OMNA TIGRAY – NOVEMBER 2024 QUARTERLY SITUATION REPORT

November 4, 2024, marks the four-year anniversary of the onset of the Tigray Genocide. On this day in 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war on Tigray, mobilizing the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), and regional militias from Amhara to launch a coordinated attack on Tigray. While the government framed the conflict as a “domestic law-and-order operation,” it has always been a full-scale genocidal war that targeted the Tigrayan people.

Armed forces from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Amhara have carried out a widespread campaign of destruction. Conservative estimates suggest that between 600,000 and 800,000 individuals lost their lives as a result of the violence, atrocity crimes, and siege tactics between November 2021 to December 2022. Civilians in Tigray were subjected to extrajudicial killings, massacres, aerial bombardments, weaponized starvation amid agricultural destruction and the targeted destruction of the health system.

Among the most heinous acts, an estimated 120,000 women and girls have been subjected to widespread and systematic Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). Additionally, millions of people have been displaced by acts of genocide, with countless families still living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Tigray and Ethiopia.

In November 2022, the Ethiopian and Tigrayan governments signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) in Pretoria, South Africa. Although this agreement eased some tensions, a silent genocide under the veil of peace continues to unfold. The Ethiopian government has not upheld its end of the CoHA. Among its failures, it has not protected civilians in occupied and liberated areas nor facilitated the withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara occupying forces from Tigrayan territories. In areas illegally occupied by Eritrean forces, brutal CRSV is commonplace, as are enforced disappearances. In Western Tigray, Amhara forces have mostly successfully completed their campaign of ethnic cleansing, while waves of ethnic cleansing continue in parts of Northwestern Tigray. Given the ongoing occupations, most IDPs have not been able to return home, and those who have, have been met with hostility or forced to leave once again.

The impacts of the active war and genocide are countless. The deliberate destruction of vital infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and other institutions, has left Tigray on the brink of collapse, stripping its people of access to basic necessities and the means to rebuild their lives. The humanitarian crisis deepens, with millions at risk of famine, exacerbated by restricted access to essential humanitarian aid, an inadequate humanitarian response, and drought. Thousands have already perished due to starvation. Lack of immunizations, a debilitated health system, and a lack of tools to prevent and treat infectious diseases have resulted in numerous outbreaks, including those of malaria, cholera, and measles. While facing a hunger and health crisis, everyday life in Tigray is plagued by crimes and lawlessness without a functioning legal and justice system. Women and girls are regularly targeted, kidnapped, assaulted, and killed. The region’s youth are leaving the region in droves as opportunities and hope for a better future are dashed. As this silent genocide unfolds, the Ethiopian government continues to engage in beating the war drum with Tigray, engaging in fear-mongering and aggressive rhetoric. In parallel, Tigray’s leadership has failed to meet people’s needs while engaging in power struggles and divisiveness. Among the biggest failures of the international community and Tigray’s leadership is not facilitating justice and accountability for the countless atrocity crimes and crimes of genocide committed by domestic and international actors alike.

This four-year anniversary is a stark reminder of the devastation wrought by war and genocide. It underscores the urgent need for the international community to engage a culpable Ethiopian government to facilitate long-term solutions to bring peace, justice, and recovery to the region.