APRIL 2, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Source: Guardian

List compiled by researchers of victims of mass killings includes infants and people in their 90s

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An Orthodox Christian refugee who fled the conflict in Tigray reads prayers with his son at the Hamdeyat transition centre near the Sudan-Ethiopia border
An Orthodox Christian refugee who fled the conflict in Tigray reads prayers with his son at the Hamdeyat transition centre near the Sudan-Ethiopia border. Photograph: Nariman El-Mofty/AP
 Africa correspondent
Fri 2 Apr 2021 03.00 BST

Almost 2,000 people killed in more than 150 massacres by soldiers, paramilitaries and insurgents in Tigray have been identified by researchers studying the conflict. The oldest victims were in their 90s and the youngest were infants.

The identifications are based on reports from a network of informants in the northern Ethiopian province run by a team at the University of Ghent in Belgium. The team, which has been studying the conflict in Tigray since it broke out last year, has crosschecked reports with testimony from family members and friends, media reports and other sources.

The list is one of the most complete public records of the mass killing of civilians during the war, and will increase international pressure on Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who has claimed that many reports of atrocities are exaggerated or fabricated.

Abiy launched a military offensive in November to “restore the rule of law” in Tigray by ousting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party then in power in the province, following a surprise attack on a federal army base.

The offensive was declared successful after the TPLF leadership evacuated its stronghold of Mekelle, the provincial capital, and an interim administration loyal to Addis Ababa was installed.

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Ethiopian troops on patrol in Tigray. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters

Mass killings and violence directed at civilians have continued since, however, as federal forces and their allies battle insurgents. There have been clashes in recent days around the town of Selekleka, on a key road in the centre of Tigray. 

Twenty of the massacres the team listed – defined as incidents in which at least five people died – occurred in the last month. They include the killing of an estimated 250 civilians over three days in Humera, a town of significant economic and strategic importance in the far west of Tigray where the ethnic cleansing of local communities has been reported.

Eight days ago, Eritrean soldiers searching for suspected TPLF insurgents killed 13 people in Grizana, a village 50 miles south-west of Mekelle in an area where fierce fighting has taken place. The victims included three men in their 50s, several women, a 15-year-old and a two-year-old.

Prof Jan Nyssen, a geographer who led the investigation and who has spent decades living and working in Tigray, said the research was “like a war memorial”.

He said: “These individuals should not be forgotten and these war crimes should be investigated … The list is to show the magnitude of what is happening. We know there are many more but … we know the name and the circumstances of these 1,900.”

The list of identified victims was compiled after more than 2,000 telephone calls, including around 100 in-depth interviews with witnesses. The full list of victims the team has compiled from social media posts and other sources runs to more than 7,000. The main research findings based on the information were published on Thursday, and the names were released on Twitter.

The researchers found that only 3% of the identified victims had been killed in airstrikes or by artillery. Most had been shot dead in summary executions during searches or in organised massacres such as that at Aksum, in which 800 people are thought to have died, or at the town of Mai Kadra, where 600 died in violence blamed on militias loyal to the TPLF.

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People who fled the violence in Aksum shelter at the town’s university. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters

Tim Vanden Bempt, one of the researchers, said the team’s list of massacres did not include perpetrators because information was often fragmentary.

“A lot is still unknown. There are many incidents where we can’t conclude which side is responsible for the moment. So for example, it is possible that there have been two or three massacres committed by TPLF-aligned fighters but we cannot say for sure,” he said.

Abiy publicly acknowledged the possibility of war crimes in Tigray for the first time last month. He told parliamentarians that despite the TPLF’s “propaganda of exaggeration … reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in Tigray region”.

He said war was “a nasty thing” and pledged that soldiers who had raped women or committed other war crimes would be held responsible.

Eritrean officials have described allegations of atrocities by their soldiers as “outrageous lies”.

Humanitarian officials have said a growing number of people could be starving to death in Tigray. Madiha Raza, of the International Rescue Committee, recently visited the province and said conditions were dire.

“The situation in rural areas is the worst. Medical centres, schools, hospitals, banks and hotels have been looted. People I interviewed had heard multiple reports of civilians being rounded up and killed. Farm animals and grain are being burned or destroyed and fear tactics are being used across the conflict,” Raza said.

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A looted health centre in Debre Abay, Tigray. Photograph: AP

There are continuing claims of widespread human rights abuses, including a wave of sexual assaults. More than 500 rape cases have been reported to five clinics in Tigray, the UN said last month. Actual numbers were likely to be much higher because of stigma and a lack of health services, it said.

Selam, a 26-year-old farmer, fled her home in the central town of Korarit with her husband and children and hundreds of others in mid-November “because the Amhara special forces were beating and killing people”. The family walked for a month to reach safety.

“We saw a lot of dead bodies during our journey … I witnessed a lot of women get raped in front of my eyes. Five or more troops would rape each woman. Some of them were left for dead because of how many men raped them,” she said.

Other witnesses described teenage girls with “broken bones after they’d been raped by 15 or 16 men each”. Metal fences have recently been installed at Mekelle University to protect hostels housing female students.

Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UN, Taye Atskeselassie Amde, said last week that his government took the allegations of sexual violence very seriously and had deployed a fact-finding mission

In a leaked recording of a meeting last month between foreign diplomats and an Ethiopian army general, Yohannes Tesfamariam, he described the conflict in Tigray as a “dirty war” and civilians as defenceless.

The lead author of the Ghent report, Dr Sofie Annys, said their maps and database would be updated on a regular basis.

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እቲ ዝኸበረ ናይ ሓባር ንብረቱ ናጽነቱን ልኡላውነቱን እዩ። እዚ መግለጺ መንነቱ ዝኾነ ክብረቱ ክቡር ዝኾነሉ ምኽንያት ብህያብ ዝመጸ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣዝዩ ክቡር ኩለ-መዳያዊ ዋጋ ዝተኸፍሎ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ። እቲ ነዚ ክቡር ንብረት ዝተኸፍለ ክቡር ዋጋ ሰፊሕ መግለጺ ዝርዝር ዘለዎ እዩ። 30 መረርቲ  ዓመታት ኣብ ትንፋስ ዘይህብ መሪር ቃልሲ ዝተጓዕዘሉን ናብ ሚእቲ ሺሕ ዝገማገም ስዉኣት ዝተኸፍልሉን ምዃኑ ጥራይ መርኣያ ክብሪ ናይቲ ዋጋ እዩ።

ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዚ ክቡር ዋጋ ዝኸፈለሉ ናጽነቱን ልኡላውነቱን ኣብ ምውሓስ ጠጠው ዝብል ኣይኮነን። ነቲ ክሳብ ሕጂ ዘይተመለአ፡ ሰላማዊት፡ ዲሞክራስያዊትን ምዕብልትን ኤርትራ ናይ ምውሓስ ናይ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ቀጻሊ ዕማሙ ንምዕዋት ከኣ ጌና ይቃለስ ኣሎ። እዚ ሕጂ ዘለዎ ሃለዋት ከኣ ነዚ ዝገልጽ እዩ። ኣብ መስርሕ እቲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ዝተኻየደ ቃልሲ፡ ብፍሉይ ዓይኒ ዝረኣዩን ፍሉይ ክብደት ዝወሃቦምን፡ ፍጻመታት፡ ቦታታት፡ ዕለታትን ውልቀሰባትን ኣለዉ። ዕለታት  ጀማሪት ሰውራ ኤርትራ ባሕቲ መስከረምን ተረካቢት ናጽነት 24 ጉንበትን ከኣ ብኣብነት ዝጥቀሳ እየን።

24 ጉንበት መዓልቲ  ናጽነት ኤርትራ፡ ካብተን ብኤርትራውያን ፍሉይ ግምት ዝወሃበን ታሪኻዊ ዕለታት ብኣብነት እትጥቀስ ዕድለኛ መዓልቲ እያ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንመዓልቲ ናጽነት ዘኽብራ፡ ፍረ ናይ 30 ዓመታት መስዋእቱ ሓፊሱ ናብ ሓድሽ ምዕራፍ ዝሰገረላ ስለ ዝኾነት እዩ።  ንመዓልቲ ናጽነት፡ ካብቲ ንነጻነትን ልኡላውነትን ኤርትራ ዝወሃብ ክብርን ምስጢርን ዘይፍለ ግምት ክትረክብ ውሁብ እዩ። ነዛ ዕለት እዚኣ ግቡእ ክብሪ ዘይምሃብ፡ ናብ ንናጽነትን ልዑላውነትን ኤርትራ ዋጋ ምንፋግ ዝወስድ ሓደገኛ ኣጠማምታ እዩ። “ኤርትራውያን ንመዓልቲ ናጽነት “ኣይፈትዉዋን ኣየኽብርዋን እዮም” ዝብል ኣበሃህላ ከኣ ነቲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝኸፈሎ ክቡር መስዋእትን ኣብ ግዜ ረፈረንዱም ዝሃቦ 98.8 ሚእታዊት ናይ “እወ ንናጽነት” ድምጽን ክሒዱ ናብ “ኤርትራውያን ንናጽነቶምን ልዑላውነቶም ኣይድግፍዎን እዮም” ዝወስድ ጠላም  ተረድኦ’ውን እዩ። ክሳብ ክንድዚ ሓደገኛ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ ከኣ፡ ናይ 30 መጋቢት 2021 ዘይሓላፍነታዊ ሰሙናዊ  ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ኣንበሳደር ዲና ሙፍቲ፡ ወሃቢ ቃል ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ሚኒስተር ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ኤርትራውያን ቁጠዐን ሕርቃንን ኣሕዲሩ ዘሎ።

ኤርትራውያን በዚ ንህዝባዊ ክብሮም ዝግህስ ኣበሃህላ ኣንበሳድር ዲና ሙፍቲ ዝለዓለ ቁጠዐ ከም ዘኸትል ከይተሓልመ ዝተፈትሐ  ነይሩ። ከምኡ ከኣ ኮይኑ። ምኽንያቱ “ብዘይምጻእ ኣይትምጸኣና” ዝብል መልእኽቲ ዘመሓላልፍ  ስለ ዝኾነ። እንተኾነ ብጥሪኡ ብድድ ኢልካ ምቑጣዕ ዘይኮነ “እዚ ኣንበሳደር መን ኣጆኻ ምስ በሎ እዩ  ከምኡ ኢሉ፡ መን ብዝኸፈተሉ ናይ ንዕቀት ኣፍደገ እዩኸ ኣትዩና?” ኢልካ ምሕታት የድሊ። ምሕታት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ክሳብ  ናይዚ ሕቶዚ መልሲ ምርካብ ምኻድ እውን ግድን’ዩ።

ንመዓልቲ ናጽነት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ብመሰረቱ እውን ንናጽነትን ልኡላውነትን ኤርትራ ኣብ ሓደጋ ዘውድቖ ዘሎ ዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ እዩ።፡ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ መድረኻት፡ “ድሕሪ ሕጂ  ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ኢትዮጵያ እዩ ዝመርሓና፡ ኣነ ከኣ ኣብ ጐኑ ኣለኹ። ኣብ ቃልሲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ዘሕለፍናዮ ግዜ ዝባኸነን መዋእል እዩ።  ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህዝቢ ኢትዮጵያን ክልተ ህዝብታት እዮም ዝብሉ ነቲ ሓቅን ታሪኽን ዘይፈልጡ እዮም።” ምባሉ ክሳብ ክንደይ ንልኡላውነትና ንሓደጋ ከም ዘቃልዖ ምርዳእ ዘጸገም ኣይኮነን። እዚ ዘይሓላፍነታውን ሃላልን ኣበሃህላ ኢሳያስ ደኾን ንብደዐ ዲና ሙፍቲ ኣተባቢዕዎ ይኸውን? ኢልና ክንሓትት ይግበኣና። መልሱ “እወ” ከም ዝኸውን ከኣ ርዱእ እዩ።

 ኢሳይስ ንዝሓለፈ 3 ዓመታት ብጉዳይ ልኡላውነትና  ንብዙሓት ብዘስደመመ ከም ድላዩ ክጣላዕ ጸኒሑን ኣሎን። ነቲ ምቁማሩ ዕታር ዕንበባ እንዳሃብካን ናይ ቅብጡሮት ኣስማት እንዳኣውጻእካን “ቀጽል ጥራይ” ክትብሎ ጸኒሕካ፡ ሎሚ ንዲና ሙፍቲ “ዓይንኻ ንሓመድ” ምባል “ሕነ ቀራናት ንጓዕማማት” ዝየብል ኣይኮነን። እዚ ማለት ግና ንዲና ክንቃወሞ ኣይነበረናን ማለት ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ናይ 2019 በዓል ጥምቀት ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ከተማ ጐንደር ዝተጸንበለሉ፡ ኤርትራ ኣካል ኢትዮጵያ ምዃና ዘርኢ ናይ ቀደም ካርታ ብዓብይ ቅርጺ ንምርኢት ካርኒቫል ቀሪቡ ነይሩ። ኣብቲ መድረኽ ዝነበረ ኣንበሳደር ሰመረ ርእሶም ዝመርሖ ልኡኽ ህግደፍ ብሕም ከምዘይበለ ንዝክሮዶ ንኸውን?

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ሓይልታት ኣሰላልፋ፡ ምስቶም ካብ መሰረቱ ተገዲዶም እምበር ናይ ኤርትራ ናጽነት ዘይቅበሉን ንህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ (ህወሓት) ከኣ “ንኤርትራ ኣሕሊፍካ ብምሃብ” ዝኸሱን ወገናት እዩ ወጊኑ ዘሎ።  ምውጋን ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ምስኣቶም ኮይኑ እዩ ኣንጻር’ቶም ክሳብ ሕጂ ንልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ዘይጠለሙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዝዋጋእ ዘሎ። ናይ ኢሳያስ ናይ ኣሰላልፋ ሕሳብ፡ ኣንዊሑ ዘይጥምት ኣብ ጸቢብ ምርዋይ ስምዒቱን ምጽምጻብ ሕዱር ቂምን እምበር ኣርሒቑ ብዛዕባ ናጽነትን ልኡላውነትን ኤርትራ ኣብ ግምት ዘእተወ ከምዘይኮነ ምርድኡ ዘጸግም ኣይኮነን።

ኣንበሳደር ዲና ሙፍቲ ብማዕበል ኤርትራዊ ቁጠዐ ሰንቢዱ “ኣበሃህላይ ብጌጋ ተወሲዱ ኣሎ” ብዝብል ከብርህ ፈቲኑ እዩ። በቲ ኮነ በቲ ነታ “ኣብዚ እዋንዚ እንተዝሕተቱ ኤርትራውያን፡ ካብ ኢትዮጵያ ንዝተፈልዩላ ዕለት ኣየኽብርዋን ኣይፈትውዋን እዮም።” እትብል ምልእቲ ሓሳቡ ግና እትእረም ትኽእል ኣይኮነትን። እዚ ኣንበሳደር ምናልባት ደኣ ኣብ ኣመራርጻ መድረኽን ኣቀራርባ ሜላን ጌጋ ፈጢሩ ይኸውን እምበር፡ “ካብ መሬት ቦግ ኣቢሉ” ዝበሎ ኣይክኸውንን እዩ፡ ዝብል ናይ ብዙሓት ግምት እዩ።

እቲ ጉዳይ ኢሳያስ ክመጾ ንዝጸንሐ መንገድን በጺሕዎ ዘሎ ናይ ጥልመት ብራኸን ኣብ ግምት ኣእቲኻ፡ ሓድሽን ሃንደበታውን’ኳ እንተዘይኮነ፡ ብኽንድዚ ደረጃ ንኤርትራውያን ምቑጥዑ ዝድገፍ እዩ። ምክትል ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተርን ሚኒስተር ወጻኢ ጉዳያትን ኢትዮጵያ ኣቶ ደመቀ መኮነን፡  ሰራሕተኛታት ኤምባሲ ህግደፍ ኣብ ዝተረኽብሉ ይቕረታ ሓቲቱ ዝብል መደዓዓሲ ዜና’ውን ሰሚዕናዮ። እዚ  እሞ ከኣ “ዝኣኽለን ጥሒነንስ በዓለ-ማርያም ይብላ እዩ።” ደሓር ባዕሉ እቲ ቀንዲ ናይቲ ጉዳይ ጠጃኢ ኢሳያስ ይቕረ ዘይበለላ ልኡላዊት ሃገር ብናይ ደመቀ ይቕረታን ብናይ ዲና ሙፍቲ ምትዕርራይ ቃላትን  ክትድሕን እያ ኢልካ ምሕሳብ  ግርህነት ወይ ኮነ ኢልካ ዝተሃንደሰ መዳህለሊ ተቓለስቲ  እዩ። እንተ’ቲ ክንዲ ህግደፍ ዝኣክል ጠላም ጉጅለ ኣቐሚጥካ ንዲና ጥራይ ምርጋም ግን “ዓንጸዓንጾ ንማዕጾ” ስለዝኾነ፡ ቀዳማይ ጠመቴና ሓግሒግካ ምድርባይ ኢሳያስን ስርዓቱን ዳኣ ይኹን።

Friday, 02 April 2021 09:53

BBC Video of the clifftop massacre in Tigray at

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APRIL 1, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Video: You can see the report here

Here is the BBC online report

Evidence suggests Ethiopian military carried out massacre in Tigray

By Africa Eye
BBC World Service

Published1 hour ago

Related Topics

An investigation by BBC Africa Eye has uncovered evidence that a massacre in northern Ethiopia was carried out by members of the Ethiopian military. It also reveals the precise location of the atrocity, in which at least 15 men were killed.

In early March, a series of five video clips surfaced on social media showing armed, uniformed men leading a group of unarmed men to the edge of a cliff, shooting some at point blank range, and pushing dead bodies over the cliff.

image captionUnarmed men in civilian clothes seen on the ground shortly before the massacre began

The BBC has confirmed that the massacre took place close to the town of Mahbere Dego in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where the Ethiopian army is fighting the regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPFL).

The fighting began last November when the government launched a military offensive against the TPLF, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused of attacking a government military base. The TPLF is opposed to efforts by Mr Abiy to increase the power of the federal government, and has said it is committed to “extended resistance”.

The conflict has so far displaced more than two million people, according to Tigray’s interim administration, and left more than four million people in need of aid.

Geo-locating the footage

The BBC Africa Eye investigations team, working together with analysts from the media outlets Bellingcat and Newsy, set out to establish where the massacre took place.

The first people to post the clips to social media claimed they were filmed near Mahbere Dego. Africa Eye analysed geographical features seen in the videos, including a dirt road, a plateau, and an escarpment with a distinctive profile, and compared them with satellite imagery of the area around the town.

image captionAn escarpment with a distinctive profile was used to compare the footage with satellite imagery

The direction and length of shadows cast by the armed men helped to pinpoint the likely time of day and showed that the escarpment was oriented north-south, allowing Africa Eye to identify a likely location.

A ridgeline in the video footage was then overlaid on a topographical map of the location to confirm it was an exact match. A dry riverbed, band of vegetation, and pattern of trees further confirmed the match.

image captionFootage from one of the video clips was overlaid on a 3D rendering of the terrain to find a match
image captionVegetation seen in the footage was matched against the 3D satellite model

The BBC spoke by phone to a resident of Mahbere Dego, who said the Ethiopian army took away 73 men from the town and surrounding area in January this year, including three of his relatives. He said none of them had been heard from since.

The BBC also spoke to a resident in a neighbouring village who said that his brother was among those killed in this massacre. He said that the killings took place in Mahbere Dego, and gave the same month: January 2021.

“They killed them at the cliff,” he said.

Identifying the armed men and victims

Africa Eye was not able to confirm the identities of the armed men seen in the video footage, but the details of their uniforms – including the camouflage pattern and arm badge in the colour of the Ethiopian flag – appear to match those worn by the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF).

Other features also match the ENDF uniform, including the cut and style of the pockets. One of the armed men wears a green beret bearing an insignia that appears to closely match the colour and insignia of the ENDF beret.

image captionBadges in the colour of the Ethiopian flag seen on the armed men in the footage (right) match those worn by ENDF soldiers (left). The camouflage patterns are also a match

The armed men are speaking Amharic, the main official language of Ethiopia. In the first of the five video clips, they can be heard speaking to one another as they stand around the group of unarmed men, who are seated on the floor.

“We should not free these people. Not even one of them should be spared,” says a voice off camera.

“We have to get this on video, how these people die,” says another voice.

The next four clips show the unarmed men being led at gunpoint towards the cliff edge, and capture the armed men killing several prisoners and pushing the bodies of the dead over the cliff.

In some sections of the footage, the gunmen can be seen firing bullets from close range into the bodies. In others they can be heard insulting and mocking the dead.

“I wish we could pour gas over them and burn them,” says a voice off camera in one clip.

“It would have been great if there was gas to burn these people,” replies a second voice. “Burn their bodies like the Indians do.”

The identity of the victims, who are seen wearing civilian clothes, is not known. They can be heard speaking Tigrinya, the language of the Tigray region. In the footage, the killers appear to suggest they believe the victims belong to the TPLF.

“This is the end of woyane,” says a voice of one of the armed men, using a slang term for the TPLF.

“We don’t show mercy.”

IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
image captionDisplaced people at a temporary shelter in Tigray last month

Laetitia Bader, the Horn of Africa director for Human Rights Watch, told the BBC that observers had seen “a whole magnitude of very serious abuses” in the region in recent months, but that this footage was “obviously particularly alarming”.

“We see what appear to be unarmed detained men, who are being executed,” she said. “This is absolutely an incident that requires further investigation, because what we are seeing here in these videos could amount to war crimes.”

The BBC put the evidence it had gathered to the Ethiopian government, which said in a statement that “social media posts and claims cannot be taken as evidence”, adding that the Tigray region was “open for independent investigations to be undertaken”.

Investigation by Aliaume Leroy, Giancarlo Fiorella (Bellingcat), and Jake Godin (Newsy).

Additional reporting by Daniel Adamson, Joel Gunter, Chiara Francavilla, Bertram Hill, Carlos Gonzales, Mohammed Osman, and Samir.

Thursday, 01 April 2021 22:50

መግለጺ ሓዘን

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ዕረፍቲ  ኣቶ ዜና  ምሕረተአብ ብዓሚቕ ሓዘን ስንባድን ሰሚዕናዮ። ኣቶ ዜና ምሕረተአብ፡ ካብ ኣብኡ ኣቶ ምሕረተኣብ ኣስፈሃን ኣዲኡ ወይዘሮ ትብለጽ ለገሰን ብ5 ሰነ 1947 ኣብ ከተማ ሰንዓፈ ተወሊዱ፡ ኣብ መበል 74 ዓመት ዕድመኡ ከኣ ብ28 መጋቢት 2021 ኣብ ሆስፒታል ክእለ ድሕሪ ምጽናሕ፡ መላእ ቤተሰቡን ፈተውቱን ኣብ ዘለዉሉ ኣብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣሜሪካ ኣብ ሆስፒታል ዓሪፉ።

ኣቶ ዜና ምሕረተኣብ ትምህርቱ ኣብ ከተማታት ደቀምሓረን ኣስመራን ተኸታቲሉ። ትምህድቱ ምስ ወደአ ከኣ በቲ ዝተማህሮ ሞያ፡  ኣብቲ እዋንቲ ኣብ  ኣስመራ ባንኮዲናፖሊ ይበሃል ኣብ ዝነበረ ትካል ሰሪሑ። ዓቕሙ ንምምዕባል ከኣ ኣብ ዩኒቨርስቲ ኣስመራ ምሸታዊ  ትምህርቱ ቀጺሉ። ኣቶ ዜና በኹሪ ገዛ ስለ ዝነበረ ናእሽቱ ኣሕዋቱ  ኣብ ምእላይ  ምስ ወለዱ ዝተሓጋገዝ ግዱስ  ከም ዝነበረ ቤተ ሰቡ የመልክቱ።

ኣቶ ዜና ምሕረተኣብ  ኣብ ዝተጠቕሰ  ትካል እንዳሰርሐ፡ ህይወቱ ክመርሕ ድሕሪ ምጽናሕ፡  ኣብ  ሃገሩን ህዝቡን ዝነበሮ  ፍቕርን ሓልዮትን እናዓዘዘ መጸ ። በዚ መሰረት ኣብ መወዳእታ 1975 ናብ ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ (ተሓኤ) ተሰሊፉ።  መባእታዊ  ወተሃደራውን ፖለቲካውን ትምህርቲ ምስ ወሰደ ከኣ፡  በቲ ዝነበሮ ሞያ ኣብ ክፍሊ ምቁጽጻር (ክፍሊ ኦዲት) ተበዲቡ፡ ነቲ ኣሰራርሓ ኣብ ምምዕባል ዓብይ ግደ ተጻዊቱ። ብዘይካዚ ኣብ ወተሃደራዊ መዳይ እውን ኣብ ብሪጌድ 19 ናይ ሓይሊ ፖለቲካዊ  ኮሚሳር ኮይኑ ተቓሊሱ።

ኣቶ ዜና፡ ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ ተደፊኣ፡ ናብ ሱዳን ድሕሪ ምእታዋ፡  ኣብ ሱዳን ነብሱ ንምምራሕ ጽዒሩ።  ኣብ 1983 ድማ  ናብ ኣሜሪካ  ክስደድ ተገዲዱ፡ እነሆ  ከኣ ክሳብ ዕለተ- ዕረፍቱ ኣብኡ ጸኒሑ።

በዚ ኣጋጣሚ መላእ ኣባላት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ንመዋቲ መንግስተሰማያት የዋርሶ፡ ንስድርኡን  መላእ ቤተ ሰቡ ከኣ ጽንዓት ይሃብኩም እናበልና፡ ናይ ሓዘንኩም ተኻፈልቲ ምዃና ንገልጽ።

                     

Thursday, 01 April 2021 22:23

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 01.04.2021

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ብሓፈሻ ህልዊ ኩነታት ኢትዮጵያ፡ ብፍላይ ከኣ እቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየደ ዘሎ፡ ኣብቲ መጀመርያ “ምኽባር ሕጊ” ተባሂሉ ዝነበረ ሎሚ ግና ዲቕ ዝበለ ውግእ ምዃኑ ባዕሉ ዝዛረብ ዘሎ ምዕባለ ዓብይ ናይ ዓለምና ኣጀንዳ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ኤርትራ ከኣ ጐረቤት ትግራይ ስለ ዝኾነት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ብሰንኪ ህግደፍ ደቃ ኣብቲ ውግእ ተነቊቶም  ስለ ዘለዉ፡ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ክለዓል እንከሎ፡ ስማ ብሕማቕ ዝለዓል ኮይና ኣላ።

ኢድ ኣእታውነት ህግደፍ ኣብ ውግእ ትግራይ ተኸቲሉ፡ ብዙሓት ኣብ ምምላሶም ኣብ ኤርትራውያን ፍልልይ ዝፈጠሩ ሕቶታት ክለዓሉ ጸኒሖም እዮም። “ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ናብ ትግራይ ኣትዩዶ ኣይኣተወን?፡ እንተ ኣትዩኸ ኣብቲ ብኮሚሽን ዶብ ንኤርትራ ዝተፈርደ ቦታት ጥራይ ድዩ ተደሪቱ  ወይ ናብቲ ዘየሰሓሕብ መሬት ትግራይ እውን ኣሳፊሑ እዩ?፡ ምስ ኣተወኸ፡  ምስ ምጥሓስ ሰብኣውነት ዝተተሓሓዘ ገበናት ፈጺሙ ዶ ኣይፋሉን?“ ዝብሉ ካብቶም ክለዓሉ ዝጸንሑ ሕቶታት እዮም።

ኣብዚ እቲ ውግእ 5ይ ወርሑ ሒዝሉ ዘሎ እዋን  ከምቲ “ሓሶትን ስንቅን እንዳሓደረ ይፈኩስ” ዝበሃል እቲ ምስምስ እንዳበነነ፡ እቲ ክዉን ሓቂ ተጋሂዱ እዩ። ንተግባራት ህግደፍ ኣብ ክንዲ ከም ዘለዎ ምርዳእ፡ ሓቂ ሓቢኦም ከጸባብቕሉ ዝፈተኑ ወገናት ኣብ መልሓሶም ዝሓይክሉ ደረጃ በጺሖም ኣለዉ። ካብ ቅድሙ’ውን  ንምዕጥጣይን ክፍቶ በሃልነትን እንተዘይኮይኑ፡ ድሕሪ ኢሳያስ “ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይና ስለ ዝኾነ ስቕ ኢልና እንርእዮ ዘይኮነ ዓቕምና እነበርክተሉ’ዩ” ምባሉ፡ ንኽትሓብኣሉ ኢልካስ ዕባራ ምኽንያታት ምቕራብ’ውን ኣይመድለየን። ከምቲ “ካብ ጳጳስ ንላዕሊ ካቶሊክ የለን” ዝበሃል፡ ካብ ኢሳያስ ንላዕሊ ህግደፍ ክትከውን ሃንደፍደፍ ምባል ናይ ጥዕና ኣይኮነን። ነስተውዕል ካብ ቅድም’ውን ኢሳያስ “ጉዳይ ብፍርዲ ዝተበየነልና መሬት  ኤርትራ የገድሰና’ዩ” ኣይኮነን ኢሉ። ንጉዳይ ዶብ እሞ “ንእሽቶይ ጉዳይ እዩ” ካብ ዝብሎ ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። ብመሰረቱ ናይቲ ካብ ቅድም ጀሚሩ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዘካየዶ ውግእ ጠንቂ’ውን ዶብ ኣይነበረን። ኮታ ንኢሳያስ  ዘገደሶስ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ብዓባያን ስልጣኑን እዩ።

ሎሚ “ዋላ ትንፈር እምበር፡ ጤል እያ” ንምባል እንተዘይኮይኑ፡ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብ ውግእ ትግራይ ምእታዉ ተረጋጊጹ እዩ። ኣብ ወሰናስ ዘይኮነ ከኣ ኣብ ማእከል ትግራይን ኣምሓራን ትግራይን ኣብ ዘዳውብ ከባብታትን ከይተረፈ ይዋጋእ ከም ዘሎ ዘይሕባእ ሓቂ እዩ። ሕሉፍ ሓሊፉ፡ ኣብቲ ካብ ዶብ ርሒቑ ናብ ትግራይ ኣዕሚቑ ዝኣቱ ቦታታት ኣድያቦን ኢሮብን ናይ ኤርትራ መንነት ይዕድል ከም ዘሎ እውን ናብ ነበርቲ ናይቲ ከባቢ ደዊልካ ምርግጋጽ ኣብ ዝከኣለሉ ግዜ ኢና ዘለና። ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣትዩ፡ “ህይወት ንጹሃት ይቐዝፍ፡ ንብረት መንግስቲ ክልል ትግራይን ውልቀ-ሰባትን ይራሲ፡ መንግስታውን ዘይመንግስታውን ትካላት የዕኑን ይዝርፍን ኣሎ” ብዝብል ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ማዕከናት ዜናን ዘይሻራዊ ትካላትን ዘዕለቕልቕ ዘሎ ሓበሬታታት’ውን፡ ካብ ክትነጽጎ ክትቅበሎ ናብ ዝቐለለ  ደረጃ በጺሑ ከምዘሎ ብብዙሓት ወገናት ዝምዘን  ዘሎ እዩ። ኮሚሽን ሰብኣዊ መሰል ኢትዮጵያ እውን ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ነቲ ዝኽሰሰሉ ዘሎ ከቢድ ገበን ከም ዝወዓሎ’ዩ  ኣጻርዩ። ገለ ወገናት “ከምዚ ዓይነት ተግባራት ኤርትራዊ ባህሊ ኣይኮነን” ብዝብል መከራኸሪ ምኽንያት፡ ነቲ ህግደፍ ንጥፍኣት ዝለኣኾ ሰራዊት ክከላኸልሉ ይስምዑ እዮም። ብመሰረቱ ምስ ህግደፍን መጨቆኒ ትካላቱን ዘባእሰናስ፡ ካብ ኤርትራዊ ባህልን ድሌትን ወጻኢ ብምኻዶም ኣይኮነን ድዩ። ነዞም ከምዚ ዓይነት መህደሚ ክፈጥሩ ዝደልዩ፡ “ዘይኣነስ ኣይትበከ እዩ ዘብክየኒ ዘሎ” ጥራይ ኢና እንብሎም።

ኤርትራውያን ምናልባት ደኣ ግዜኡን ደረጃኡን ይፈላለይ ይኸውን እምበር፡ በዚ ሕጂ ንህዝቢ ትግራይ ዘጋጥሞ ዘሎ በደላት ዝሓለፍና ህዝቢ ኢና። ንመሰል ርእሰ-ውሳነና ስለ ዝተቓለስና፡ እቲ ናይ ዓውዲ ውግኣት ግጥማት ሳዕቤን ገዲፍካ፡ መግዛእታዊ ሓይልታት ኢትዮጵያ፡ ሰላማዊ ህዝብና ቀቲሎም፡ ዓድታት ኣንዲዶም፡ ናይ እምነት ትካላትና ኣፍሪሶም፡ ኣብያተ- ትምህርትን ሕክምናን ምስ  መሳርሕኡ ዘሚቶምን ኣንዲዶምን፡ ቁጠባዊ ትካላትን ፋብሪካታትን ፈታቲሖም ወሲዶም። እዚ ምስዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝፍጸም ዘሎ ዝመሳሰል ናይ ቀረባ ግዜ ዛንታና እዩ። ኤርትራውያን ነዚ ተግባራት ወረርቲ ሓንጐፋይ ኢልና ኣይተቐበልናዮን። በዚ ፈሪሕና ካብ ቃልስና ኣይበኾርናን። እኳ ደኣ ተቓሊስና ስዒርናዮም። ድሕሪ ሕጂ ከምዚ ዓይነት በደል ከየጋጥመና ከኣ ወትሩ ድሉዋት ክንከውን ይግበኣና። ካብዚ ነቒልና ኣብ ልዕሊ ትግራይን ህዝባን ዝፍጸም ዘሎ በደል ክንቃወሞ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ክንቃለሶ እውን ሞራላዊ ግደታ ኣለና። ኣብ ልዕሌኻ ክፍጸም ዘይትደልዮ ኣብ ልዕሊ ካለኦት ክወርድ እንከሎ ብውሕዱ “ዓገብ” ኣብ ክንዲ ምባል “ይርከብዋ ደኣ” ምባል’ሞ ከኣ ነውሪ’ውን እዩ። ደሓር ነቲ “ጽባሕ ነዓየ” ዝብል ወረጃ ኣበሃህላ ወለድና ክንርስዖ ኣይግበኣናን። ንሕና ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ብዛዕባቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ዘሎ ኩነታ ክንዛረብ እንከለና፡ ብጥሪኡ “ኣብ ዘይጉዳይካ ምእታው” ጌርና ክንወስዶ ኣይግባእን። ምኽንያቱ ጽልዋኡ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ጉዳይና ብሩህ ስለ ዝኾነ።

ንጉጅለ ህግደፍ፡ ናይ ግድን ካብ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ፈሊና ክንርእዮ ክንበቅዕ ኣለና። እዚ ብልቢ ክንትግብሮ ዝግበኣና እምበር፡ “ካብ ክሳድ ንላዕሊ” ክኸውን ኣይግበእን። ኣብዚ እንተዘየነጺርና፡ ንህግደፍ ከነቃልዖ እንከለና ንኤርትራን ህዝባን ንብድልን ንጠልምን ከምዘየለና እንተዘይተረዲእና፡ ከይተፈለጠና ኣገልገልቲ ህግደፍ ክንከውን ኢና። ኣገልገልቲ ህግደፍ እንተኮይና ከኣ ህዝብና ንጠልም ከም ዘለና ኣይንረስዕ። ንጉጅለ ህግደፍ ምስ ልኡላውነት ሃገርና ነተኣሳስር እንተሊና’ውን ኣብ ጌጋ መንገዲ ኣለና። ነዚ ንምብራህ ኣብ ካልእ ዝርዝር ከይከድና፡ እቲ ጉጅለ ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ንመኸወሊ ዝጥቀመሉ እምበር፡ ካብ ልቡ ኣውጺእዎ ሰማይ ሰማይ ካብ ዘመዓዱ ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። ስለዚ ህግደፍ ባዕሉ ቀዲዱ ንዝደርበዮ ካባ ልኡላውነት ከነልብሶ ክንብል ህዝብና ኣይንበድል።

ጉጅለ ህግደፍ መጸዋዕታን ምሕጽንታን ህዝብና ኣይንታዩን እዩ። እኳ ደአ መንገዱ ኣንጻርቲ ህዝብና ዝመርጾ እዩ። ንናይ ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም ምሕጽንታ’ውን በቲ ንጉዳይ ህዝብና ዝርእየሉ መነጽር ክርእዮ ከም ዝጸንሐ ፍሉጥ እዩ። እነሆ’ኳ ነቲ “ሰራዊትካ ካብ ውግእ ትግራይ ኣውጽእ” ዝብል መጠንቀቕታ ኣብ ክንዲ ብቐጥታ ዝምልስ ጎቦጎቦ ይኸይድ ኣሎ። ከም ዘይትግብሮ’ኳ ናይ ብዙሓት ግምት እንተኾነ፡ ከምቲ “ጽብሓላ ዱባ፡ ባህ ክብላ ልባ” ዝበሃል መዳህለልን መሕብእን ወስታ ክወስድ ይኽእል እዩ ዝብል ግምት ኣብ ባይታ ኣሎ።

MARCH 31, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

It is not very often that you see such a rapid change of direction. But hardly had the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Dina Mufti, stopped speaking than the sparks began to fly.

One can only speculate on what his masters had to say and ask how long Mr Dina will be in the post.

His declaration that Eritreans and Ethiopians longed to return to being a single country caused a storm.

“By the way, each and every Eritrean, they won’t be asked, but if they were, they (would admit that they) don’t celebrate the day they separated from Ethiopia.
They don’t like it. The ones (Eritreans) abroad confess it. Ethiopians also have the same feeling.
Let alone with Eritrea, it would be good to become one with the rest of our neighboring countries. The relationship we had with Eritrea is, we are one people, we are one country.”
Now has come the reversal. It could hardly be more grovelling.
“In my weekly briefing on 30th March 2021 , I have cited the fact that Ethiopia and Eritrea as close neighbours deserve wholerounded relationship. I also said both Eritreans and Ethiopians equally abhore the unfortunate war and adversity. Ethiopia is committed to the Eritrean sovereignty and I have been also equally committed . Therefore I would like to bring to the attention of fellow Eritreans and others that there has been an understanding of my presentation out of the context .l humbly apologize for the confusion . Long live Ethio -Eritrean solidarity!!!!!!”
The Ethiopian ambassador to Eritrea was forced to join the apology.
The US Embassy in Asmara also gently joined in, with this timely reminder.
Wednesday, 31 March 2021 21:00

Myths about the start of the Tigray war

Written by

MARCH 31, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Martin Plaut

The opening clashes that led to the Tigray war on 4 November have been the subject of two competing myths.

The first myth is that the conflict erupted after forces loyal to the Tigray Regional Government attacked the Northern Command, situated in the Tigray capital, Mekelle.

This was a Tweet from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In this narrative, the war is the fault of the Tigrayan authorities and the TPLF in particular.

The second myth is that the war was sparked off by a failed attack by Ethiopian commandos on Mekelle, disguised as security forces guarding a banknote transfer.

This version of events suggested that very early Wednesday morning aircraft carrying Ethiopian commandos took off on a mission to eliminate the Tigrayan leadership.

Ethiopian sources suggest that the force was airlifted into Mekelle in two helicopters and an Antonov from Bahr Dar, to try and seize the TPLF leadership at a hotel.

Social media reports that the hotel in question was the Planet. The commandos landed without a problem and drove into Mekelle, seizing control of the hotel.

But the intelligence they were operating from was faulty. The Tigrayan leaders they were seeking were not there. The commandos then withdrew.

It is not clear if the unit was involved in any fighting.

But after the failed raid Tigrean forces took over the Ethiopian National Defence Force camp (the Northern Command barracks for Mekelle) near the airport (when there was some fighting), as well as taking control of the airport itself.

This explanation is also questioned and not seen as plausible.

Abiy’s problem of legitimacy

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was widely portrayed in the international media as a democrat and a former, who deserved his Nobel Peace prize in October 2019.

His reputation inside Ethiopia was less positive. In June 2019 opposition parties were querying his democratic credentials when the date of the general election due in May 2020 started to be questioned.

As Reuters reported on 21 June 2019: “Opposition politicians in Ethiopia are warning against a delay to national elections due in 2020 that would be the first under reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed but are under threat from an explosion of regional ethnic rivalries.”

The possibility of a postponement when the government mandate expired had nothing to do with Covid-19, as Reuters made clear.

“Earlier this month, the election board said insecurity, which has driven 2.4 million people out of their homes according to the United Nations, could delay next year’s parliament vote. A national census has already been postponed twice, potentially undermining logistics for the polls including the drawing up of constituencies.”

“If the government is going to postpone the general election … it will anger the public,” former political prisoner Merera Gudina told Reuters by phone. He chairs the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress party from a region, Oromia, at the heart of anti-government protests in recent years.

Debretsion Gebremichael, chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and vice president of Tigray regional state, also warned that postponement could have “grave consequences.” The TPLF is part of the governing coalition. “Not holding the election on time … is unconstitutional,” he told a television station. “It means the Ethiopia government after 2020 is illegitimate.”

By 2020 the situation was no better

The Prime Minister continued to lose support and an election looked increasingly unpalatable.

As the Washington Post reported: “Abiy’s platform is particularly unpopular in two ethnic regions: Tigray, in the far north, where power was centered during previous governments before he wrested it away; and his own Oromia, home to the country’s biggest group, the Oromo, who make up at least a third of the national population and whose ethno-nationalist leaders helped Abiy gain power but now want Oromo interests to be put first.”

Prime Minister Abiy was clearly considering postponing the election, which he was not assured of winning. The Economist headline summed up his dilemma. “Ethiopia is entering constitutional limbo. Postponed elections may leave it without a legal government.”

But then the Covid pandemic had arrived, which allowed Prime Minister Abiy to revisit the issue. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has announced that it will be unable to conduct the 2020 national elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the House of Peoples’ Representatives approved the election postponement. Opposition parties protested, pointing out that this was unconstitutional.

Abiy Ahmed responded unequivocally. He would not allow any challenge to the postponement. In a video message the Prime Minister issued a stern warning that his government would take action against anyone who took part in what he described as “Illegal political activities and acts that are threatening to violate the constitution and constitutional order in Ethiopia.” The Prime Minister said his government will do anything necessary to protect and defend the safety of the country and its people.

The statement was rejected by many, including Tigrayans, who felt increasingly marginalized. The president of the Ethiopian parliament, a Tigray politician, resigned after accusing Abiy of authoritarian tendencies. Her party — the TPLF — announced that it would hold regional elections in Tigray. This put Tigray on a collision course with the government.

The build-up to war

Anyone who had followed the situation in the Horn of Africa would have known that tensions between the Tigray region and Addis Ababa had been ratcheting up for months. The peace treaty with Eritrea in 2018 had allowed Prime Minister Abiy to forge an alliance with President Isaias and their plans for a confrontation with Tigray were well advanced.

The Tigray regional government had not helped matters by staging demonstrations in late 2019 and 2020 which prevented heavy weapons from being withdrawn from their northern border with Eritrea. The Tigray elections – a success in themselves – were held in September 2020, despite being ruled illegitimate by the federal election commission.

The last straw perhaps came when the Tigray government rejected an attempt to replace the head of the Northern Command, based in Mekelle with a new commander, General Jumal Muhammad.

The stage was set for war – and everyone knew it.

On 30 October the International Crisis Group published a prescient article entitled: Steering Ethiopia’s Tigray Crisis Away from Conflict. It explained that “A clash over budget transfers is the latest flashpoint in the bitter dispute between Ethiopian federal authorities and their rivals in Tigray. To avoid the standoff triggering a damaging conflict, both sides should back down and embrace comprehensive dialogue.”

On 2nd November – two days before the fighting erupted – the European Union said that: “Developments in Ethiopia are a cause of deep concern. All parties as well as Ethiopia’s neighbours must act to reduce tension, eliminate inflammatory language and abstain from provocative military deployments. Failure to do so risks destabilising the country as well as the wider region.”

How right they were.

Debretsion Gebremichael – President of Tigray Region – went on television on 3rd November, the day before the fighting began, to warn his people to prepare for a looming war. He said repeatedly that the Tigrayan people wanted peace but if war was waged against them, they were prepared to fight and to win.

If these are myths – what is the truth?

A different version of events has now emerged.

This suggests that until very close to the eruption of the conflict on 4 November, the Tigrayan government, led by Debretsion, were not really expecting a war. They had certainly not made adequate preparations for one.

When it appeared that some kind of confrontation was inevitable, the Tigrayan authorities went to the Northern Command to hold a series of talks with the military stationed at the base. The Northern Command was the best armed in the country and had stores of artillery, rockets and ammunition that were necessary to mount a sustained war.

The Tigrayan authorities argued that it was clear that Prime Minister Abiy was about to launch an attack and that Eritrean forces and Amhara militia would also be involved. Some kind of informal agreement was reached with the officers at the base. This would have allowed the Tigrayan Regional Government to have removed the weapons they needed.  from the base.

Many of the troops and their officers agreed with this proposal and the Tigrayans arrived to collect the military equipment. But not everyone in the Northern Command was prepared to accept the terms of the deal and fighting erupted. This allowed Prime Minister Abiy to mount what could be presented as a rescue mission for the besieged troops.

In reality most officers and troops had left the Northern Command and were being housed in Mekelle university. They were well cared for. Food and clean water were provided. Among the troops held at Mekelle university were 741 female soldiers, and sanitary towels were donated for them by local women. The troops were held at Mekelle university for days – at a time when they could have been mown down by the Tigrayans, if they had wanted to.

In the end an agreement was reached with the ICRC – the Red Cross – to allow any of the troops who wanted to leave Mekelle to do so. Some 1,200 – 1,300 took advantage of the offer. They were transferred out of Tigray, to Gondar or Addis Ababa.

In the meantime the conflict had erupted, with Prime Minister Abiy sending the Ethiopian Federal army into Tigray, alongside supported by Eritrean forces and Amhara militia. The war in Tigray had commenced.