Connect with us

Summary

Is the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) less involved in atrocities in Tigray?

Gathering the massacres committed by the ENDFs may remind us of the scope of the human suffering, the scale of the war and the depth of the malevolence (ca.’Choose – I kill you or rape you’) of the ENDFs and the ingenuity and mercilessness (ca.’save yourselves’) of their evil acts. Any particular case of massacre or rape or other war crimes that you encounter on the media is only a part, a small one, of a carnage that has lasted for five months.

Published

on

The war on Tigray has multiple parties (the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), the Eritrean forces and the Amhara Forces) with multiple motives (ranging from regime change to land grabbing to ethnic cleansing to wanton extermination of the people of Tigray).

This has complicated an already complex state of affairs.  On the receiving end, the people of Tigray are being killed by all invaders, each with their own ingenuity of radical evil.

The ENDFs have committed all kinds of crimes such as extrajudicial killings, massacres, rape, looting, pillaging and starvation, as have the Eritrean soldiers and the Amhara forces. 

More than 90% of the victims identified were male. Among incidents where blame can be confidently determined, Ethiopian soldiers appear to have been responsible for 14% of the killings, Eritrean troops who have fought alongside federal forces 45%, and irregular paramilitaries from the neighbouring province of Amhara 5%. Witnesses blamed Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers operating together in 18% of cases.

Source: The Guardian 

It is likely that each new case of massacre is overshadowing other massacres in other parts of Tigray, at other times, by the rest of the invaders. The Ethiopian forces have committed war crimes and are still killing civilians as much as (if not worse than) the Eritrean soldiers and the Amhara forces have done. None is less evil. Only the active story on the front pages is temporarily overshadowing the rest. 

Gathering the massacres committed by the ENDFs may remind us of the scope of the human suffering, the scale of the war and the depth of the malevolence (ca.’Choose – I kill you or rape you‘) of the ENDFs and the ingenuity and mercilessness (ca.‘save yourselves’) of their evil acts. Any particular case of massacre or rape or other war crimes that you encounter on the media is only a part, a small one, of a carnage that has lasted for five months. 

The Massacre in Mahbere Dego

The BBC and CNN have covered the harrowing reports of deliberate, recorded and verified mass killings of at least 34 civilian men (probably more as locals said 39 men were missing). It is only natural to be shocked and to condemn this in the strongest terms possible because it is a grave war crime. In the mean time, thousands of equally innocent civilians succumb to the equally merciless and well meditated acts of terror by the same Ethiopian military. 

Each reported case of massacre should remind us that there are hundreds of other similar or worse cases, instead of overshadowing them.

The Massacre in Debre Abay

On 5 and 6 January, at least thirty men were massacred who can be seen in a graphic footage in Debre Abay. Tghat reported the footage until France 24 published this story a month later. 

The Massacre in Bora Selowa

Between 8 and 10 January, more than 100 people were massacred in Bora Selewa, Southern Tigray. This hasn’t been covered by international media partly because it has been overshadowed by other similar massacres. 

The Massacre in Adi Hageray

An eyewitness recounted that on 12 November 2020, Ethiopian troops came to the town and killed anyone and everyone they found on their way. 

The Massacre in Chercher

Tghat has documented on December 12, last year, that once the Ethiopian forces entered the town of Chercher, they massacred about 70 young men assuming they were TPLF sympathizers.

The Killings in Bisober

Bisober is a farming village where the ENDFs, on November 14, separated men from the women in the village and shot them dead.

Indiscriminate Shelling

The ENDFs stand accused of indiscriminate shelling of densely populated residence and civilian neighborhoods of many cities and towns.

Ethiopian federal forces carried out apparently indiscriminate shelling of urban areas in the Tigray region in November 2020 in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Artillery attacks at the start of the armed conflict struck homes, hospitals, schools, and markets in the city of Mekelle, and the towns of Humera and Shire, killing at least 83 civilians, including children, and wounding over 300.

Source: Human Rights Watch

This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Just like the Eritrean army, the Ethiopian army has committed crimes of horrifying massacres, executions, killings, and indiscriminate shelling of civilians and civilian infrastructures, and rape of Tigrayan women and girls. It is no less involved in crimes than the Eritrean and Amhara forces, and attempts to present it as better are either wrong or disingenuous.

Amare is an economist from Tigray. He is interested in behavioral economics, psychology, philosophy and politics.

Continue Reading
3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. SycophantS & mercenaries should be exposed

    April 6, 2021 at 8:36 am

     በዉጭ ለሚኖሩ ተጋሩ ማሳሰቢያ አለኝ እነርሱ የማያዉቁት ሰዉ ባዩ ቁጥር ባንዳ ነህ ወዘተ ቆይ በቤተሰብህ ታገኘዋለህ ፓታቲ ፓታታ በማለት እነርሱ የማያዉቁትን ትግራዋይን በመወንጀል ሀገር እና ወገን ወዳድ መስሎ ለመታየት የሚደረገዉ ዉንጀላ አቁሙልን ፥በተማህፅኖ እንጠይቃችኋለን፥፥የናንተ ማስፈራሪያ ከንቱ ነዉ አቅም ካለ አገር ገብቶ በመታገል ለሀገር እና ወገን ያለንን ፍቅር መግለፅ ይቻላል፥፥ባንዳ የሚለዉን ቃል አለ ቦታዉና አለ ጊዜዉ ብሎም አላግባቡ በመጠቀም ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታና በግላዊ ጠብ የመነጨ ቂም መወጣጫ አድርገዉት ይታያሉ፥በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ ለመፃፍ የተፈለገዉ በተደጋጋሚ ጊዜያት የተስተዋለዉ የጠብ አጫሪነት ባህሪን ለማስቆም በማሰብ ዉ፥፥ በግል ስሜታዊነትና ቂም ጊዜ የወለደዉን የዘመኑ ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታ የዋሉ ቃላትን የግል ተበዳይን ለማቁሰል እንደ ብረት ዘንግ መጠቀም የፍራቻ ስሜትን ያንፀባርቃል ፥የራስን የብሔር አባላት ያለ አግባቡ ለአመፅ በማነሳሳት መጠቀሚያ ማድረግ የፈሪነት ምልክት ነዉ፥፥በሽወደን የሚገኙ አለቅላቂ ተጋሩ ን ባዮች ይህንን ፖለቲካ ለግል ጥቅም ሲያዉሉት አስተዉያለሁ፥በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ትግራዋይነት ለኔ አንድ ግለሰብ ወይም የፖለቲካ ልሂቅ ሊሰጠኝና ሲያሻውም ሊነጥቀኝ የሚችል ዜግነት አይደለም ከወላጆቻችን የወረስዉ ማንነት ነዉ፥ ነጣቂና ሰጪ ነን ባዮችም (ፖለቲከኞቹም ቢሆኑ)ሀላፊ ናቸዉ፥፥ መናናቅ እኔ እበልጥ እኔ እበልጥ ማለቱ ለጋራ ማንነት ና እድገት እንቅፋት ነዉ፥፥እዉነት ለትግራይ የምናስብ ከሆነ ወገናችንን እንደራሳችን እንየዉ፥ትግራይ ትግራይ ማለቱ ለፖለቲካ ትርፍ ና ለዩትዩብ ገቢና ራስን በመገናኛ ብዙሀን መስኮት ለማስተዋወቅ ከሆነ ብላሽ ነዉዉ፥፥የቀድሞዉን የአድግራት የአድዋ እያሉ ትግራዋይን የመከፋፈል ፥ቤተሰብ ተኮር አጀንዳቹ ከዉሥጣችን ሳይወጣ ሌላ አጀንዳ ይራቹህ ለግል ጥቅማቹ የማታዉቁትን ሰዉ እንደለመደባቹ እንደ ከልብ አትናከሱ፤፤የቀድሞ አስተኳሾች፥ ተላላኪዎች በመሆናቹ ወደ ዉጭ ተልካቹሀል፥ደሀዉ ነባር ታጋዩ ትግራዋይ የሚደግፈዉ አጥትቶ ገጠር ገብቶ እርሻ ተሰማርቶ መከራዉን ሲያይ እንደ ተክ(ኽ)ሊት በሪሁ(Teklit Berihu, Tilahun Gebresilasie Kahsay,(Dalarna university Borlange),Solomon Kahsai or Kahasi(Zurich Warsaw University , Welemhret Welay(251924281242)TeklitBerihu(46700452894)፥ጥላሁን ገብረስላሴ ሶሎሞን(ሶሎሚን )ካህሳይ ያሉት አስተኳሾች የቀድሞዉ አመላቸዉ አልለቅ ቢላቸዉ ከሀገር ዉጭ ሆነዉ ባንዳ የሚል የዘመኑ ፖለቲካዊ ቃላት ለግል ጥቅማዉ ትኩረትን ለመሳብና ሀገር ወገን ወዳድ መስሎ ለመታየት ያለ አግባቡ ሲጠቀሙበት ወነጅሉ ይታያሉ፥፥ እኛ በነዚህ ተልካሻ ሰዎች ምክንያት እነዚህን ለማጥቃት ስንል ለወገናችን ለርህሩሁ ትግራዋይ ናለትግራይ ጠላት አንሆንም፥ይህንን የምታስተጋቡ እንደ ትግራይ ኦንላይን ያላቹህ ዎች ተቆጠቡልን ፥፥በግል ቂም ባንዳ ብሎ መፈረጅ እብደት የፈሪነት ምልክት ነዉ የሌላዉን ድጋፍ በመሻት ሀገር ወዳድ መስሎ ለመቅረብ ናቸዉ፥በነዚህ ተልካሻ ሰዎች ምክያት ሕዝባችን የመከራ ገፈት ይቀምሳል፤፤እነዚህ ትግራይን አይወክሉም በዩቱብ ገንዘብ ሲሉ ትግራይን እንደግፋለን እንደሚሉ ኤርትራዉያን ና ሌሎችንም ይመስላሉ፥

    በዉጭ ለሚኖሩ ተጋሩ ማሳሰቢያ አለኝ እነርሱ የማያዉቁት ሰዉ ባዩ ቁጥር ባንዳ ነህ ወዘተ ቆይ በቤተሰብህ ታገኘዋለህ ፓታቲ ፓታታ በማለት እነርሱ የማያዉቁትን ትግራዋይን በመወንጀል ሀገር እና ወገን ወዳድ መስሎ ለመታየት የሚደረገዉ ዉንጀላ አቁሙልን ፥በተማህፅኖ እንጠይቃችኋለን፥፥የናንተ ማስፈራሪያ ከንቱ ነዉ አቅም ካለ አገር ገብቶ በመታገል ለሀገር እና ወገን ያለንን ፍቅር መግለፅ ይቻላል፥፥ባንዳ የሚለዉን ቃል አለ ቦታዉና አለ ጊዜዉ ብሎም አላግባቡ በመጠቀም ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታና በግላዊ ጠብ የመነጨ ቂም መወጣጫ አድርገዉት ይታያሉ፥በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ ለመፃፍ የተፈለገዉ በተደጋጋሚ ጊዜያት የተስተዋለዉ የጠብ አጫሪነት ባህሪን ለማስቆም በማሰብ ዉ፥፥ በግል ስሜታዊነትና ቂም ጊዜ የወለደዉን የዘመኑ ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታ የዋሉ ቃላትን የግል ተበዳይን ለማቁሰል እንደ ብረት ዘንግ መጠቀም የፍራቻ ስሜትን ያንፀባርቃል ፥የራስን የብሔር አባላት ያለ አግባቡ ለአመፅ በማነሳሳት መጠቀሚያ ማድረግ የፈሪነት ምልክት ነዉ፥፥በሽወደን የሚገኙ አለቅላቂ ተጋሩ ን ባዮች ይህንን ፖለቲካ ለግል ጥቅም ሲያዉሉት አስተዉያለሁ፥በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ትግራዋይነት ለኔ አንድ ግለሰብ ወይም የፖለቲካ ልሂቅ ሊሰጠኝና ሲያሻውም ሊነጥቀኝ የሚችል ዜግነት አይደለም ከወላጆቻችን የወረስዉ ማንነት ነዉ፥ ነጣቂና ሰጪ ነን ባዮችም (ፖለቲከኞቹም ቢሆኑ)ሀላፊ ናቸዉ፥፥

    መናናቅ እኔ እበልጥ እኔ እበልጥ ማለቱ ለጋራ ማንነት ና እድገት እንቅፋት ነዉ፥፥እዉነት ለትግራይ የምናስብ ከሆነ ወገናችንን እንደራሳችን እንየዉ፥ትግራይ ትግራይ ማለቱ ለፖለቲካ ትርፍ ና ለዩትዩብ ገቢና ራስን በመገናኛ ብዙሀን መስኮት ለማስተዋወቅ ከሆነ ብላሽ ነዉዉ፥፥የቀድሞዉን የአድግራት የአድዋ እያሉ ትግራዋይን የመከፋፈል ፥ቤተሰብ ተኮር አጀንዳቹ ከዉሥጣችን ሳይወጣ ሌላ አጀንዳ ይራቹህ ለግል ጥቅማቹ የማታዉቁትን ሰዉ እንደለመደባቹ እንደ ከልብ አትናከሱ፤፤የቀድሞ አስተኳሾች፥ ተላላኪዎች በመሆናቹ ወደ ዉጭ ተልካቹሀል፥ደሀዉ ነባር ታጋዩ ትግራዋይ የሚደግፈዉ አጥትቶ  ገጠር ገብቶ እርሻ ተሰማርቶ መከራዉን ሲያይ እንደ ተክ(ኽ)ሊት በሪሁ፥ጥላሁን ገብረስላሴ  ሶሎሞን(ሶሎሚን )ካህሳይ ያሉት አስተኳሾች የቀድሞዉ አመላቸዉ አልለቅ ቢላቸዉ ከሀገር ዉጭ ሆነዉ ባንዳ የሚል የዘመኑ ፖለቲካዊ ቃላት ለግል ጥቅማዉ ትኩረትን ለመሳብና ሀገር ወገን ወዳድ መስሎ ለመታየት ያለ አግባቡ ሲጠቀሙበት ወነጅሉ ይታያሉ፥፥ እኛ በነዚህ ተልካሻ ሰዎች ምክንያት እነዚህን ለማጥቃት ስንል ለወገናችን ለርህሩሁ ትግራዋይ ናለትግራይ ጠላት አንሆንም፥ይህንን የምታስተጋቡ  እንደ ትግራይ ኦንላይን ያላቹህ ዎች ተቆጠቡልን ፥፥በግል ቂም ባንዳ ብሎ መፈረጅ እብደት የፈሪነት ምልክት ነዉ የሌላዉን ድጋፍ በመሻት ሀገር ወዳድ መስሎ ለመቅረብ ናቸዉ፥በነዚህ ተልካሻ ሰዎች ምክያት ሕዝባችን የመከራ ገፈት ይቀምሳል፤፤እነዚህ ትግራይን አይወክሉም በዩቱብ ገንዘብ ሲሉ ትግራይን እንደግፋለን እንደሚሉ ኤርትራዉያን ና ሌሎችንም ይመስላሉ፥

    These thugs named above lives in Sweden and pretend to be patriotic tegaru by defaming people and threatening family members .የቴሬሪስ ስታይል ብቀላ መሆኑ ነዉ ቤተሰብ የሚያስፈራሩት ከየት የተቀዳ አካሄድ ነዉ፥ሀገርወዳድ መስሎ የግል እከይ ለማራመድ መሯሯጥ የቀድሞ ሥርዓት አለቅላቂዎች ለህዝባችን እንጂ ለፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ለሥርዓቱ ጥብቅና አንቆምም  We will not work with any diaspora tegaru who chose this kind of treacherous manner and will not participate in any go fund me EVENT or demonstration. We do not want  showy attitude but we help our people wholeheartedly and sincerely as they are our flesh and blood but not for political agenda and collect pennies from youtube.

  2. Mebratu

    April 4, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    I just want this to end. Our people are suffering so much.

  3. Baki

    April 4, 2021 at 11:51 am

    Choose – I kill you or I rape you blows my mind that a rapist can give you a choice like this. It’s like he is negotiating your defiling.

    A rapist by the nature of the act is an act of violence. He could rape and kill her or kill and rape her. A rapist is a sadist that doesn’t allow you to choose by his very nature.

    All this to say, I kill you or I rape you is a coercion tale for western media

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.