Zalambessa massacre

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Zalambessa massacre
Part of Tigray War
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Zalambessa
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Zalambessa
Location of Zalambessa in Ethiopia
Location Zalambessa, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date13 November 2020
Target Tigrayans
Attack type
Deaths56 civilians, up to 72 civilians [1]
Perpetrators Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopian National Defence Force
Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrean Defence Forces

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

Contents

Massacre

The Ethiopian National Defense Force and Eritrean Defence Forces killed dozens of civilians in Zalambessa (Eastern Tigray) on 13 November 2020. 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. [1]

Perpetrators

The inhabitants of Zalambessa interpreted the identity of the perpetrators as Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. [1] [3]

Related Research Articles

Zalambessa is a town located in Tigray, Ethiopia. Zalambessa is part of the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region. It is about 42 kilometers north of Adigrat. The Serha-Zalambesa border crossing is located in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalambessa (district)</span> Subregion or part in Eritrea or Ethiopia

Zalambessa is a small area on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia claimed by the two countries that clashed especially on this issue in a war between 1998 and 2000. Eritrea believes that it belongs to its Debub Zone, while Ethiopia believes that it belongs to the Misraqawi Zone of Tigray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigray War</span> Armed conflict in Ethiopia from 2020 to 2022

The Tigray War was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between forces allied to the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mekelle offensive</span> Airstrike as part of the Tigray War in Ethiopia

The Mekelle offensive was a military campaign fought between the armed forces of Ethiopia and the Tigray Region to reach the city of Mekelle in the Tigray Region, from 17 November to 28 November 2020. It was part of the Tigray War.

This timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axum massacre</span> 2020 massacre in Ethiopia, as part of the Tigray War

The Axum massacre was a massacre of about 100–800 civilians that took place in Axum during the Tigray War. The main part of the massacre occurred on the afternoon and evening of 28 November 2020, continuing on 29 November, with smaller numbers of extrajudicial killings taking place earlier, starting from 19 November and during the weeks following the 28–29 November weekend. The massacre was attributed to the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) by Amnesty International, Associated Press, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Adigrat University lecturer Getu Mak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagere Selam massacres</span> Massacre in Hagere Selam, Southwestern Tigray as part of Tigray war

The Hagere Selam massacres were mass extrajudicial killings that took place in Hagere Selam in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 4 and 5 December 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adigrat massacres</span> Civilian killings in Ethiopia during the Tigray War

The Adigrat massacres were mass extrajudicial killings by the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) that took place in and near Adigrat in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during late 2020 during the Tigray War. These included 86 civilians killed in Zalambessa around 13 November 2020, 8–15 in Hawzen on 25 November, 80–150 at the Maryam Dengelat church near Idaga Hamus on 30 November.(more than thousand Tigreans massacred by Eritrean troops in Axum on 27 Nov 2020)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casualties of the Tigray War</span> Breakdown of Tigray War casualties

Casualties of the Tigray War refers to the civilian and military deaths and injuries in the Tigray War that started in November 2020, in which rape and other sexual violence are also widespread. Precise casualty figures are uncertain. According to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium, as many as 600,000 people had died as a result of war-related violence and famine by late 2022. The scale of the death and destruction led The New York Times to describe it in November 2022 as "one of the world’s bloodiest contemporary conflicts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crimes in the Tigray War</span>

All sides of the Tigray War have been repeatedly accused of committing war crimes since it began in November 2020. In particular, the Ethiopian federal government, the State of Eritrea, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara regional forces have been the subject of numerous reports of both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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The Goda massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place at the Goda Bottle and Glass Share Company in Gu'iguna in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 2 December 2020. Gu'iguna is a hamlet just north of Idaga Hamus town, Eastern zone of Tigray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawzen in the Tigray War</span> Massacre in Hawzen, Central Tigray as part of Tigray war

Events in Hawzen in the Tigray War included five mass extrajudicial killings that took place in Hawzen in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War in November and December 2020 and January and February 2021, looting and destruction Hawzen Primary Hospital by the Eritrean Defence Force (EDF), and the establishment of a rape camp in the hospital by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).

The Dengelat massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Dengelat in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 30 November 2020. Dengelat is a village that belongs to tabiya Beleso, woreda Sa’isi’e, Eastern zone of Tigray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigray Defense Forces</span> Nationalist armed group in Ethiopia

The Tigray Defense Forces, colloquially called the Tigray Army is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enforcing national government mandates in the Tigray region, culminating in 2020 with the outbreak of the Tigray War. The TDF has made use of guerilla tactics and strategies. Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported that the TDF has committed war crimes against civilians including gang rape and extrajudicial killing during their occupation of both the Afar and Amhara regions. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, TDF combatants have been found liable for upwards of 540 civilians casualties. as of 28 December 2021.

The Mahbere Dego massacres were mass extrajudicial killings that took place in Mahbere Dego in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 16–18 January 2021. Mahbere Dego is a small town that belongs to woreda Na’ider, Central zone of Tigray.

The Zamr massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Zamr in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 3 March 2021. Zamr is a village that belongs to tabiya Simret, woreda Bizet, Eastern zone of Tigray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guh massacre</span> Massacre in Guh, Eastern Tigray as part of Tigray War

The Guh massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Guh in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 8 May 2021. Guh is a village that belongs to tabiya Debre Selam, woreda Hawzen, Eastern zone of Tigray. It is a small rural settlement on steep slopes below the fifth-century rock-hewn church of Abuna Yemata.

This Timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrean involvement in the Tigray War</span> Eritrea in the Tigray War

Since the start of Tigray War in November 2020, the Eritrean government has been heavily involved in the war against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in support of the Ethiopian government.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Zalambessa Alumni Committee (27 March 2021). "Brief Information on the Crimes Committed and Horrendous Situation Inflicted on the People of Zalambessa and Its Surroundings by the Military Forces of Eritrea and Ethiopia". Tigrai Online.
  2. Associated Press, 15 November 2021: 'You can't even cry loudly': Counting Ethiopia's war dead
  3. AhramOnline, 27 March 2021. 'Don't shoot,' Ethiopian father begged Eritrean soldiers, daughter says Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

14°31′17″N39°23′01″E / 14.52146°N 39.38360°E / 14.52146; 39.38360