Shire in the Tigray war: Difference between revisions

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The town of Shire was notable in the Tigray War for its role as a major centre of internally displaced people,^[1]^[2] for the shelling of civilians,^[3] for being looted,^[4] and for massacres in November 2020 and February 2021.^[1]

Internally displaced people

Shire became a major centre for internally displaced people (IDPs) and humanitarian aid distribution during the Tigray War. Soon after the Northern Command attacks, when armed fighting started in the federal–Tigrayan conflict, thousands of people fleeing from the fighting to the west arrived in Shire. In December 2020, when Shire was controlled by the ENDF, Shire residents accepting wheat as food aid were required to sign for twice the amount that they received, or else receive no food. Much of the wheat was transported by the EDF to Eritrea.^[1] From 4–8 March 2021, 5,000 IDPs arrived. Oliver Behn of Médecins Sans Frontières described the new arrivals as being "in very bad conditions ... very exhausted, dehydrated, skinny". In March, Shire was considered to be a humanitarian base, with 16,000 IDPs hosted in three schools converted into camps. One refugee described having "survived on just leaves for a month while she hid in a forest".^[2]

By June 2021, Shire was the town in Tigray Region hosting the highest number of IDPs, out of the total estimated 1,950,000 IDPs at the time.^[1]

Shelling and looting

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), 10 civilians were killed in shelling of Shire on 17 November 2020. Tigray special forces were not present in Shire at the time according to residents. The victims' bodies, showing shrapnel wounds, were laid outside Suhul hospital for identification. The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) was in control of Shire by 18 November. HRW called the shelling "unlawful" and stated that "indiscriminate attacks, and attacks expected to cause greater harm to civilians than the anticipated military gain" would constitute war crimes.^[3] According to a witness who spoke to Tghat, "factories, hotels, a mosque, churches, and condominium buildings" were destroyed by the ENDF and Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) after they entered Shire.^[5] A resident stated to The Guardian that "All government assets have been destroyed and looted".^[4]

Massacres

Massacres of civilians in Shire including the killing of 13 people on 15 November 2020, of 200 people by the ENDF and EDF on 17 November following the entry of the two forces into Shire, and 10 on 15 February 2021.^[1] Residents attributed the 17 November executions primarily to the EDF, describing the victims as having been "slaughtered like chickens". The corpses were left to be "eaten by hyenas".^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Annys, Sofie; Vanden Bempt, Tim; Negash, Emnet; De Sloover, Lars; Ghekiere, Robin; Haegeman, Kiara; Temmerman, Daan; Nyssen, Nyssen (28 December 2021). "Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation (v 2.2)". Zenodo. Ghent University. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5807266. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b Cara, Anna (2021-03-11). "'People are starving': New exodus in Ethiopia's Tigray area". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
^ ^a ^b "Ethiopia: Unlawful Shelling of Tigray Urban Areas". Human Rights Watch. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "'Slaughtered like chickens': Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses". The Guardian. 2020-12-21. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
^ "An eyewitness account of what happened in Shire Inda Selassie". Tghat. 2021-03-06. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

[Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian-1] Annys, Sofie; Vanden Bempt, Tim; Negash, Emnet; De Sloover, Lars; Ghekiere, Robin; Haegeman, Kiara; Temmerman, Daan; Nyssen, Nyssen (28 December 2021). "Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation (v 2.2)". Zenodo. Ghent University. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5807266. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022.

[AP_people_are_starving-2] Cara, Anna (2021-03-11). "'People are starving': New exodus in Ethiopia's Tigray area". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

[HRW_unlawful_shelling-3] "Ethiopia: Unlawful Shelling of Tigray Urban Areas". Human Rights Watch. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

[Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens-4] "'Slaughtered like chickens': Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses". The Guardian. 2020-12-21. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

[5] "An eyewitness account of what happened in Shire Inda Selassie". Tghat. 2021-03-06. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Aspect of the Tigray War}}
+[[File:Internally displaced people in Shire Tigray April 2021 05.jpg|thumb|right|IDP camp in Shire, April 2021.]]
-The town of [[Shire Inda Selassie|Shire]] was notable in the [[Tigray War]] for its role as a major centre of [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]],<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /><ref name="AP_people_are_starving" /> for the shelling of civilians,<ref name="HRW_unlawful_shelling" /> for being looted,<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens" /> and for [[massacre]]s in November 2020 and February 2021.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /><ref name="GhentUniv_ECC_incident_201" /><ref name="Tghat_eyewitness_account_Shire_Inda_Selassie" />
+[[File:The busy entrance of a crowded school that has been converted into a camp for displaced families in Shire, June 11, 2021.jpg|thumb|Entrance of a crowded school that was converted into a camp for displaced families, 11 June 2021.]]
+The town of [[Shire Inda Slasse|Shire]] was notable in the [[Tigray War]] for its role as a major centre of [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]],<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian">{{cite web |last1=Annys |first1=Sofie |last2=Vanden Bempt |first2=Tim |last3=Negash |first3=Emnet |last4=De Sloover |first4=Lars |last5=Ghekiere |first5=Robin |last6=Haegeman |first6=Kiara |last7=Temmerman |first7=Daan |last8=Nyssen |first8=Nyssen |author8-link=Jan Nyssen |date=28 December 2021 |title=Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation (v 2.2) |url=https://zenodo.org/record/5807266 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719040807/https://zenodo.org/record/5807266#.YtYuLnbP2Uk |archive-date=19 July 2022 |access-date= |website=Zenodo |publisher=[[Ghent University]] |doi=10.5281/zenodo.5807266}}</ref><ref name="AP_people_are_starving">{{cite news | last1= Cara | first1= Anna | title= 'People are starving': New exodus in Ethiopia's Tigray area | date= 2021-03-11 |work=[[Associated Press]] | url= https://apnews.com/article/world-news-ethiopia-a25a50a774da284122c74a0bc1428052 |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210812052141/https://apnews.com/article/world-news-ethiopia-a25a50a774da284122c74a0bc1428052 |archive-date=2021-08-12 |url-status=live }}</ref> for the shelling of civilians,<ref name="HRW_unlawful_shelling">{{Cite web|date=11 February 2021|title=Ethiopia: Unlawful Shelling of Tigray Urban Areas|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/11/ethiopia-unlawful-shelling-tigray-urban-areas|access-date=14 February 2021|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210214021052/https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/11/ethiopia-unlawful-shelling-tigray-urban-areas|archive-date=14 February 2021|url-status=live|language=en}}</ref> for being looted,<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens">{{cite news | title= 'Slaughtered like chickens': Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses | date= 2020-12-21 |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] | url= https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/21/slaughtered-like-chickens-eritrea-heavily-involved-in-tigray-conflict-say-eyewitnesses |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120210321/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/21/slaughtered-like-chickens-eritrea-heavily-involved-in-tigray-conflict-say-eyewitnesses |archive-date= 2021-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> and for [[massacre]]s in November 2020 and February 2021.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" />
+==Internally displaced people==
-==Shelling and looting==
+{{see also|Famine in the Tigray War}}
-According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), 10 civilians were killed in shelling of Shire on 17 November 2020. Tigray special forces were not present in Shire at the time according to residents. The victims' bodies, showing shrapnel wounds, were laid outside Suhul hospital for identification. The [[Ethiopian National Defense Force]] (ENDF) was in control of Shire by 18 November. HRW called the shelling "unlawful" and stated that "indiscriminate attacks, and attacks expected to cause greater harm to civilians than the anticipated military gain" would constitute [[war crime]]s.<ref name="HRW_unlawful_shelling" /> According to a ''[[Tghat]]'' witness, "factories, hotels, a mosque, churches, and condominium buildings" were destroyed by the ENDF and [[Eritrean Defence Forces]] (EDF) after they entred Shire.<ref name="Tghat_eyewitness_account_Shire_Inda_Selassie" /> A resident stated to ''[[The Guardian]]'' that "All government assets have been destroyed and looted".<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens" />
+Shire became a major centre for [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]] (IDPs) and humanitarian aid distribution during the Tigray War. Soon after the [[Northern Command attacks (Ethiopia)|Northern Command attacks]], when armed fighting started in the federal–Tigrayan conflict, thousands of people fleeing from the fighting to the west arrived in Shire. In December 2020, when Shire was controlled by the ENDF, Shire residents accepting wheat as food aid were required to sign for twice the amount that they received, or else receive no food. Much of the wheat was transported by the EDF to Eritrea.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /> From 4–8 March 2021, 5,000 IDPs arrived. Oliver Behn of [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] described the new arrivals as being "in very bad conditions ... very exhausted, dehydrated, skinny". In March, Shire was considered to be a humanitarian base, with 16,000 IDPs hosted in three schools converted into camps. One refugee described having "survived on just leaves for a month while she hid in a forest".<ref name="AP_people_are_starving" />
-==Internally displaced people==
-{{see also|famine in the Tigray War}}
-Shire became a major centre for [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]] (IDPs) and humanitarian aid distribution during the Tigray War. Soon after the [[4 November Northern Command attacks]], when armed fighting started in the federal–Tigrayan conflict, thousands of people fleeing from the fighting to the west arrived in Shire.<ref name="Tghat_eyewitness_account_Shire_Inda_Selassie" /> In December 2020, when Shire was controlled by the ENDF, Shire residents accepting wheat as food aid were required to sign for twice the amount that they received, or else receive no food. Much of the wheat was transported by the EDF to Eritrea.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /> From 4–8 March 2021, 5000 IDPs arrived. Oliver Behn of [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] described the new arrivals as being "in very bad conditions ... very exhausted, dehydrated, skinny". In March, Shire was considered to be a humanitarian base, with 16,000 IDPs hosted in three schools converted into camps. One refugee described having "survived on just leaves for a month while she hid in a forest".<ref name="AP_people_are_starving" />
 By June 2021, Shire was the town in Tigray Region hosting the highest number of [[internally displaced person|IDPs]], out of the total estimated 1,950,000 IDPs at the time.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" />
+==Shelling and looting==
+According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), 10 civilians were killed in shelling of Shire on 17 November 2020. Tigray special forces were not present in Shire at the time according to residents. The victims' bodies, showing shrapnel wounds, were laid outside Suhul hospital for identification. The [[Ethiopian National Defense Force]] (ENDF) was in control of Shire by 18 November. HRW called the shelling "unlawful" and stated that "indiscriminate attacks, and attacks expected to cause greater harm to civilians than the anticipated military gain" would constitute [[war crime]]s.<ref name="HRW_unlawful_shelling" /> According to a witness who spoke to ''[[Tghat]]'', "factories, hotels, a mosque, churches, and condominium buildings" were destroyed by the ENDF and [[Eritrean Defence Forces]] (EDF) after they entered Shire.<ref>{{cite news | title= An eyewitness account of what happened in Shire Inda Selassie | date= 2021-03-06 |newspaper= [[Tghat]] | url= https://www.tghat.com/2021/03/06/an-eyewitness-account-of-what-happened-in-shire-inda-selassie |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120015852/https://tghat.com/2021/03/06/an-eyewitness-account-of-what-happened-in-shire-inda-selassie |archive-date= 2021-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> A resident stated to ''[[The Guardian]]'' that "All government assets have been destroyed and looted".<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens" />
 ==Massacres==
-Massacres of civilians in Shire including the killing of 13 people on 15 November 2020,<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /> 200 by the ENDF and EDF on 17 November<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /><ref name="GhentUniv_ECC_incident_201" /> following the entry of the two forces into Shire, and 10 on 15 February 2021.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /> Residents attributed the 17 November executions primarily to the EDF, descrbing the victims as having been "slaughtered like chickens". The corpses were left to be "eaten by hyenas".<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens" />
+Massacres of civilians in Shire including the killing of 13 people on 15 November 2020, of 200 people by the ENDF and EDF on 17 November following the entry of the two forces into Shire, and 10 on 15 February 2021.<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian" /> Residents attributed the 17 November executions primarily to the EDF, describing the victims as having been "slaughtered like chickens". The corpses were left to be "eaten by hyenas".<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens" />
-==References==
+== See also ==
-{{reflist|refs=
+* [[Battle of Shire (2022)]]
-<ref name="Tigray_Atlas_humanitarian">{{cite web | last1 = Annys |first1=Sofie |last2=Vanden Bempt |first2=Tim |last3=Negash |first3=Emnet |last4=De Sloover |first4=Lars |last5=Ghekiere |first5=Robin |last6=Haegeman |first6=Kiara |last7=Temmerman |first7=Daan |last8=Nyssen |first8=Nyssen|author8-link=Jan Nyssen | title= Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation | website= [[ResearchGate]] |year = 2021 | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349824181 | access-date = 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://archive.today/i1A55 |archive-date= 2021-10-13 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+==References==
-<ref name="GhentUniv_ECC_incident_201">{{cite web |last1=Vanden Bempt |first1=T.  | title= Ethiopia: Tigray War – Incident 201 | website= [[Ghent University]], [[Every Casualty Counts]] |year = 2021 | url = http://www.ethiopiatigraywar.com/incident.php?id=201 | access-date = 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://archive.today/VJkxW |archive-date= 2021-11-18 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+{{reflist}}
+{{Tigray conflict}}
-<ref name="HRW_unlawful_shelling">{{Cite web|date=11 February 2021|title=Ethiopia: Unlawful Shelling of Tigray Urban Areas|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/11/ethiopia-unlawful-shelling-tigray-urban-areas|access-date=14 February 2021|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210214021052/https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/11/ethiopia-unlawful-shelling-tigray-urban-areas|archive-date=14 February 2021|url-status=live|language=en}}</ref>
-<ref name="Tghat_eyewitness_account_Shire_Inda_Selassie">{{cite news | title= An eyewitness account of what happened in Shire Inda Selassie | date= 2021-03-06 |newspaper= [[Tghat]] | url= https://www.tghat.com/2021/03/06/an-eyewitness-account-of-what-happened-in-shire-inda-selassie |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120015852/https://tghat.com/2021/03/06/an-eyewitness-account-of-what-happened-in-shire-inda-selassie |archive-date= 2021-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-<ref name="Guardian_slaughtered_like_chickens">{{cite news | title= 'Slaughtered like chickens': Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses | date= 2020-12-21 |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] | url= https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/21/slaughtered-like-chickens-eritrea-heavily-involved-in-tigray-conflict-say-eyewitnesses |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120210321/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/21/slaughtered-like-chickens-eritrea-heavily-involved-in-tigray-conflict-say-eyewitnesses |archive-date= 2021-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-<ref name="AP_people_are_starving">{{cite news | last1= Cara | first1= Anna | title= 'People are starving': New exodus in Ethiopia's Tigray area | date= 2021-03-11 |work=[[Associated Press]] | url= https://apnews.com/article/world-news-ethiopia-a25a50a774da284122c74a0bc1428052 |access-date= 2021-11-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210812052141/https://apnews.com/article/world-news-ethiopia-a25a50a774da284122c74a0bc1428052 |archive-date=2021-08-12 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-{{void|example citation code for copying/pasting:
-<ref name="...">{{cite news | last1= | first1= | last2= | first2= | pages= | language = | title= |trans-title = | date= | publisher= |newspaper= | url= |access-date= 2021...  |archive-url= |archive-date= 2021...  |url-status=live }}</ref>
-<ref name="...">{{cite web | last1 = | first1 = | last2= | first2= | authorlink = | language = | title= |trans-title = | work = | publisher = | website= |date = | url = |format = | doi = | access-date = 2021...  |archive-url= |archive-date= 2021...  |url-status=live  }}</ref>
-}}
-}}
 [[Category:Massacres in 2020]]
 [[Category:Massacres in 2021]]
-[[Category:Massacres of the Tigray War]]
+[[Category:2020 massacres of the Tigray War]]
+[[Category:2021 massacres of the Tigray War]]
-{{Tigray conflict}}
+[[Category:Tigray War by location]]
+[[Category:History of Shire Inda Selassie|Tigray war]]
+[[Category:Looting in the Tigray War]]
+[[Category:Eritrean war crimes during the Tigray War]]
+[[Category:Ethiopian war crimes during the Tigray War]]