Midri Hamsho shelling

The Midri Hamsho massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Midri Hamsho (Tigrinya: ሚድሪ ሃምሾ) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 31 December 2020.[1] Midri Hamsho is a village that belongs to woreda Dima, northwestern zone of Tigray.

Midri Hamsho in the vast rugged lands on the left bank of the Tekezé River
Midri Hamsho massacre
Part of Tigray War
Midri Hamsho
Midri Hamsho
Location of Midri Hamsho in Tigray (Ethiopia)
LocationMidri Hamsho (Tigrinya: ሚድሪ ሃምሾ), Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date31 December 2020
TargetTigrayans
Attack type
Deathsat least 6 civilians
Perpetrators Ethiopian National Defence Force

Massacre

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed at least six civilians in Midri Hamsho (northwestern Tigray) on 31 December 2020.[1] Midri Hamsho is a very remote place, on the footslopes of the Simien Mountains, near the Tekezé River. A rare mention of the village, before the war, was in 2019, when a hand pump was installed for the community by the Relief Society of Tigray.[2] The only detailed information of the massacre that became known regards a family of six (grandmother, 2 daughters, 3 granddaughters) killed in their house by artillery shelling. Fate of the other inhabitants of the village is unknown.[3]

Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian 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

Relatives interpreted the identity of the perpetrators as Ethiopian soldiers.[3]

Victims

The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation” mentions six victims,[1] which have been identified.[3]

Reactions

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]

References
  1. Annys, S., Vanden Bempt, T., Negash, E., De Sloover, L., Nyssen, J., 2021. Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation
  2. Charity Water Midri Hamsho
  3. TGHAT, A compilation of the verified list of civilian victims from different sources
  4. The World radio (2 April 2021): Counting the victims in Tigray
  5. EuroNews, 2 April 2021 – See film embedded in the news item: G7 'seriously concerned' about human rights violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region
  6. CBC, 2 April 2021: As It Happens: The Friday Edition (from 28:00 to 35:30) Tigray, Ethiopia Massacre
  7. The Guardian, 2 April 2021: Ethiopia: 1,900 people killed in massacres in Tigray identified
  8. France24, 18 March 2021: UN rights chief agrees to joint Tigray probe
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