Humera massacres (2021)

⧼validator-fatal-error⧽

Bridge on Tekeze River in Humera, from where victims were thrown in the river

Humera massacres (2021)
Part of Tigray War
Location of Humera in Tigray (Ethiopia)
Location
Date
Target	Tigrayans
Attack type	Mass killing Ethnic cleansing
Deaths	50-95 civilians
Perpetrators	Fano (militia) Amhara Region Special Force Eritrean Defence Forces

The Humera massacres are an ongoing mass extrajudicial killing spree taking place in Humera (Tigrinya: ሑሞራ) and at other locations along the Tekeze River (Tigrinya: ገረብ ተከዘ) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War,beginning January 2021 and further though the year, at least till August 2021. Humera is a town that belongs to woreda Setit Humera, Western zone of Tigray. Witnesses and people who recovered the corpses from the Tekeze river attributed the massacres to Amhara militiamen and possibly Eritrean soldiers.

Background

During the Tigray War, in a second phase, the armed forces of the Tigray Regional government have been repelling the invasive Ethiopian, Amhara and Eritrean forces. In reaction, an anti-Tigrayan ethnic hate discourse was further developed by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed and Amhara regional president Agegnehu Teshager, presumably leading to genocidal activities of their armed forces.

However, throughout July 2021, the Western Tigray zone remained under control of Amhara forces, while ENDF was gradually withdrawing. Eritrean troops moved in again. The Amhara authorities and "fano" militia which still control the western zone forced the people to hold "anti-TPLF" demonstrations. People continued to flee to the refugee camps in Sudan. There were further mass arrest of Tigrayans (mainly the men), and people were imprisoned in police stations and trading and farming stores (for instance "Warka Trading" and "Temesgen Zegeye" stores), used as concentration camps. Part of these detained civilians have been sent to Eritrea on two lorries. Women staying back at home are frequently gang-raped.

Massacres

The fano militia, Amhara Region Special Force, and Eritrean Defence Forces killed dozens, presumably hundreds of civilians in Humera and other locations along the Tekeze River (Western Tigray) at the end of July, beginning August 2021. On 16 July, the BBC reported that Amhara militia were going door to door in Humera, killing and arresting young Tigrayans. By 23 July, Jan Nyssen, a Belgian professor with strong roots in the Tigray Region provided more details about this onset of the massacres: "A woman, Feven Berhe, had her eyes removed before she was killed. The reported reason for her killing was for having a Tigray flag in her house. Locals suspect however she might have refused to have sex with Amhara militiamen. A man and his wife were beheaded, others had their stomach opened and were then thrown to the Tekeze River. The Italian weekly magazine Panorama published a graphic video in which Amhara soldiers killed a group of 9 people in Humera in August 2021 and then put their bodies on fire. The video also shows torturing of one man by Amhara soldiers, then tying him up, preparing to throw him in the river.

A Tigrayan, more dead than alive, lies on the ground with his head split and his neck bloodied. An Amhara soldier is tying his arms behind his back with yellow electric wire. The poor man knows what awaits him. Being an inhabitant of the Humera area, he is aware that that thread is the same that is used by Amhara soldiers to tie civilians before throwing them into the water. — Elisabeth Burba, Le atrocità commesse dai soldati amhara in Tigray [Atrocities committed by Amhara soldiers in Tigray], reported by Panorama, 30 September 2021

Wash up of bodies

Downstream, across the border, in Sudan, dead bodies are observed floating on the Tekeze River." By 2 August, press agencies reported the recovery of washed up bodies along the Setit (Sudanese name of Tekeze) in the Sudan border community of Hamdayet, some with gunshot wounds or their hands bound. Also, 42 kilometres further down, in Wad al Hulaywah, near the Setit dam in Kassala state, about 20 bodies had been retrieved.

The bodies were found downstream from Humera, where authorities and allied fighters from Ethiopia's Amhara region (...) force out local Tigrayans during the war while claiming that western Tigray is their land. We are actually taking care of the bodies spotted by fishermen. I suspect there are more bodies on the river. While it was difficult to identify the bodies, one had a common name in the Tigrinya language, tattooed on his arm. (...) Some of the corpses had facial markings indicating they were ethnic Tigrayans. I saw a lot of barbaric things, some had been struck by an axe. (...) not been able to catch all the bodies floating downstream because of the water's swift flow during the rainy season. — Medical staff, working in Tigrayan refugee camps in Sudan, reported by The Guardian

In line with historical studies of massacres, including those committed during the Armenian genocide, 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.

Perpetrators

Witnesses and press agencies reported the perpetrators of this massacre as being Amhara militiamen.

Victims

In total the "Tigray Atlas" mentions 580 victims of these massacres, only six of whom have been identified due to toatal communications blackout since November 2020:

• Feven Berhe
• Husband and wife (names not mentioned to protect the witness)
• Gebreegziabher Hadush (Gere Modifik Biyeda)
• Hailay Teklu (40)
• Asmelash Birhane Teweldu (Amhara militias tied his hands behind his back and beheaded him with machetes. He had been in prison in a place called Enda Yitbarek warehouse).

Executions of civilians in Humera in 2021

Date	Place	Number	Perpetrators	Sources	Notes
1-3 March 2021	Humera	250	Amhara militia, Fano, EDF
16-19 July 2021	Humera	5	Amhara militia, Fano, EDF
25 July 2021	Humera	95	Amhara militia, Fano, EDF
4-8 August 2021	Humera and elsewhere along the Tekezé River	80	Amhara militia, Fano, EDF		The victims had been shot with their hands tied
15 August 2021	Humera and along the Tekezé River	c.150	ENDF or Amhara militias		Bodies in the Tekezé River were found with their hands bound and fatal gunshot wounds.

Reactions

As soon as the news was reported, there were compassionate reactions, among others by Tewodros Adhanom, Director General of the World Health Organization and USAID administrator Samantha Power. However, on 2 August, an Ethiopian government-created Twitter account called the reports of floating corpses a fake campaign by Tigrayan "propagandists". 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. In June 2021, Debretsion Gebremichael, the elected leader of Tigray Region, "rejected" the investigation, stating, "It's very clear they are partial."

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.

The Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation report, which documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists massacres in the Tigray War.

The UNHCR, like other aid agencies, said in early August that it had "no access to the Ethiopian side of the border", where the massacres supposedly occurred.

External links

• Twitter: author: @HailuKebede_ ; keyword: humera
• World Peace Foundation: Starving Tigray
• Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation
• TGHAT: A compilation of the verified list of civilian victims from different sources

This article "Humera massacres (2021)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Humera massacres (2021). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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