Gira Aras massacre | |
---|---|
Part of Tigray War | |
Location | Gira Aras (Tigrinya: ግራዓረስ), Tigray Region, Ethiopia |
Date | 22 April 2021 |
Target | Tigrayans |
Attack type | |
Deaths | 12 civilians |
Perpetrators | Ethiopian National Defence Force |
The Gira Aras massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Gira Aras (Tigrinya: ግራዓረስ) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, around 22 April 2021.[1] Gira Aras is a village that belongs to woreda Hawzen, Eastern zone of Tigray.
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed twelve civilians in Gira Aras (Eastern Tigray) on 22 April 2021.[1]
Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray war are (1) revenge when they lose a battle; (2) to terrorise and extract information about whereabouts of TPLF leaders; (3) murder of suspected family members of TDF fighters; and (4) terrorising the Tigray society as a whole such as in case of mass killings in churches.[citation needed]
Witnesses reported the perpetrators of this massacre as being Ethiopian soldiers.[2]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation” mentions twelve victims of this massacre,[1] eleven of whom have been identified.[2]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation”,[1] that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists massacres in the Tigray War.[3][4][5]
After months of denial by the Ethiopian authorities that massacres occurred in Tigray, a joint investigation by OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was announced in March 2021.[6]