Hitsats massacre

Hitsats massacre
Part of the Tigray War
Location	Hitsats refugee camp, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Date	19 November 2020
Target	Eritrean refugees
Attack type	Massacre
Deaths	300[1]
Perpetrators	Eritrean Defence Forces Tigrayan militias

The Hitsats massacre was a massacre at Hitsats refugee camp on or around 19 November 2020 during the Tigray War.^[1] The civilians killed were 300 Eritrean refugees, according to Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA),^[2] and five humanitarian workers, according to The New York Times,^[1] Associated Press,^[3] and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.^[4]

Massacre

Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) soldiers arrived in Hitsats refugee camp on 19 November 2020. According to The New York Times (NYT), 40 people were killed in the initial battle between the EDF and local Tigrayan militias, including four civilians.^[1]

Civilian deaths

Eritrean refugees

According to a 10 January 2021 Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) report, Ethiopian TV stated that 300 Hitsats refugees had been extrajudicially executed by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). An anonymous source quoted by EEPA disagreed, attributing the executions to the EDF, stating, "Eritrean forces massively killed their own citizens in Hitsats refugee camp to punish them for escaping their shoot to kill policy.^[2]

Refugees interviewed by Agence France Presse (AFP) stated that pro-TPLF forces used Hitsats as a base for several weeks in November 2020, killing several refugees who wanted to leave the camp to get food, and in one incident, killed nine young Eritrean men in revenge for having lost a battle against the EDF.^[5]

Witnesses say that Eritrean soldiers swept through Hitsats camp, and killed, beat, raped and kidnapped refugees. Many people were taken, and those that tried to escape were shot.^[6]

Humanitarian workers

The four civilians killed in the initial battle, according to the NYT and Associated Press, were one Ethiopian employee of the International Rescue Committee and three Ethiopian civilian guards employed by the Danish Refugee Council.^[1][3]

A fifth refugee worker, a 52-year old employed by the Dutch non-governmental organisation ZOA International [nl], was reported in late December 2020 to have been killed at Hitsats refugee camp.^[3]

In early January 2021, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) called for "the unrestricted and safe passage of humanitarian personnel and supplies to all parts of Tigray Region".^[4]

Property destruction

Satellite images confirmed the presence of burned fields and forests.^[1] Analyses of satellite images by Planet Labs Inc and DX Open Network showed that on 5 January 2021, there were "at least 14 actively burning structures and 55 others [had been] damaged or destroyed", and that on 8 January there were new fires.^[7]

References

1. Marks, Simon; Walsh, Declan (28 December 2020). "Refugees Come Under Fire as Old Foes Fight in Concert in Ethiopia". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
2. "Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 51 – 10 January 2021" (PDF). Europe External Programme with Africa. 10 January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
3. Anna, Cara (30 December 2020). "Aid group says colleague 'murdered' in Ethiopia's conflict". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
4. "Ethiopia - Tigray Region Humanitarian Update – Situation Report Last updated: 6 Jan 2021". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
5. "In Pictures: Eritrean refugees caught in crossfire in Ethiopia". Al Jazeera English. 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
6. PBS Frontline, 4 May 2021: Escaping Eritrea (documentary film)
7. Gebre, Samuel (9 January 2021). "Satellite Images Show Ethiopia Carnage as Conflict Continues". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.