October[]

Main article: 2021 Mekelle air strikes

Airstrikes continued on 21 and 22 October; the latter was nearby Mekelle University main campus, and Mekelle Airport and coincided with the landing time of a UN humanitarian flight. As a consequence, the UN cancelled further humanitarian flights to Mekelle.[49]

29 October[]

See also: TDF–OLA joint offensive

The TDF captured the town of Dessie with the Ethiopian government denying the claim.[50]

30 October[]

The TDF said they captured the town of Kombolcha and the OLA claimed to have captured the city of Kamisee from ENDF allied forces. The Ethiopian government denied the towns were captured.[51]

November 2021[]

Main article: TDF–OLA joint offensive

1 November[]

OLA and TDF forces said they officially met up.[52]

2 November[]

As the counter-offensive came deeper into federally-controlled territory, the Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency.[53]

4 November[]

During an interview with Radio France Internationale, French historian and Horn of Africa expert Gérard Prunier explained that the bulk of the Eritrean army in Tigray is defending the border with Sudan (to prevent Tigrayan rebels from being supplied by Egypt, which is hostile to Abiy Ahmed's government) and to protect Eritrea's border with Tigray, thus leaving the defense of Addis Ababa mostly to Amhara militias in the face of heavy losses sustained by Ethiopia's federal army.[54]

10 November[]

Amnesty International accuses Tigrayan rebel fighters of gang raping women in Ethiopia [55]

11 November[]

In view of rebels advancing on the capital city, fears are expressed for the safety of the Mugher plant (operated by Dangote Cement), located at 90 km northwest of Addis Ababa.[56]

23 November[]

The Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he campaigned to lead his army into battleground.[57]

28 November[]

The Ethiopian state television announced that the Ethiopian troops take control of Chifra, a district located in Afar Region.[58]

December 2021[]

1 December[]

The Ethiopian government said they recaptured Shewa Robit 220 km (135 miles) far from Addis Ababa. It was occupied by Tigray forces earlier.[59] According to the Minister of Ethiopian Government Communications Legese Tulu, they also retook nearby towns like Debre Sina, Wegeltena, Mezezo, Mollale. They retook Lalibela, as well.[60]

5 December[]

The Ethiopian government claimed that they recaptured Dessie and Kombolcha.[61]

12 December[]

Reuters reported that forces loyal to the TPLF had recaptured the town of Lalibela less than two weeks after government forces and their allies had recaptured control of the town for themselves.[62]

18 December[]

Legesse Tulu, head of Government Communication Service, announced that government forces have taken control of several towns from TPLF, including: Weldiya, Kobo, Lalibela, Hara, Robit, Sanqa, Sirinka, Hamusit, Estaysh, Ahun Tegen, Dilb, and Kul Mesk.[63][64]

19 December[]

Ethiopian Government, announced that deputy prime minister Demeke Mekonnen visited Lalibela following its recapture.[65]

20 December[]

Getachew Reda, spokesman of the TPLF, announced they were withdrawing from several areas of northern Ethiopia in order to "open the door to humanitarian aid." This retreat had not been not confirmed.[66]

23 December[]

On 23 December, the Ethiopian government announced that its military forces would temporarily halt any excursions into Tigray.[67]

24 December[]

Ethiopian forces purportedly massacred un a unknown amount of people in the town of Abala. Soldiers went door to door killing ethnic Tigrayans but spared non-Tigrayan civilians.[68]

January 2022[]

7 January[]

Ethiopia announced pardons for high-profile political prisoners. Its government said it will release several leading TPLF members and opposition leaders from the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups.[69]

Aid workers say an airstrike at an IDP camp in Dedebit, northwest Tigray, killed 56 people.[70][71]

10 January[]

According to aid workers and hospital officials, 17 people working at a flour mill, were killed in drone strikes in the town of Mai Tsebri. It was reported the strikes injured dozens of people and killed 16 donkeys.[72]

11 January[]

According to an official and a doctor at Mekele's main hospital, 2 people were killed and dozens injured in a drone strike in Hiwane.[72]

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