Galikoma massacre

The Galikoma massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Galikoma in the Afar Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 5 August 2021.[1] Galikoma is a village that belongs to the Golina woreda of Fanti zone in Afar Region.

Galikoma massacre
Part of Tigray War
Galikoma
Location of Galikoma in Ethiopia
LocationGalikoma, Afar Region, Ethiopia
Date5 August 2021
TargetAfar people
Attack type
Deaths12 civilians
Injured46 civilians
Perpetrators Ethiopian National Defence Force and/or
Tigray Defense Forces

Massacre

During shelling between the Tigray Defense Forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) 12 civilians were killed in Galikoma (zone 4 of Afar Region) on 5 August.[1]

There are unconfirmed reports of an attack on 5 August, on a health center and school in Galikoma Kabele in Fenti Zone. In addition, a warehouse was reportedly ransacked.[2] It has not been possible to access the zone to verify the information, on numbers of people killed. However, 46 people were transferred to Dufti hospital in Semera, with mild to severe injuries.
— UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ethiopia - Tigray Region Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 13 August 2021, [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] The Galikoma massacre seems the result of crossfire between warring factions.[3][5]

Damage to infrastructure

In the nearby Namaara sub-district, a warehouse was burnt due to warfare.[2][3]

Perpetrators

A spokesman for the Afar regional administration blamed Tigrayan forces,[5] whereas a statement of the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (UGUGUMO) attributed the responsibility to the ENDF.[6]

Victims

A hospital doctor confirmed the 12 deaths to the BBC.[5]

Reactions

Prosperity Party officials in Afar Region estimated the number of killed people as "hundreds", "including more than 100 children". They mentioned that a relief camp for internally displaced people was attacked.[7]

After months of denial by the Ethiopian authorities that massacres occurred in the Tigray War, a joint investigation by OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was announced in March 2021, with outcomes unknown.[8] However, on 10 August, the EHRC very rapidly deployed a team to Galikoma.[9]

The spokesperson of the Tigray Regional Government, Getachew Reda, said that government troops launched an offensive against TDF on 5 August in Galikoma, and that they will "work with relevant bodies to investigate any incident that may have occurred."[10]

See also

References
  1. Al Jazeera, 10 August 2021. Ethiopia calls on civilians to join army to fight Tigray forces
  2. Photographs of the burning warehouse were published and geolocated at 12.202875°N, 40.237088°E by @FijianArmadillo on Twitter (6 August 2021)
  3. Ethiopia - Tigray Region Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 13 August 2021
  4. The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray
  5. BBC, 9 August 2021: Attack on Ethiopian health centre kills at least 12
  6. "The Afar Revolutionary Democratic United Front (UGUGUMO) condemn the massacre of over 200 innocent Afar". Ayyaantuu News. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  7. The East African, 10 August 2021: Ethiopia: Shock of more than a hundred children killed at IDP camp
  8. France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe
  9. Press Release by Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, 10 August 2021
  10. AFP, 10 August 2021: 12 killed in attack in Ethiopia's Afar region: doctor
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