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Zalambessa massacre

Coordinates: 14°31′17″N 39°23′01″E / 14.52146°N 39.38360°E / 14.52146; 39.38360
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14°31′17″N 39°23′01″E / 14.52146°N 39.38360°E / 14.52146; 39.38360

Zalambessa massacre
Part of Tigray War
Zalambessa is located in Tigray Region
Zalambessa
Zalambessa
Zalambessa is located in Ethiopia
Zalambessa
Zalambessa
Location of Zalambessa in Ethiopia
LocationZalambessa (Template:Lang-ti), Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date13 November 2020
TargetTigrayans
Attack type
Deaths56 civilians,[1] up to 72 civilians[2]
PerpetratorsEthiopia Ethiopian National Defence Force
Eritrea Eritrean Defence Forces

The Zalambessa massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Zalambessa (Template:Lang-ti) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 13 November 2020, with some aftermath killings up to 19 November.[2][1][3] Zalambessa is a town at the Eritrean border, woreda Gulomahda, Eastern zone of Tigray.

Massacre

The Ethiopian National Defense Force and Eritrean Defence Forces killed dozens of civilians in Zalambessa (Eastern Tigray) on 13 November 2021.[1] It started as indiscriminate shelling on the town, coming from the northern (Eritrean) side during 13 consecutive hours. Then soldiers of both armies went house to house arbitrarily killing civilians. Burials were prohibited and corpses eaten in the streets by hyenas and dogs. Every killing has been carefully documented by some survivors. In one case, which is not at all most extreme, the soldiers entered the house of Haleqa Tewolde Adhanom and his wife Minia Embafrash. They killed both spouses, then occupied the house, and settled there while feasting on the slaughtered goats of the family. They stayed 12 days in the house, eating the 30 goats, and only after that the bodies of the spouses could be buried.[2] Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray war are (1) revenge when they lose a battle; (2) to terrorise and extract information about whereabouts of TPLF leaders; (3) murder of suspected family members of TDF fighters and (4) terrorising the Tigray society as a whole such as in case of mass killings in churches.[4] The Zalambessa massacre seems in the first place an act of terror, on the moment of the invasion of Tigray from the north, in order to frighten any town that would offer resistance. This included shelling of Zalambessa’s Cherkos church and its vandalisation.[5]

Perpetrators

The inhabitants of Zalambessa interpreted the identity of the perpetrators as Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers.[6][2][7]

Victims

The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation” mentions 93 victims,[1] (Zalambessa 13 Nov, Marta 13 Nov, Zalambessa 15 Nov, Addis Tesfa 19 Nov); according to local witnesses 72 victims have been identified.[6][2] The list includes victims of the adjacent villages of Marta and Addis Tesfa.[1]

Reactions

The news of the Zalambessa massacre only became known to the outside world after a month, in relation to the severe black-out organised by Ethiopian authorities. On 18 December 2020, an EEPA report stated that four named priests and three civilians were killed by troops (reportedly ENDF and Eritrean Defence Forces, EDF) in Zalambessa.[8] Jan Nyssen stated that the EDF killed 59 civilians in their houses in Zalambessa on 18 December.[9] On 19 December 2020, a foreign diplomat stated that "thousands" of Eritrean soldiers were engaged in Tigray. Two diplomats stated that Eritrean troops entered Ethiopia through three northern border towns: Zalambessa, Rama and Badme.[10]

After months of denial by the Ethiopian authorities that massacres occurred in Tigray, a joint investigation by OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has been announced in March 2021.[11]

While the Ethiopian government promised that Eritrean troops will be pulled out from Tigray, the Eritrean government denies any participation in warfare in Tigray, leave alone in massacres.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Annys, S., Vanden Bempt, T., Negash, E., De Sloover, L., Ghekiere, R., Haegeman, K., Temmerman, D., Nyssen, J., 2021. Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation, version 2.1. Ghent (Belgium): Ghent University, Department of Geography Archived 2021-10-13 at archive.today
  2. ^ a b c d e "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" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  3. ^ Associated Press, 15 November 2021: 'You can't even cry loudly': Counting Ethiopia's war dead
  4. ^ The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray Archived 2021-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Tghat, 19 January, 2021. A footage of a destruction of a Tigrayan church by the invading forces in Zalambessa Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b TGHAT, A compilation of the verified list of civilian victims from different sources Archived 2021-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ AhramOnline, 27 March 2021. 'Don't shoot,' Ethiopian father begged Eritrean soldiers, daughter says Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 30 - 19 December Archived 2021-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Europe External Programme with Africa
  9. ^ Nyssen, Jan (2021). "The situation in Tigray at the beginning of 2021". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  10. ^ Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 31 - 20 December Archived 2021-01-12 at the Wayback Machine Europe External Programme with Africa
  11. ^ France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ DW, 19 March 2021: Fact check: Are other nations involved in the war in Tigray? Archived 2021-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
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