Ala'isa massacre
Coordinates: 13°41′10″N 39°15′59″E / 13.68621°N 39.26638°E
| Ala'isa massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Tigray War | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 502: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/Tigray Region" does not exist. Location of Ala'isa in Tigray (Ethiopia) | |
| Location | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Target | Tigrayans |
Attack type | |
| Deaths | 50-100 civilians |
| Perpetrators |  Eritrean Defence Forces  Ethiopian National Defence Force |
The Ala'isa massacre was where mass extrajudicial killings took place in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 14 December 2020.[1]
Ala'isa (Tigrinya: ኣልዓሳ) is a large village that is the commercial centre of Aynembirkekin tabiya in the reorganised woreda of Dogu’a Tembien, but the killings extended over the adjacent districts of Inderta and Gheralta - all in the southeastern zone of Tigray.
Massacre[edit]
The Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) and Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed dozens of civilians in Ala'isa and other parts of southwestern Tigray) on 14 December 2020.[1] After losing a battle with the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF), the EDF executed civilians in revenge. Particularly in Addi Qoylo settlement, 30 civilians were killed.[2] Jan Nyssen, who has spent extensive periods living in the area as an expatriate researcher, reported:[3]
A witness name-checks several slain farmers whom I know from fieldwork. When the fighting started in the area, the people moved from the village to the mountains; after a time, they thought that the fight has ended and they came back to their homesteads.The eye-witness’s father then ran into the soldiers who were slaughtering his cattle. The dog which had been with them to the mountains started barking at the troops and they shot it. Afterwards, they started hitting his father and he quickly became unconscious. They hit him very badly and left him for dead in the courtyard of his family house.
Villagers found him and cured him using local medicine. One said: “The soldiers were asking us very basic information: where is this village, where is that village? They have killed around 30 people of our community, some of them between rock outcrops, some in a gully, and they left them dead over there. They wanted them to be eaten by hyenas.”
The Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers are searching for the ousted regional leaders in every cave and every exclosure. They warn the people: “For each soldier that is killed by woyane (a generic name for TPLF, Tigray Defence Forces, and any Tigrayan resistance), we will kill five or ten villagers.
— Jan Nyssen, Ethiopia Insight
Besides Ala'isa and Addi Qoylo, the killing spree also affected neighbouring villages, such as:[4]
- Ra'isot (tabiya Aynembirkekin)
- Halah (tabiya Ayninbirkekin)
- Addilal (tabiya centre)
- Afedena (tabiya Addi Azmera)
- Tukhul (tabiya Addi Azmera)
- Miheni (tabiya Addi Azmera)
- Mesenkoy (tabiya Addi Azmera)
- Arebay (tabiya centre)
All these villages were part of Dogu’a Tembien woreda until January 2020,[5] but after the administrative reorganisation of Tigray, they now belong to three woredas: Dogu’a Tembien (tabiya Aynembirkekin, that includes also Ala’isa), Inderta (tabiya Addi Azmera), and Gheralta (tabiyas Addilal and Arebay). The geographical spread of the victims over three adjacent districts needs to be taken into account to understand the magnitude of the massacre.
In line with historical studies of massacres, including those committed during the Armenian genocide,[6][7] a massacre can be defined as a conflict incident in which at least five unarmed civilians were killed on the same day at the same location. In this case the massacre, a killing spree, affected a whole region of approximately ten kilometres by twenty kilometres. Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray war are
- revenge when they lose a battle;
- to terrorise and extract information about whereabouts of TPLF leaders;
- murder of suspected family members of TDF fighters; and
- terrorising Tigray society as a whole such as in case of mass killings in churches.[8]
Perpetrators[edit]
Relatives and witnesses interpreted the identity of the perpetrators as mainly Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers.[4]
Victims[edit]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation” mentions 30 victims in Addi Qoylo alone.[1] No absolute numbers have been provided for neighbouring villages; in total 54 victims have been identified.[4]
Victims in Ala’isa[edit]
- Abera Hailu, aged 50
- Asefach, aged 60
- Berhe Kidanu, aged 35
- Berhe Lilay, aged 45
- Fiseha Kasa, aged 35
- Gebreegziabher Araya, aged 41
- Gebretsadkan Abraha, aged 52
- Gidey Kahsay, aged 40
- Girmay Kasa, aged 50
- Goitom Kahsay, aged 25
- Kahsu Seged, aged 30
- Kebede Gebreegziabher, aged 45
- Kelemu Meles, aged 60
- Legesse Gebremedhin, aged 30
- Priest Gebresilassie Hailu, aged 65
- Teame Tesfu, aged 25
- Tesfay Kahsay, aged 30
- Tsehaye Gebretinsae, aged 22
- Tsigab Hagos, aged 41
- Yemane, aged 27
- Yemane Zenebe, aged 40
Victims in Addi Azmera[edit]
- Kiday Tieum, aged 32
- Gebru Hailu, aged 50
Victims in Tukhul[edit]
- Shale Mebrahten, aged 49
- Simur Hailu, aged 55
- Tadesse Kidanu, aged 40
- Tesfay Gidey, aged 72
Victims in Miheni[edit]
- Misgna Mebrahten, aged 50
- Aregawi Abay, aged 62
- Asmelash Belay, aged 43
- Tadele Teklu, aged 60
- Mebrahten Lemma, aged 50
Victims in Addi Qoylo[edit]
- Hailu Zenebe
- Hiluf Tela, aged 65
- Gebrearegawi Gebregiorgis
- Priest Abadi Gebremichael
- Priest Yemane, aged 42
- 6 other priests
Victims in Ra’isot[edit]
- Gebremeskel Gebreyohannes, aged 25
- Hagos Gebreyohannes, aged 40
- Berhe Ye’ibyo
- Seged Hiluf, aged 50
- Dimtsu Tilahun, aged 60
- Mergeta Bahre Haileselassie, aged 30
Victims in Afedena[edit]
- Mearg Berhe, aged 24
- Ferede Hagos, aged 26
Victims in Mesenkoy[edit]
- Guush Atakilti, aged 22
- Kidanu Kiros, aged 26
- Tsegu Hailu, aged 26
- Gidena Birhane, aged 32
Victims in Arebay[edit]
- Hagos Tesfay, aged 34
- Tsiruy Gebrehiwet, aged 32
- Aregawi Kesete, aged 30
Victim in Halah[edit]
- Gebrekidan Hailu, aged 45
Reactions[edit]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation”[1] that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists recent massacres in Tigray.[8][9][10][11]
After months of denial by the Ethiopian authorities that massacres occurred in Tigray, a joint investigation by OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was announced in March 2021.[12]
While the Ethiopian government promised that Eritrean troops will be pulled out from Tigray, the Eritrean government denies any participation in warfare in Tigray, let alone in massacres.[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Annys, S., Vanden Bempt, T., Negash, E., De Sloover, L., Nyssen, J., 2021. Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation
- ↑ Nyssen, Jan (2021). "The situation in Tigray at the beginning of 2021". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Jan Nyssen, 19 February 2021, Ethiopia Insight: Catastrophe stalks Tigray, again
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 TGHAT, A compilation of the verified list of civilian victims from different sources
- ↑ Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. Search this book on
- ↑ Levene, Mark; Roberts, Penny (January 1, 1999). The Massacre in History. Berghahn Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-57181-934-5. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) Search this book on
- ↑ Melson, Robert (July 1982). "Theoretical Inquiry into the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 24 (3): 482–3. doi:10.1017/s0010417500010100.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray
- ↑ EuroNews, 2 April 2021 – See film embedded in the news item: G7 'seriously concerned' about human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region
- ↑ CBC, 2 April 2021: As It Happens: The Friday Edition (from 28:00 to 35:30) Tigray, Ethiopia Massacre
- ↑ The Guardian, 2 April 2021: Ethiopia: 1,900 people killed in massacres in Tigray identified
- ↑ France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe
- ↑ DW, 19 March 2021: Fact check: Are other nations involved in the war in Tigray?
External links[edit]
- Twitter: author @tvbempt; hashtags #Alasa or #Azmera or #Tikul or #Mihni or #Adiqeweylo or #Raesot or #Afedena or #Mesenkot or #Arebay
- World Peace Foundation: Starving Tigray
- Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation
- TGHAT: A compilation of the verified list of civilian victims from different sources
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