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A BBC investigation accused the Ethiopian army of killing at least 15 unarmed people in Tigrè, the region of Ethiopia where the Ethiopian army has fought against militias linked to the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) in recent months.
The investigation was developed from the study of some videos that circulated online at the beginning of March in which the murder of a group of people in civilian clothes at the hands of soldiers of the Ethiopian army was shown. BBC managed to confirm that the videos were filmed in Tigré and that the filmed soldiers were wearing Ethiopian army uniforms: it is not known with certainty when the video was filmed, but other elements suggest that it may have been filmed in January 2021.
The video contains strong images.
The war had started in the first week of November 2020, after months of tensions between the federal government and the regional government of Tigre controlled by the Tigrè Liberation Front (TPLF), a party that had dominated Ethiopia’s national politics. for a long time. time and that had started to lose importance after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over as head of government in 2018.
In the weeks leading up to the start of the military clashes, the TPLF seemed confident that it could win the war against the Ethiopian army, but by late November the central government army had taken control of Tigré’s capital, Macallé, declaring the finish. to the war.
However, the confrontations have not ended: Tigray’s forces still control some areas of the region, although outside the main urban centers, and since the end of the war a guerrilla phase has begun that is still continuing.
Already in the first weeks of the fighting, thousands of people had been killed, while according to estimates by the temporary government of Tigré, around 2 million people were forced to leave their homes and about 4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Large numbers of people in the region fled to Sudan fearing violence or reprisals from the central government army, and there have been numerous reports of ethnic violence, human rights violations and violations in general, although all difficult to confirm.
– Read also: After the war, northern Ethiopia faces famine
Some of the videos that began circulating in early March on social media showed a group of soldiers in Ethiopian uniforms killing and pushing a group of at least 15 unarmed people in civilian clothes off a cliff. In one of the videos, which shows armed soldiers surrounding the group of civilians, an unsigned person says “we will not release these people. No one will be saved. In another video, however, someone is heard suggesting that civilians be killed.
BBC obtained five videos and was able to gather useful information to be able to confirm what they show. On social networks it was reported that the videos were filmed near the town of Mahbere Dego, in Tigré; analyze the profiles of mountains and other topographic elements that can be seen in the video and compare them with satellite images, BBC could confirm it. Even the fact that the uniformed soldiers in the video are Ethiopian seems true: this is confirmed by the uniforms they wear and the language they are heard speaking. Likewise, the people killed in the videos speak the Tigré language.
BBC He found no useful elements to confirm when the videos were filmed, but there are some clues that suggest they may refer to the past months of fighting. A Mahbere Dego resident told a BBC that in January 73 people from the city had been captured by Ethiopian soldiers and never returned. A second person heard by the BBC, who lives in a village in the area, said his brother was killed in January near Mahbere Dego. BBC however, he could not confirm the identity of any of the people shown in the video, soldiers or civilians.
The Ethiopian government, responding to requests for clarification from the BBC, said it was open to an independent investigation, adding, however, that videos circulating on social media should not be considered valid evidence. In early March, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace with Eritrea, admitted that there were indications that atrocities were taking place in the Tigré region and had promised that the responsible soldiers would be identified. and punished.
“Reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in the Tigray region. Regardless of the TPLF hype propaganda, any soldier responsible for raping our women and looting communities in the region will be held accountable, as their mission is to protect. “#PMAbiyResponds pic.twitter.com/bNbC1Q7uDz
– Prime Minister’s Office – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) March 23, 2021
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