Former Tigray interim Government Top Official says Genocide ‘Undoubtedly’ committed on Tigrayans
In mid-October 2020, Prime Minister Abiy told them that he was going to ‘oust the TPLF-led government in Tigray’ in a ‘3 to 5 days operation’ like what he did in the Somali region‘.
Globe News Net
Gebremeskel Kassa, former Cabinet Secretary and Chief of Staff for the President of the PM Abiy Ahmed-appointed Interim government in Tigray, said “A state-led, well-planned and executed genocide has been committed on Tigrayans; there is no doubt about that”, in an exclusive interview with Globe News Net.
Witnessed Axum Massacre, Firsthand
Gebremeskel told Globe News Net that he has witnessed the brutal massacre in Axum first hand amongst other atrocities.
Gebremeskel said he and his team were in Shire, 67 kms from Axum, when the massacre started in Axum on November 28, 2020.
Gebremeskel and colleagues learnt about the news of the massacre on the next day, November 29, 2020. The team decided to go to Axum to negotiate with the Eritrean army and stop the massacre; they started their journey same day (on November 29, 2020).
Gebremeskel and his team were stopped by Eritrean army few kilometers from Axum; they were forced to stay the night in a place called ‘Gobodura’ at the outskirts of Axum.
On November 30, they were allowed to enter into the town. They had with them 240 Federal special commandos and ENDF ground forces members protecting them.
Gebremeskel says that he and his team found hundreds of bodies lying on the streets of Axum. Most of them were men between the ages 15 and 30, Gebremeskel says. Most lied on their abdomen(prone position); the bodies have started to produce awful smell.
Gebremeskel, who led the team, convened with the Eritrean commanders and upon their permission, he gathered residents of the town for discussion. The residents told them that their children were indiscriminately shot from the streets and dragged out of their houses in a house-to-house search; they also told them that they were denied burial of their loved ones by Eritrean army.
Gebremeskel discussed with Eritrean army commanders; they permitted burial. Gebremeskel says that he and his team mobilized the residents to collect the bodies (which were by then decomposing) with carts and bury them in masses. The burial took place on November 30 and the next day.
According to Gebremeskel’s estimates, the bodies numbered between 800 and 1100.
According to Gebremeskel’s estimates, the bodies numbered between 800 and 1100.
Gebremeskel and his team moved from Axum to Adwa; Eritrean army remained there. In Adwa, they found Almeda textile factory completely ravaged by Eritrean army. They were also informed about massacre of dozens of civilians in Adwa by Ethiopian and Eritrean army. Saba Marble Factory faced the same fate.
The situation in Mariam shewito, Gendebta, Yeha, Dbdbo,Entcho, Sero, Bizet,Mugulat, Ksad alequa Adigrat, Edagahamus, Freweyni, Negash,Wukro, e.t.c was not any different.
“A state-led, well-planned and executed genocide has been committed on Tigrayans; there is no doubt about that”
He and his team found Adigrat Pharmaceutical Company completely destroyed, and its machineries unplanted; they learnt from local residents that they were taken by Eritrean army. Dozens of young men have been massacred in Adigrat. Dozens of bodies were found inside the pharmaceutical company compound completely decomposed, creating bad odor in the neighbourhood. The Eritrean army commanders were too aggressive to deal with and couldn’t do anything about that.
They also found Goda Glass factory machineries being loaded by Eritrean army. They were not able to stop it; Eritrean army commanders ordered them to just leave the place quitely or face the consequences. Two days later, they learnt that 19 young men who were forcibly helping Eritrean army to load Goda Glass factory machineries were massacred when they were done with the loading.
While they were in Edaga-Hamus, they also learnt about the massacre in Maryam Dengelet, committed by Eritrean army. Eritrean army didn’t allow them to go visit the church where more than 143 civilians were massacred by Eritrean army.
They stopped in Wukro and had brief discussion with residents of the town and learnt that more than 100 young men and women were brutally massacred by both Ethiopian and Eritrean armies. They also discovered that Sheba leather and Semayata marble factory were destroyed by Eritrean army; much of what could be taken was loaded into trucks and taken to Eritrea; what could not be loaded was burnt down in to ashes by setting fire and using explosive dynamites.
Gebremeskel says that they encountered 18 checkpoints between Shire and Mekelle and 18 of them were controlled by Eritrean army when they made the journey between December 1 and 4. Gebremeskel remembers that he encountered hundreds of large trucks, small private cars, and all sorts of vehicles packed with various machineries, household items being driven by Eritrean soldiers and moving out from Tigray towards Eritrea on his way from Shire to Mekelle. While some had “ER” plate, majority had “TIG”, “ADD”, “Eth” plates. They had no any means to stop them.
Prime Minister Abiy’s meeting with Prosperity Party leadership in mid-October 2020
Gebremeskel in the interview disclosed that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed convened 400 prosperity party officials from Addis Ababa Administration in mid-October, 2020. Gebremeskel says that Prime Minister Abiy told them that he was going to “oust the TPLF-led government in Tigray in a 3 to 5 days operation like what he did in the Somali region“.
In mid-October 2020, Prime Minister Abiy told them that he was going to ‘oust the TPLF-led government in Tigray’ in a ‘3 to 5 days operation’ like what he did in the Somali region‘.
The war then broke out two weeks later.
Deliberate, systematic destitution of Tigrayan households
Gebremeskel says that Ethiopian army has been looting households, churches, shops A to Z, and the soldiers were depositing their money and precious goods like gold in Ethiopian Commercial Bank. They repeatedly plead to Ethiopian army Generals that the looting be stopped; but, their response was “shut your mouths; otherwise, you will face the consequences”. Gebremeskel believes that there was a deliberate state-led campaign of impoverishing Tigray even at household-level. Gebremeskel says that he had knowledge of soldiers who stashed as much as 10 million Birr in their private bank accounts which they stole from households in Tigray.
Gebremeskel says a deliberate and systematic destruction of Tigray’s infrastructure has been conducted by Ethiopian and Eritrean national armies and Amhara allies; he saw health facilities, schools, water pumps, irrigation canals, bridges, dams, e.t.c being deliberately destroyed. Attempts by the interim government to stop it were unsuccessful, Gebremeskel says. Gebremeskel also says heritage sites, including Emperor Debredamo, Al-Nejashi(Negash), Yohannes Museum, The Tigray Martyr’s Monument Museum, hundreds of other heritage sites were deliberately destroyed by Ethiopian and Eritrean National armies and Amhara forces and calls by the interim government not to destroy heritage sites was ignored.
‘Systematic use of rape as weapon of war’
Gebremeskel believes that rape and sexual assault were deliberately used as weapons of war. He says that his bureau has received reports of 1553 women raped in Mekelle and surrounding alone. His bureau estimates that more than 110,000 women have been raped and gang-raped by Ethiopian, Eritrean national armies and by Amhara forces. Gebremeskel said appalling gang-rape of catholic nuns in Wukro by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers was reported to his bureau and to the interim police commission. “After three days of preliminary investigations, the perpetrators were identified”, he said, adding “unfortunately, Ethiopian and Eritrean military commanders refused to hold them accountable”.
According to Gebremeskel, a week later, the soldiers went again and gang-raped them, and took every penny of the children’s village under the church.
Tens of thousands private, government vehicles looted by the armies
Gebremeskel says 4800 private and regional government vehicles have been taken by the Ethiopian government from Mekelle alone. The number of vehicles taken by Eritrea’s army and Amhara’s forces is estimated more than 12,000. Similarly, Eritrean, Ethiopian and Amhara governments have taken 240 of 269 Ambulances Tigray had.
How the ‘Tigray interim Government leadership’ was dispatched from Addis Ababa and reached Tigray:
According to Gebremeskel , initially, three teams were dispatched from Addis Ababa to Tigray by the Federal government. The team Gebremeskel lead was supposed to go to the Western part of Tigray and establish an interim administration there. This team was stopped in Debremarkos by Amhara Special Forces and was denied from going further.
Gebremeskel informed Federal officials in Addis Ababa about the situation; the Federal government officials in Addis Ababa phoned the commander and asked him to allow them pass. The commander responded “A lot has happened in Western Tigray; we can’t let a Tigrayan go to the Western Tigray, especially to Mai-Kadira; they may document what has happened there….no, we can’t do that we have to get our things together, first”, Gebremeskel says.
Gebremeskel continues “At that moment, I knew Tigrayans in Western Tigray, especially in Mai-Kadira have been massacred contrary to the reports we have been receiving from the Federal government and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which portray the Amhara as the victims and the Tigrayans perpetrators.”
“A lot has happened in Western Tigray; we can’t let a Tigrayan go to the Western Tigray, especially to Mai-Kadira; they may document what has happened there….no, we can’t do that…”
They were taken to Bahirdar; a then Amhara Region Police Commissioner, Abere Adamu told them that they will under no circumstance be allowed to pass to Western Tigray’; he added, “from now on Western Tigray belongs to Amhara”.
The others 2 teams who were going to be dispatched to the North-Western Tigray and southern Tigray were similarly stopped in Bahirdar and in Woldiya respectively. Three of them returned to Addis Ababa the next day.
Gebremeskel’s team was then taken to Debrezeit air force base and was flown to Shire by military helicopter. This is how they happen to be in Shire on Nov 19.
Somalia soldiers committed grave atrocities in Tigray;
Gebremeskel says that there were 5000-8000 Somalia soldiers in the war in Tigray. They mainly took part in the war and subsequent civilian atrocities around Shire area. These soldiers brutally massacred hundreds of civilians in Shire. Gebremeskel says that they mainly targeted priests and their families. “Entire families were massacred including by slitting their throats with knives”, Gebremeskel said.
‘Obvious Genocidal intentions corroborated with actions’
Gebremeskel argues that he has clearly seen Higher Federal Officials like Daniel Kibret, Agegnehu Teshager Temesgen Tiruneh, high-ranking military commanders General Abebaw Tadesse and other ethnic-Amhara military commanders teasing, mocking the suffering of the people of Tigrays, and fighting to block humanitarian aid, impede humanitarian works.
Gebremeskel remembers the meetings he had with various Ethiopian Federal Government officials and military commanders with great agony; “every time we raise questions regarding problems our people are facing; they will always deny. At one moment, Daniel Kibret told us to stop talking about the problems, and said “minu Tenekana”, meaning that ‘it was just the beginning and that a lot more agony is yet to come to our people.
“Undoubtedly Genocide!”
Gebremeskel says that he and most in his administration strongly believed that genocide has been committed on the people Tigray by the governments of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the regional state of Amhara; “there is no doubt that a well-planned, well-executed, multi-states-sponsored campaign of genocide has been committed on the people of Tigray. It had well established command chain that I have seen firsthand while working with them as chief of staff to the Interim President and Cabinet Secretary”, adding “I am ready to work with investigators should they seek my assistance.”, Gebremeskel said.
‘The International Community Has Failed Tigray’:
Gebremeskel said “it is extremely sad to see the appalling failure of the international community to do anything tangible to stop the genocide on Tigrayans; the international community has clearly failed Tigray”.
“ Information is not what they lacked, but a tough and principled unified position and the commitment to act”, Gebremeskel said.
“I personally have made dozens of Ambassadors in Addis Ababa witness the grave atrocities committed on our people, and most seemed to have been moved by what they saw, and promised us that will press their governments do what is neccessary to stop the genocide; yet, there is no tangible action from the international community; as a result, the genocide on Tigrayans is few days short of its first year anniversary”, Gebremeskel added.
“The international community needs to urgently take meaningful steps to stop the genocide on Tigrayans; this genocide has to end, now!” Gebremeskel concluded.
“The international community needs to urgently take meaningful steps to stop the genocide on Tigrayans; this genocide has to end, now!”
Gebremeskel has fled Ethiopia and is seeking an asylum in a foreign country due to serious threats posed on his life.
War broke out in Tigray last year early November when Ethiopia and allies(Eritrea, Somalia, numerous regional states in Ethiopia) moved their armies to oust a TPLF-led regional government in Tigray. The war has killed thousands and forced more than two million people from their homes, and caused severe humanitarian crisis.
Tigray remains under a total blockade with no food, medicine, fuel reaching the region. There are also no electricity, telecommunication, or banking services. As a result, 5.2 million people in the region are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, while 400,000-900,000 people are already in famine conditions and additional 1.8 million in famine-like conditions.
