Maryam Ts'iyon massacre

The Maryam Ts'iyon massacre was, according to Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA),[1] Jan Nyssen,[2] and Le Monde,[3] a mass murder event that took place on 15 December 2020 (or 17–20 December[2]) in Axum, Tigray, Ethiopia, during the Tigray War.[1] According to Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA), 750 people hiding in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (Maryam Ts'iyon Church) were taken out and shot dead by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Amhara militias in the square in front of the church.[4][5] An earlier massacre by the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), in which "the entire city from the bus station to the park was covered in bodies", took place in mid-November 2020, according to an EEPA witness.[6]

Maryam Ts'iyon massacre
Part of Tigray War
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
Location of the massacre
LocationChurch of Our Lady Mary of Zion, Axum, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date15 December/17–20 December 2020
TargetTigrayans
Attack type
Deathsat least 750 civilians
Perpetrators ENDF
Amhara militias
EDF

Background

Pro-federal-government sources claimed that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) gained control of Axum Airport on 11 November 2020.[7] Debretsion Gebremichael, head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front in power in the Tigray Region prior to the Tigray War, stated on 19 November that fighting was taking place in the town of Axum itself, but that the TPLF was still in control of the town.[8] The ENDF claimed to have taken full control of Axum the following day.[9] On 22 November, images, video and text asserting that the TPLF had damaged Axum Airport runway were published. The TPLF denied the claim. BBC News satellite image analysis suggested that the damage occurred between 19 and 23 November.[7] On 29 November, Debretsion claimed that the TPLF had retaken control of Axum.[10]

Mid-November massacre

According to Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA), a witness present in Axum stated that water and electricity were cut off there on 2 November 2020, prior to the 4 November Northern Command attacks. On a later date in November, unspecified by the witness, two thousand Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) soldiers entered Axum in tanks and carried out a massacre, firing discriminately without warnings. The witness stated that "the entire city from the bus station to the park was covered in bodies". She stated that the EDF soldiers said that they had been ordered to kill all Tigrayan males older than four. The EDF, according to the witness, killed soldiers, priests and farmers, burned crops and ordered farmers to kill their livestock.[6]

The EEPA witness stated that EDF soldiers were "completely in charge of the situation" and that the ENDF soldiers observed without interfering. ENDF soldiers who tried to prevent looting were fired at by EDF soldiers.[6]

Massacre

EEPA stated that the event on 15 December 2020 started with security forces from the ENDF and Amhara militia approaching the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (Maryam Ts'iyon), which contained 1000 people inside and in the surrounding compound. A confrontation occurred due to people in the church believing that the soldiers wanted to take the Ark of the Covenant that the church claims to hold. People exited to the square. The ENDF and Amhara militias started shooting, killing 750 people.[1][11] Based on witness testimonies, Belgian physical geographer Jan Nyssen dated the massacre to 17–20 December.[2] A witness in contact with Le Monde agreed with the estimate of 750 deaths.[3]

With a ban on journalists entering the Tigray Region continuing as of 11 January 2021, news of the mid-December church massacre was first provided by survivors arriving in Mekelle after walking by foot about 200 kilometres (120 mi).[11]

Laurie Nathan of the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies called the reports "credible, though unverified." Nathan said the details are not clear, and will not be, until the United Nations or a human rights NGO can safely enter the area and conduct an investigation.[12]

Burials

A witness who spent two months "going from village to village on foot" around the Tembien and Naeder Adet areas stated in Ethiopia Insight that some of the killings were done by EDF soldiers who killed people in their homes. According to the witness, a priest from Maryam Ts'iyon church stated that 243 victims had been buried in a single day and that people who tried to pick up corpses were shot.[13]

Cultural heritage risks

Historians and archeologists expressed concern that the Ark of the Covenant and the church architecture, significant in the history of Christianity, were at risk of damage or destruction.[14]

Reactions

In early January 2021, British member of parliament David Alton informed the British Foreign Secretary about reports of the massacre and tabled a question in parliament.[15]

Catholic News Agency brought attention to the EEPA reports in the US.[16][17]

In response to the massacre, the Polish Foreign Ministry stated, "We strongly condemn the perpetrators of this barbaric crime committed in a place of worship. We expect the Ethiopian authorities to immediately take all possible to clarify its circumstances and punish the perpetrators."[18]

References
  1. "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 53 – 12 January 2021" (PDF). Europe External Programme with Africa. 2021-01-12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  2. Nyssen, Jan (2021). "The situation in Tigray at the beginning of 2021". Researchgate. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  3. Hochet-Bodin, Noé (2021-01-18). "'Les gens meurent de faim' : en Ethiopie, le Tigré au bord du désastre humanitaire" ['People are dying of hunger': in Ethiopia, Tigray is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  4. "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 50 – 09 January 2021" (PDF). Europe External Programme with Africa. 2021-01-09. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  5. "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 51 – 10 January 2021" (PDF). Europe External Programme with Africa. 2021-01-10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  6. "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 62 – 21 January 2021" (PDF). EEPA. 2021-01-21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  7. Mwait, Peter; Giles, Christopher (2020-11-26). "Tigray crisis: How the Ethiopian army and TPLF clashed over an airport". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  8. "Leader of Ethiopia's rebel Tigray forces says Axum town 'with us'". Thomson Reuters. 2020-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  9. "Federal Troops Takes Full Control of Axum & Adowa, Closing in on Adigrat City". Ethiopia Monitor. 2020-11-20. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  10. "Tigray forces claim to have shot down Ethiopian plane, taken town". Thomson Reuters. 2020-11-29. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  11. Plaut, Martin (2021-01-11). "Massacre at Tigray's Mariam of Zion cathedral in Aksum". Eritrea Hub. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  12. "Were Orthodox Christians massacred in Ethiopia?". America Magazine. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  13. Sew, Mistir (2021-02-08). "'The sadism is very disturbing': Two months on the run in Tigray". Ethiopia Insight. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  14. Sherwood, Harriet (2021-01-24). "Fabled ark could be among ancient treasures in danger in Ethiopia's deadly war". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  15. Alton, David (2021-01-11). "Massacre in Tigray at the Mariam of Zion cathedral Aksum and reports of attacks on refugee camps". David Alton. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  16. "Hundreds reportedly dead after massacre at Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia". Catholic News Agency. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  17. "750 Christians Reported Dead Defending Supposed Ark of the Covenant". persecution.org. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  18. "Polish response to the massacre". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Poland). 2021-01-22. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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