Axum massacre

Pro-federal-government sources said that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) gained control of Axum Airport on 11 November 2020. ==Arrival of ENDF and EDF in Axum==

18 November Heavy shelling of Axum and the cutting of transport and communication links in Axum started on 18 November according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). 19–27 November 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. The ENDF said it took full control of Axum the following day. On 22 November, images, video and text showing that the TPLF had damaged Axum Airport runway were published. The TPLF said it was not true. BBC News satellite image analysis suggested that the damage occurred between 19 and 23 November. The EHRC stated that the ENDF and the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) entered Axum on 19 November. Starting that day, some ENDF and EDF members looted Saint Mary Hospital and Axum Referral Hospital and destroyed equipment that they did not loot. The COVID-19 wing of Axum Referral Hospital was looted by the ENDF and EDF. From 18 to 20 November, 41 people died in the two hospitals as a result of "physical injuries, blood loss and the lack of adequate medical treatment"; and 126 people had "medium to heavy physical injuries". The EHRC stated that Ethiopian troops left Axum on 25 November. ==Massacre==

The EDF returned to Axum on 26 November in trucks with Eritrean markings. After a while they left the city and went to the Mai Koho mountain and a checkpoint on the Shire side of the city. Woinishet states that Eritrean soldiers were completely in charge of the situation in Aksum and that Ethiopian soldiers watched and did nothing to stop the violence and the killing. The Ethiopian soldiers were fired at if they tried to stop Eritrean soldiers who were looting. Amnesty International compiled a list of the names of "well over 200" people killed on 28 and 29 November and known personally by the witnesses and survivors interviewed. Four different men who helped to transport cartloads of bodies to churches reported carrying 45, 30, 21–40 and 50 bodies. One witness estimated seeing 400 bodies on 30 November. A priest, Wolde Mariam, also detailed the Axum Massacre, horrified about the ~800 people he said had been killed. ==Looting==

The EDF looted Axum "systematically and on a massive scale, leaving residents without food or drink", medicine and cars. ==Perpetrators and order of command==

Amnesty International, on the basis of interviews with 41 survivors and witnesses, 20 others with "knowledge relevant to the situation", and satellite imagery from October, November and December 2020 for cross-checking, attributed the massacre to the EDF in its 26 February 2021 report. and Le Monde. The EHRC, based on its visit to Axum from 27 February to 5 March 2021, in which it conducted interviews with "survivors, 45 families of victims, eyewitnesses and religious leaders", held a group discussion with 20 residents, talks with local kebele officials, and discussions with medical staff of the Saint Mary and Axum Referral Hospitals, attributed the 28–29 November weekend massacre to the EDF. Getu Mak attributed responsibility for delayed burial to the EDF, stating, "I saw a horse cart carrying around 20 bodies to the church, but Eritrean soldiers stopped them and told people to throw them back on the street." Mhretab, interviewed by AP, stated that ENDF soldiers observed the massacre without intervening. When asked why they were failing to stop the massacre, they stated that they had orders "from above", which AP interpreted to mean that senior federal Ethiopian officials were responsible for the non-intervention order. Motivation Plaut interpreted the motivation for the massacre to be revenge for the fight between a Tigray militia and the EDF during the day of 28 November. EDF soldiers stated that the 28–29 November massacre was done to frighten the population and discourage repeats of the 28 November attack against them by the Tigray militia. Statements included, "If you have a gun, give us, if not, we will continue this massacre" and "If you keep following the TPLF and try to fight us again we will kill you and we will do the same as yesterday." ==Reporting and evidence==

Slow communication and early reports With a ban on journalists entering the Tigray Region continuing as of 11 January 2021, news of the massacre was first provided by survivors arriving in Mekelle after walking by foot about . Evidence and witnesses Amnesty stated that the massacre could "amount to crimes against humanity" by the EDF. have contributed to the Amnesty International report titled "Ethiopia: The Massacre in Axum". Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on the massacre on 5 March 2021, based on interviews with 28 witnesses and survivors and the analysis of videos. HRW attributed the massacre to the EDF and called for an independent investigation into "war crimes and possible crimes against humanity". HRW's evidence for attributing the massacre to the EDF was based on the Eritrean licence plates of the perpetrators' vehicles, the dialect of Tigrinya spoken by the perpetrators, and their uniforms and characteristic footwear. ==Reactions==

Ethiopia On 3 March 2021, the Ethiopian government declared there were "credible allegations of atrocities and human rights abuses" in Axum and other localities in Tigray and that it would both conduct its own investigation and allow an investigation by the UN. Journalists would not be blocked, but they would travel in the region at their own risk. On 11 May 2021, the Ethiopian Attorney General revealed the contents of a federal investigation conducted on 3 May. Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of the General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) later said in an interview that "there was damage, but what was said wasn't the kind that was portrayed for media consumption." He stated that "the Eritrean soldiers were attacked within the city, and when they retaliated, there were civilian casualties due to the dense population in the area." Eritrea Government The Eritrean authorities rejected the statement of a massacre occurring in Axum's St. Mary of Zion Church, deeming it a "fabrication". The Eritrean government also rejected the accusations of targeted civilians and churchgoers. The BBC reached out to Eritrea's ministry of information, with Minister Yemane G. Meskel labeling "the accusations as 'preposterous' and 'fabricated'". Citizens and diaspora Eritreans in the international community questioned the Amnesty report for having 41 witnesses, who, according to these Eritreans, are of suspicious repute. Sara Isaias writes, "In a report that spanned over 25 pages, Amnesty went into quite some detail about killings that were supposed to have happened a day or two before the holiest of days in the Orthodox calendar... without providing a shred of tangible evidence. The entire report was based on anonymous and unsubstantiated sources.". They call for a third-party independent investigation into the alleged event, so as to prevent the 41 witnesses potentially being affiliated with the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The Eritrean diaspora has raised criticisms in the validity of reporting around the alleged massacre, citing inconsistencies between media sources. For instance, inconsistencies were found regarding one particular victim who had in one article said she was maimed and raped by an ENDF soldier with Eritrean soldiers rescuing her. A BBC report highlights, "On 3 December, the teenager said that a soldier, dressed in an Ethiopian military uniform, entered their house demanding to know where the Tigrayan fighters were...They said the Eritreans had tended to their wounds". Conversely, in another article by Al Jazeera, a video was posted with the same victim alleging that Eritrean soldiers had raped and maimed her. These two allegations were reported one day apart from another. Members of the UK Eritrean diaspora have assembled a Change.org Petition: "Peace Loving Eritreans in the UK are sending a message to BBC Tigrinya to stop the fake news". As of March 2021, the petition by Rahel Weldeab has 6,649 signatures. Poland On 22 January 2021, 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 measures to clarify its circumstances and punish the perpetrators." United Kingdom 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. United States Catholic News Agency brought attention to the EEPA reports in the US in late January 2021. ==Further reading==