SITUATION REPORT November 2022 November 2022 marks two years since the start of the genocidal war on Tigray, the deadliest conflict in the world today. It officially began when the Ethiopian government, allied with the Eritrean Government and regional forces from neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, declared war on the seven million people and government of Tigray on November 4, 2020.

Over the last two years, an estimated 600,000 Tigrayans have died and over 60,000 Tigrayans have fled as refugees to Sudan. Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara forces have committed horrific atrocities including ethnic cleansing, rape as a weapon of war and massacres. The situation is even more dire for the Irob and Kunama peoples, who are minority groups within Tigray. For more than a year, the Ethiopian government has also enacted a deadly siege, blocking the flow of aid into the region. Hundreds of thousands in Tigray are in a man-made famine, while millions more are on the brink.

A peace agreement was signed between the Ethiopian government and Tigray People's Liberation Front on November 3, 2022. However, the Ethiopian government continues to commit atrocities in Tigray. It is therefore vital that Eritrean forces are immediately removed from Ethiopia and that the Ethiopian government’s actions align with its rhetoric. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NOVEMBER 2022 SITUATION REPORT - 2 YEARS OF GENOCIDE The impact of a rocket on Dejena hotel in Shire, northern Tigray, in November 2020. Aerial attacks and shelling took place across Tigray at the start of the war to terrorize the population into submission. Indiscriminate shelling
and bombardment One-year-old Eldana. One of the victims of the Ethiopian government’s airstrike on the busy Togoga marketplace on June 22, 2021. Over 60 people were killed.

Tselat, Eldana’s mother, waits while her daughter receives treatment after being hurt in the airstrike. Indiscriminate shelling
and bombardment Tigrayan civilians faced clouds of black smoke from the aftermath of an airstrike in Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, on October 20, 2021. Tigrayan civilians faced clouds of black smoke from the aftermath of an airstrike in Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, on October 20, 2021. This attack took place amid an intensification of aerial attacks in October 2021, as Tigray Defense Forces were making military gains. Ethiopian forces turned to committing atrocities against civilians as a strategy to win a war being lost on the ground. Damage from an Ethiopian government airstrike which hit a kindergarten in Mekelle, Tigray, and resulted in the death of several children on August 26, 2022. Damage from an Ethiopian government airstrike which hit a kindergarten in Mekelle, Tigray, and resulted in the death of several children on August 26, 2022. This attack came as the Ethiopian government broke a 5-month-long ceasefire. A child after being bombed by the Ethiopian government while sheltering in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs). The Ethiopian government has bombed IDP camps on more than one occasion, constituting a war crime. In this instance, on January 7, 2022, in Dedebit, Northwestern Tigray, 56 people were killed. A child after being bombed by the Ethiopian government while sheltering in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs). The Tekeze River is a critical site of transit for those escaping the deadly violence and ethnic cleansing occurring in Western Tigray. The Tekeze River is a critical site of transit for those escaping the deadly violence and ethnic cleansing occurring in Western Tigray. After crossing the river, Tigrayans are processed as refugees in UNHCR sites in Sudan. Displacement Hamdayet, Sudan. When Ethiopian and allied forces first invaded Tigray from all sides, tens of thousands of people flooded into Sudan within two weeks. Hamdayet, Sudan. When Ethiopian and allied forces first invaded Tigray from all sides, tens of thousands of people flooded into Sudan within two weeks. Refugee camps were not set up and equipped to shelter and care for traumatized and wounded Tigrayans coming across the border. Many of their basic needs remain unmet today. Many health professionals displaced by the genocidal war on Tigray continue to serve their communities in refugee camps with the limited resources available. Many Tigrayans in Sudan require medical care due to physical attacks, including weaponized sexual violence. Dr. Tewodros Tefera,
Refugee doctor Abraha, formerly a resident of Mai Kadra in Western Tigray, fled to Sudan after losing his wife to birth-related health complications. Abraha, formerly a resident of Mai Kadra in Western Tigray, fled to Sudan after losing his wife to birth-related health complications. Abraha made the journey to Sudan with five children, two of whom were newborn twin girls. Forcibly displaced Tigrayan men sit outside at night attempting to secure network connection on their cell phones. Tigrayan families have been separated by borders and the ongoing telecommunications blackout within Tigray, preventing those in Sudan from connecting with loved ones to confirm their safety and security. Forcibly displaced Tigrayan men sit outside at night attempting to secure network connection on their cell phones. In Tigray, IDPs depend on their host communities to meet their basic needs; Tigray has been suffocated under a brutal siege and a humanitarian blockade since July 2021. In Tigray, IDPs depend on their host communities to meet their basic needs; however, as Tigray has been suffocated under a brutal siege and a humanitarian blockade since July 2021–host communities struggle to meet their own needs. A Tigrayan woman, displaced from her home to a refugee camp in Sudan, comforts her child suffering from malnutrition in December 2020. Food insecurity in Tigray has only worsened as the war and humanitarian blockade has continued for 2 years, while food shortages in refugee camps have been reported. Famine A Tigrayan woman, displaced from her home to a refugee camp in Sudan, comforts her child suffering from malnutrition in December 2020. Tigsti Mahderekal, 20 days old, with her mother Abeba Gebru from the village of Getskimilesley in a medical treatment tent in Abbi Adi, May 2021. Abeba walked 12 days to get Tigsti to the clinic, saying of the journey, “she only survived because I held her close to my womb and kept hiding during the exhausting journey.” Tigsti Mahderekal, 20 days old, with her mother Abeba Gebru from the village of Getskimilesley in a medical treatment tent in Abbi Adi, May 2021. Natan receives high-energy biscuits to prevent malnutrition while sheltering at Meserete high school in Mekelle, June 2021. Natan Hailay (7-months-old) and his family were displaced from their home in Setit Humera, Western Tigray. Natan Hailay (7-months-old) receives high-energy biscuits to prevent malnutrition while sheltering at Meserete high school in Mekelle, June 2021. His family were displaced from their home in Setit Humera, Western Tigray. Humanitarian services to address food insecurity in the region became even more limited in July 2021, after the Ethiopian government and its allies imposed a complete siege.
Young women in the village of Merebmieti, South of Mekelle, May 2021. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war in November 2020, shortly before the harvest season, which disrupted agricultural activities. Disruptions continued as farming was prohibited in occupied areas and Ethiopian authorities prevented seeds and fertilizers from entering the region. Young women in the village of Merebmieti, South of Mekelle, May 2021. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war in November 2020, shortly before the harvest season, which disrupted agricultural activities. Brkti Gebrehiwot (20 years old), and her one year and eight-month-old son Aamanuel Merhawi, who is suffering from severe acute malnutrition at a hospital in Wukro, July 2021.

Brkti and Aamanuel are from the town of Agulae, which was occupied by Eritrean troops who have been especially brutal and destructive in accomplishing their genocidal project. A severely malnourished baby receives care at a UNICEF-support health unit at Ayder Referral and Specialized hospital in Mekelle, Tigray, 2021 Abrahaley Minasbo,
survivor of the Mai-Kadra massacre Mothers and children line up for UNICEF-run health screenings in Adikeh, Wajirat district, July 2021. Women mourning the loss of their loved ones who were victims of a massacre in the village of Dengolat, Tigray, perpetrated by Eritrean troops. Massacres The mother at the center of the picture holds up pictures of the children she lost in the Mariam Dengolat massacre. Young men were especially targeted by invading forces–an order which the Eritrean government has updated to include all males in Tigray in their most recent offensive. The mother at the center of the picture holds up pictures of the children she lost in the Mariam Dengolat massacre. Fetlework Amaha (left) and Abeba Girmay (center) sit on the grave of their loved ones at Abune Aregawi church, in Abiy Addi, Tigray. One of Fetlework’s cousins and four of Abeba’s nephews were murdered while farming on the outskirts of Abiy Addi. Families were not allowed to mourn the deaths of their loved ones. Fetlework Amaha (left) and Abeba Girmay (center) sit on the grave of their loved ones at Abune Aregawi church, in Abiy Addi, Tigray. An elderly woman having fled from the town of Shire to the city of Axum to seek safety, wounded during an attack on the city, sits with her head bandaged. Days later she died of her injuries. She fled the Axum massacre, in which Eritrean soldiers killed “many hundreds” according to Amnesty International, only to be attacked in Shire. Families were often forbidden from holding religious funerals for their loved ones and had to bury people in mass graves whenever they could. Mass
Graves Araya Gebretekle is pictured mourning his four sons, who were executed while harvesting millet in his fields, near the town of Abiy Addi. A Mourning Father Araya Gebretekle is pictured mourning his four sons, who were executed while harvesting millet in his fields, near the town of Abiy Addi. A Mourning Father Senayit* was raped by soldiers on two separate occasions - in her home in Edagahamus, and as she tried to flee to Mekelle with her 12-year-old son. The second time, she was pulled from a minibus, drugged, and brought to a military base, where she was tied to a tree and sexually assaulted. Senayit* was raped by soldiers on two separate occasions - in her home in Edagahamus, and as she tried to flee to Mekelle with her 12-year-old son. The second time, she was pulled from a minibus, drugged, and brought to a military base, where she was tied to a tree and sexually assaulted repeatedly over the course of 10 days. At one point, she awoke to find her son, along with a woman and her new baby, dead at her feet. Conflict-Related
Sexual Violence A 40-year-old woman held captive and repeatedly raped by 15 Eritrean soldiers over a period of a week in a remote village near the Eritrea border, photographed at a hospital in Mekelle, in May 2021.

“They talked to each other. Some of them: ‘We kill her.’ Some of them: ‘No, no. Rape is enough for her,’” she recalls. She said one of the soldiers told her: "This season is our season, not your season. This is the time for us." A 40-year-old woman held captive and repeatedly raped by 15 Eritrean soldiers over a period of a week in a remote village near the Eritrea border, photographed at a hospital in Mekelle, in May 2021.

“They talked to each other. Some of them: ‘We kill her.’ Some of them: ‘No, no. Rape is enough for her,’” she recalls. She said one of the soldiers told her: "This season is our season, not your season. This is the time for us." Soldiers raped Shewit in front of her children. “I told them, ‘I am HIV-positive. Be careful, please don’t do this.’ They didn’t care. They didn’t even use protection.”

They said, “The Tigrayan race must be eliminated.” Sexual violence as
a weapon of genocide Soldiers raped Shewit in front of her children. “I told them, ‘I am HIV-positive. Be careful, please don’t do this.’ They didn’t care. They didn’t even use protection.” Sexual violence as
a weapon of genocide A Tigrayan woman who was gang raped by Amhara fighters, stands for a portrait in eastern Sudan, near the border with Tigray, Ethiopia, on March 23, 2021. 18-year-old Mona Lisa is pictured as she recuperates in a hospital in Mekelle in April 2021. The teenager has survived an attempted rape that left her with seven gunshot wounds and amputations. 19-year-old Rahel is at Abiy Addi Hospital because she fell pregnant after Ethiopian soldiers raped her. 19-year-old Rahel is at Abiy Addi Hospital because she fell pregnant after Ethiopian soldiers raped her. “They did this to eliminate Tigrayans, and for the generations of babies delivered to be Ethiopian, because they don’t want the next generation to be Tigrayan,” she says. “I am waiting to abort this baby”. Ethnic cleansing Satellite image collected of the town of Adebai, in Tigray’s western administrative zone. Amnesty International’s analysis shows an overview of locations of damage and a possible detention site. From the start of the war in November 2020, Amhara forces started their ethnic cleansing campaign mass arresting and detaining Tigrayans. In these sites, Tigrayans were tortured and executed. Satellite image collected of the town of Adebai, in Tigray’s western administrative zone. From the relative stability of a shelter near the Sudan-Ethiopia border, Abrahaley Minasbo, a Tigrayan survivor of the Mai-Kadra massacre, shows his wounds sustained from machetes yielded by Fano Amhara militias, December 2021. Abrahaley Minasbo,
survivor of the Mai-Kadra massacre Abrahaley Minasbo,
survivor of the Mai-Kadra massacre Per an investigation conducted by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, these sketches were developed based on testimonies. (Left) Amhara security forces rounded up Tigrayans in Western Tigray and forcibly transferred them east, towards Northwestern Tigray. (Right) Mesfin, one of the men rounded up, said: “They took us… somewhere around the bridge, a kind of field, but we were on the ground. ... We were facing a hill.” Western Tigray Per an investigation conducted by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, these sketches were developed based on testimonies. (Left) Amhara security forces rounded up Tigrayans in Western Tigray and forcibly transferred them east, towards Northwestern Tigray. CNN documents Tigrayans in Sudan collecting bodies of victims of ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray from the Tekeze River–many of which show signs of torture and had their hands tied behind their backs. CNN documents Tigrayans in Sudan collecting bodies of victims of ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray from the Tekeze River–many of which show signs of torture and had their hands tied behind their backs. At the time of the investigation, the team of excavators had collected 60 bodies. In remembrance of massacre victims from Tigray’s Irob minority, a man is holding a poster with pictures of those slain by Eritrean forces at the beginning of the war. In early November 2020, 75 individuals from Tigray’s Irob minority were massacred. Video #IrobMassacre victims' Families Witness Accounts An estimated 35,000 Irob people live in semi-arid mountainous areas in Tigray state's northeastern corner at the Ethiopia-Eritrea border. Video(right) #IrobMassacre victims' Families Witness Accounts. #IrobMassacre victims' Families Witness Accounts List of Irob disappeared by Eritrean forces during the 1998 to 2000 Ethio-Eritrean war, as well as those massacred during the Irob massacre that took place between January 4th and 8th, 2021 with a backdrop of mountains of Irob. Members of the minority Kunama community in the Tigray region who were displaced after coming under heavy attacks were featured on the local DW TV. The Tigrayan Kunamas who number about 10,000 have been targeted by Eritrean forces with the extent to exterminate the population. Many have been displaced suffering without food. Members of the minority Kunama community in the Tigray region who were displaced after coming under heavy attacks were featured on the local DW TV. The Tigrayan Kunamas who number about 10,000 have been targeted by Eritrean forces A convoy of World Food Programme trucks stand still on a winding road in the mountains of Afar. The siege imposed on Tigray has prevented humanitarian aid from entering the region. A convoy of World Food Programme trucks stand still on a winding road in the mountains of Afar. The siege imposed on Tigray has prevented humanitarian aid from entering the region, exacerbating a deadly food and healthcare crisis. Siege Health facilities across Tigray were deliberately looted and vandalized by occupying Ethiopian and Eritrean forces. Militarized forces seized ambulances, broke windows and doors, smashed medical equipment such as ultrasound machines and monitors, and destroyed health facilities with fire and rockets. Health facilities across Tigray were deliberately looted and vandalized by occupying Ethiopian and Eritrean forces. A young woman carries a bundle of sticks on her back and the lid to a clay fire pit in her right hand, walking toward an armored military tank parked along her route. The siege on Tigray, combined with the disruption of electricity and telecommunication services, has forced the civilian population into darkness. A young woman carries a bundle of sticks on her back and the lid to a clay fire pit in her right hand. The disruption of electricity and telecommunication services, has forced the civilian population into darkness. A woman looks after a patient lying in a bed in a hospital emptied of medical devices and medicines. A woman looks after a patient lying in a bed in a hospital emptied of medical devices and medicines. Tigray’s healthcare infrastructure was devastated by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces who looted and destroyed healthcare centers and hospitals across the region. An injured girl is woken by her mother at Ayder hospital in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, where thousands have died as a result of a two-year siege. Since the end of August 2022, the Ethiopian government and its allies have intensified their aerial attacks and shelling, bombing civilians. An injured girl is woken by her mother at Ayder hospital in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, where thousands have died as a result of a two-year siege. Children requesting food and medicine at a rally in Mekelle, Tigray, in December 2021. Children have been among the most impacted by the genocidal war and siege on Tigray. Malnutrition rates far exceed emergency levels and there is no treatment available for it. Children requesting food and medicine at a rally in Mekelle, Tigray, in December 2021. A warehouse in Addis Ababa having served as a detention center for Tigrayans, February 2021. As prisons were full, makeshift detentions centers had to be established to detain the thousands of Tigrayans. A warehouse in Addis Ababa having served as a detention center for Tigrayans, February 2021. Mass Arrests
and Detention Image from inside a detention camp at Aba Samual Prison in Addis Ababa provided to Reuters by a former prisoner. Image from inside a detention camp at Aba Samual Prison in Addis Ababa provided to Reuters by a former prisoner. Those detained are confined to crowded spaces, forced to sleep standing up, with no security and privacy. There are limited, if any, sanitation facilities. Groups formed to check people's I.D.s for ethnicity in Addis Ababa during the State of Emergency November 2021. Groups formed to check people's I.D.s for ethnicity in Addis Ababa during the State of Emergency November 2021. Civilians, former friends, and neighbors of Tigrayans across Addis Ababa, became vigilantes, checking ethnicity and reporting their Tigrayan neighbors. Blocking World Bank and International Monetary Fund from funding Ethiopia until the country is able to bring peace to the region of Tigray;

Support for proposed U.S. legislation⁠—H.R. 6600 and S.3199⁠—so that they may pass through Congress to hold perpetrators of crimes committed accountable;

Implementation of Magnitsky Sanctions on the Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara government officials to increase pressure to end the siege, as well as trade and investment restrictions in both countries;

Provision of sufficient resources for the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, including financial, technical, and staffing resources; and

Former Kenyan President Kenyatta to be appointed as the lead mediator in negotiations, with support from distinguished African leaders, in discussions moving forward. CALL TO ACTION We continue to call for the following: Immediate humanitarian access into all of Tigray;

Immediate internationally monitored and verifiable withdrawal of Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces from all parts of Tigray and the restoration of pre-war territorial boundaries;

Immediate restoration of all essential services, including banking, electricity, telecommunications, transportation, and trade in Tigray;

Immediate protection of Tigrayans who are facing ethnic cleansing in occupied Western Tigray and an end to the state-sanctioned ethnic profiling and ethnically-motivated attacks against Tigrayans living across Ethiopia;

Release of all Tigrayans detained on the basis of their identity, including journalists, 22,000 Tigrayan ENDF members, and Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia;

An arms embargo and a limited no-fly zone that does not hinder humanitarian delivery;

A negotiated ceasefire and an inclusive, internationally-mediated national dialogue that includes the democratically elected and constitutionally mandated Tigray government and other relevant stakeholders; and

Official recognition of the Tigray Genocide committed by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara Special Forces, and Amhara Fano Militia against the Tigrayan people.
CALL TO ACTION CONT. So as to facilitate:

SITUATION REPORT
November 2022 Read More Call to Action Executive Summary Indiscriminate shelling
and bombardment Displacement Famine Massacres Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Ethnic cleansing Mass Arrests
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