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After 64 days, I finally managed to talk to someone who travelled on foot for 3 days to reach #Mekelle from Rubagered, a village in central #Tigray where I grew up and where my parents live. Hearing a familiar voice over the phone gave me goosebumps.
What he told me about what's going on in our villages is heartbreaking. He told me that there's been at least 5 rounds of heavy fights & the invading #EritreanArmy still controlls the area.
In Rubagered, my home village, he confirmed that the #EritreanArmy killed 3 civilians; Birhane Gebru Weldemichel (my 60 year old farmer cousin), Teweldebirhan Weldekidan and Jemal Abdelkadir (a shopkeeper).
Only small parts of the body of Teweldebirhan who was killed outside his home were found as hyenas scavanged his body
What's happening in the area & in #Tigray in general, the person I talked to argued, is a repeat of what #Derg tried to do in the 1970s & 80s, "to wipe us out"
What's happening in the area & in #Tigray in general, the person I talked to argued, is a repeat of what #Derg tried to do in the 1970s & 80s, "to wipe us out"
#Ethiopian and #Eritrean armies also burned the entire village including harvested crop piles, farmers' homes & my childhood school. He also told me that in terms of human cost, Rubagered is the least affected of the villages around our district.
The impact of the war he said is heavier in neighbouring villages where entire families were massacred, homes looted & destroyed by #Eritrean mercenaries. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured caught in cross-fires or intentionally targeted in churchs and schools.
My parents, he said, are still alive, but they've been out of our home for over 2 months' hiding in caves & villages as far away from the roads as possible. It breaks my heart imagining how my father who is in his mid-80s & never liked leaving his home for a day is doing this.
Somebody help us stop the #WarOnTigray, #WithdrawEritreaArmy and #TigrayGenocide
The @UN, @antonioguterres & @_AfricanUnion 's silence is deafening.
The @UN, @antonioguterres & @_AfricanUnion 's silence is deafening.
