Ari Giyergis massacre

Ari Giyergis massacre
	Part of Tigray War
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Target	Tigrayans
Attack type	Mass killing; Ethnic cleansing;
Deaths	12 civilians
Perpetrators	Ethiopian National Defence Force

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Coordinates: 13°01′36″N 39°21′34″E / 13.02664°N 39.35948°E / 13.02664; 39.35948

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The Ari Giyergis massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Ari Giyergis (Tigrinya: ዓሪ ጊየርጊስ, sometimes transliterated as Karagiorgis) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 9 January 2021.^[1]^[2] Ari is a village that belongs to tabiya Abnet, woreda Selewa, Southern zone of Tigray.

Massacre[edit]

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed twelve religious people in Ari Giyergis (Southern Tigray) on 9 January 2021.^[1]^[2]

In the afternoon of January 9, there were many of us in the church of Adi’Zeban Karagiorgis [Ari Giyergis]. We were there to celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary. Suddenly, eight Ethiopian soldiers entered the churchyard. The soldiers picked 12 young deacons between the ages of 15 and 20. They took them out and shot them down. — Witness, quoted by Lucy Kassa, ‘At least’ 78 priests ‘massacred’ in one zone of Tigray, leaked letter claims, The Telegraph^[1]

In line with historical studies of massacres, including those massacres which were committed during the Armenian genocide,^[3]^[4] 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. 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.^[5]

Witnesses said that Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers specifically target religious celebration days to execute members of the church. This is what also happened in Ari Giyergis.^[1]

Perpetrators[edit]

The Telegraph reported the perpetrators of this massacre as being Ethiopian soldiers.^[1]

Victims[edit]

The Telegraph mentions twelve victims of this massacre, 12 young deacons between the ages of 15 and 20.^[1]

Reactions[edit]

An official letter by the Tigray Orthodox Church, which was addressed on 15 April 2021 to the Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, says that “priests, deacons, choristers, and monks” have been “massacred” over the last five months in Tigray. Ari Giyergis is quoted among the horrific examples.^[1]

The Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation,^[2] that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists massacres in the Tigray War.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The spokeswoman of the Ethiopian Prime Minister office Billene Seyoum did not wish to comment when faced with the news of this massacre.^[1]

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. ^[9] In September 2021, in a preliminary briefing in relation to this investigation, UNHRC Chief Michelle Bachelet mentioned that gross violations of human rights, humanitarian and refugee law have been observed in Tigray.^[10]

References[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 The Telegraph, 10 May 2021: ‘At least’ 78 priests ‘massacred’ in one zone of Tigray, leaked letter claims
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 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
↑ 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 April 11, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021. 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.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray Archived 2021-10-15 at Archive.today
↑ EuroNews, 2 April 2021 – See film embedded in the news item: G7 'seriously concerned' about human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
↑ CBC, 2 April 2021: As It Happens: The Friday Edition (from 28:00 to 35:30) Tigray, Ethiopia Massacre Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
↑ The Guardian, 2 April 2021: Ethiopia: 1,900 people killed in massacres in Tigray identified Archived 2021-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
↑ France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Republic World, 15 September 2021: 'Gross Violations' Of Human Rights Reported In Tigray, Atmosphere Of Fear Prevails: UN

External links[edit]

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[telegraph20210510-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 The Telegraph, 10 May 2021: ‘At least’ 78 priests ‘massacred’ in one zone of Tigray, leaked letter claims

[atlas21-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 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

[3] 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 April 11, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help) Search this book on

[4] 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.

[world-5] 5.0 ^5.1 The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray Archived 2021-10-15 at Archive.today

[6] EuroNews, 2 April 2021 – See film embedded in the news item: G7 'seriously concerned' about human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine

[7] CBC, 2 April 2021: As It Happens: The Friday Edition (from 28:00 to 35:30) Tigray, Ethiopia Massacre Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine

[8] The Guardian, 2 April 2021: Ethiopia: 1,900 people killed in massacres in Tigray identified Archived 2021-08-14 at the Wayback Machine

[9] France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine

[10] Republic World, 15 September 2021: 'Gross Violations' Of Human Rights Reported In Tigray, Atmosphere Of Fear Prevails: UN

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Ari Giyergis massacre

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