February 2021 Gijet massacre

The February 2021 Gijet massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Gijet (Tigrinya: ጊጀት) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 22 February 2021.[1] Gijet is the capital of woreda Saharti, Southwestern zone of Tigray. In peace time, Gijet is known for its’ incense market.[2]

Gijet massacre
Part of Tigray War
Gijet
Gijet
Location of Gijet in Tigray (Ethiopia)
LocationGijet (Tigrinya: ጊጀት), Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date22 February 2021
TargetTigrayans
Attack type
Deaths195 civilians
Perpetrators Ethiopian National Defence Force

Massacre

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed 195 civilians in a massive attack on Gijet (Southeastern Tigray) on 22 February 2021,[1] in which at least 500 homesteads were burned down.[3] DX Open Network, a research organization based in the U.K., analysed Planet Labs imagery, taken before and after the attack. The imagery showed at least 508 structures that had been destroyed by fire, as evidenced by the blackening of earth and vegetation, ash circles indicative of collapse of the thatched roofs of roundavels, and debris from collapsed walls.[3]

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.[4]

Perpetrators

Reuters reported the perpetrators of this massacre as being Ethiopian soldiers.[3]

Reactions

Mulu Nega, head of Tigray's interim administration, appointed by the Ethiopian government, said he had sent a team to Gijet to investigate.[3] The Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation,[1] that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists massacres in the Tigray War.[4][5][6][7]

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.[8] The EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation reported victims of shelling and massacres in this locality, without going into much detail.[9]

See also

References
  1. Annys, S., Vanden Bempt, T., Negash, E., De Sloover, L., Ghekiere, R., Haegeman, K., Temmerman, D., Nyssen, J., 2021. Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation, version 2.1. Ghent (Belgium): Ghent University, Department of Geography Archived 2021-10-13 at archive.today
  2. Tasha Moens, Miro Jacob and Sil Lanckriet, 2019: Boswellia Incense in the Giba River Gorge
  3. Reuters, 25 February 2021: Hundreds of buildings burned around Tigray town, research group says
  4. The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in TigrayArchived 2021-10-15 at archive.today
  5. EuroNews, 2 April 2021 – See film embedded in the news item: G7 'seriously concerned' about human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  6. CBC, 2 April 2021: As It Happens: The Friday Edition (from 28:00 to 35:30) Tigray, Ethiopia Massacre Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  7. The Guardian, 2 April 2021: Ethiopia: 1,900 people killed in massacres in Tigray identified Archived 2021-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Tibebu, Israel (2021-11-03). "Report of the EHRC/OHCHR Joint Investigation into Alleged Violations of International Human Rights, Humanitarian and Refugee Law Committed by all Parties to the Conflict in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (PDF). EHRC, OHCHR. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
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