NAIROBI, Feb 26, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Eritrean soldiers fighting across the
border in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region killed hundreds of people in a
massacre last year in a likely crime against humanity, Amnesty International
said Friday.
The rights watchdog spoke to survivors of the atrocities and used satellite
images to piece together the bloody events of last November in the ancient
town of Axum in a new report.
“The evidence is compelling and points to a chilling conclusion. Ethiopian
and Eritrean troops carried out multiple war crimes in their offensive to
take control of Axum,” said Deprose Muchena of Amnesty International.
“Above and beyond that, Eritrean troops went on a rampage and
systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood, which appears to
constitute crimes against humanity.
“This atrocity ranks among the worst documented so far in this conflict.”
Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations against the Tigray
People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing them of attacking federal army
camps.
He declared victory after pro-government troops took the regional capital
Mekele in late November, though the TPLF vowed to fight on, and clashes have
persisted in the region.
Tigray has been without internet and difficult to access since the start of
the conflict, making claims and counter-claims of violence hard to confirm.
The presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia is widely documented but has
been denied by Addis Ababa and Asmara.
Eritrea fought a brutal border war with Ethiopia in 1998-2000, back when
the TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s governing coalition.
Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 in large part for initiating a
rapprochement with Eritrea, whose President Isaias Afwerki and the TPLF
remain bitter enemies. – ‘Killing randomly’ –
Amnesty said it had spoken to 41 survivors and witnesses of the violence
who said that on November 19, 2020, Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces
took control of Axum “in a large-scale offensive, killing and displacing
civilians with indiscriminate shelling and shooting.”
“In the nine days that followed, the Eritrean military engaged in
widespread looting of civilian property and extrajudicial executions.”
Witnesses said the Eritrean forces were easily identifiable, via their
vehicles, language and unique ritual facial scars, while they also openly
declared themselves as such.
The worst violence unfolded after a small group of pro-TPLF militiamen
attacked the soldiers’ base on 28 November and they retaliated, leaving the
town strewn with bodies.
“The Eritrean soldiers came into the city and started killing randomly,”
said a 22-year-old man who had wanted to bring food to the militia, who he
described as young and barely knowing how to fight.
Residents told Amnesty that many victims in Axum carried no weapons and
were running away from the soldiers when they were shot.
“I saw a lot of people dead on the street. Even my uncle’s family. Six of
his family members were killed. So many people were killed,” said a 21-year-
old male resident.
The next day the soldiers allegedly shot at those trying to move the
bodies, while carrying out house-to-house raids.
One man told Amnesty he saw soldiers line up six men and shoot them from
behind in the street outside his house. – Hundreds buried –
The organisation said it had collected the names of more than 240 of the
victims, but could not independently verify the overall death toll. However,
corroborating testimonies and evidence made it plausible that hundreds had
died.
“Residents estimate that several hundred people were buried in the
aftermath of the massacre, and they attended funerals at several churches
where scores were buried,” said the report.
Satellite imagery showed signs of mass burials near two of the town’s
churches.
“As a matter of urgency, there must be a UN-led investigation into the
grave violations in Axum. Those suspected of responsibility for war crimes or
crimes against humanity must be prosecuted in fair trials and victims and
their families must receive full reparation,” said Muchena.
“We repeat our call on the Ethiopian government to grant full and unimpeded
access across Tigray for humanitarian, human rights, and media
organisations.”