Ethiopia: Video of Tigray massacre lifts lid on war without photos
Men in uniform slaughtered dozens of people in a small village in the Tigray region of Ethiopia on January 5, 2021, right in the midst of the usually festive Orthodox Christmas season. Thirty bodies are seen on the ground in a video that has been circulating online despite the current internet blackout in the Tigray region, which has been engulfed in a bloody conflict between the army and rebels. The soldier filming the video points the camera at an injured person, saying to a comrade, “You should have finished off the survivors!” Our team was able to verify this video.
The Tigray region, located in the far north of Ethiopia, has been engulfed in a bloody struggle between the central government and the regional government, who want more representation and political power for the Tigray minority within government.
Last November, this conflict escalated into an outright war after highly anticipated elections were delayed. This led to a humanitarian catastrophe. Shelling in residential areas saw large numbers of people being displaced. The chaos also led to famine.