“We saw evil things, people whose necks were cut, limbs hanging,” Belay said. “There was no one to bury the dead. They were just lying there.” That horrific massacre in Mai Kadra on Nov. 9-10 was a defining moment in the war on Tigray launched by Abiy Ahmed and the Ethiopian government. Ahmed politicized the massacre, blaming “TPLF supporters” and a Tigrayan youth group he called “samri.”
Tag: tghat
Tghat: Dutch aid workers – The outside world needs to know what’s going on in Tigray
His first impression on the street in Mekele: “Stress. If something small happens at all, panic immediately ensues. During that week I had to stay in my hotel room for two more days. Tigrayers are said to have erected barricades on the streets in the city. The military responded immediately. Everyone had to stay in. The roads were deserted and the shops closed. I heard that several people were shot.”
tghat: What happened in Aksum? My personal account
On Thursday, November 19, 2020, around 2.00 pm, Aksum and its surrounding were heavily and randomly shelled from afar by heavy artilleries by the combined force of the Eritrean and Ethiopian troops to create havoc and terror, just like they did in the cities in western Tigray such as Humera, Sheraro and Shire, a couple of days before their arrival in Aksum. The entire city was in turmoil and every creature, not only humans but also animals, was in a great shock. However, as there were heavy tensions from the battle in Selekleka (around 37 kilometers west of Aksum) that have lasted for a couple of days, we had a conjecture that the enemy would easily give in Aksum. Immediately, I saw thousands of civilians, including my friends who were staying with me in a hotel, flee to the nearby villages, or to Mekelle (on foot), or to the nearby monasteries to save their lives. Many more civilians also fled from their home and spent that night at St. Mary of Zion church, and took refuge at similar other shields begging God’s mercy.