The death toll in the massacre in Ethiopia reaches at least 600. This is evidenced by data from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) posted on Twitter.
The EHRC suggests that even more civilians may have died: some people are missing, someone is hiding outside the city. The commission carried out the calculations after visiting the city of Mai-Kadru in the Tigray region and several other Ethiopian cities.
According to human rights activists, the massacre was staged by the Samri group with the support of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tygrai (NPLT), which is seeking independence for the region. Together with the rebels and police, the NPLT allegedly carried out raids that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people for their origins. Survivors also said that some people who were not affected by the massacre helped the victims hide and sheltered them in their homes, churches and fields.
The conflict between government forces and the NFOT entered a military phase on November 3 – the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali declared war. At the same time, it is known that the armed formations of the NFOT significantly outnumber the government forces.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray was an insurgency for many years, after which it turned into a political party. On September 9, 2020, the Tigray administration held elections in the region without permission from the central government, which declared voting illegal.
