The Chenna massacre was a mass

extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whethe ...

perpetrated by the

Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defense Forces ( ti, ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ, italic=no; TDF: ሓምት), colloquially ''Tigray Army'' () is a paramilitary rebel group in Tigray. It was founded by distant former generals of Ethiopia in 2020 t ...

(TDF) in and around the village of Chenna Teklehaymanot in the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Re ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

during the

Tigray War The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...

, between 31 August and 4 September 2021. The village is about north-west of the town of

Dabat Dabat ( Amharic: ዳባት) is a town in northern Ethiopia, located about 50 kilometers north of Gondar in the Semien Mountains along the Gondar-Debarq highway Dabat it is in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, and is one of two towns in ...

in the

North Gondar Zone North Gondar (Amharic: ሰሜን ጎንደር; or Semien Gondar) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This zone is named for the city of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century. Geography North Gondar is bordered on the ...

of Amhara Region.

Background

Massacre

Between 31 August and 4 September, the TDF occupied the village of Chenna Teklehaymanot in Dabat district in the

. Amhara regional authorities reported that the TDF killed 120-200 civilians during the occupation. Doctors at the nearest hospital placed the death toll at 125 and counting.Reuters, 8 September 2021
Tigray forces killed 120 civilians in village in Amhara - Ethiopia officials
/ref> According to residents, TDF soldiers arrived demanding food, then killed those who resisted when fighters slaughtered their animals and looted their properties.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

found many unburied corpses at the scene, some in military clothing.Associated Press, 10 September 2021
At scene of Ethiopia's new killings, some fight, some flee
/ref> At least 30 women and girls were raped and sexually assaulted by TDF soldiers in and around Chenna during the occupation.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

(HRW) spoke to residents who witnessed 26 civilians summarily executed by TDF fighters in Chenna. Witnesses also accused the TDF of entering residential areas without allowing civilians to leave and then shooting at

Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...

(ENDF) positions, effectively utilizing the local population as human shields. HRW was provided a list of names of 74 civilians who were said to have died as a result of the TDF occupation. An

Ethiopian Human Rights Commission The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ሰብዓዊ መብቶች ኮሚሽን) is a national human rights institution (NHRI) established by the Ethiopian government. The EHRC is charged with promoting human righ ...

investigation found that at least 47 civilians were extrajudicially killed by the TDF in Chenna, some with their hands tied behind their backs. The TDF has denied the massacre.

References

External links

{{Massacres 2021 massacres of the Tigray War September 2021 crimes in Africa Extrajudicial killings in Ethiopia Massacres committed by the Tigray Defense Forces Massacres of Amhara people

Background

Massacre

See also

References

External links