In the war-ravaged region of Tigray, Ethiopia, the scars of a brutal conflict run deep. From 2020 to 2022, an estimated 600,000 people perished, many from starvation as aid was blocked. Now, as the nation embarks on a transitional justice process, survivors like Meaza Teklemariam are left wondering if accountability will ever be served.
A Massacre in Mahbere Dego
Meaza’s tragic story echoes that of countless others. In January 2021, soldiers dragged her husband Tsegaye from their home, dismissing his pleas of being a civilian. What followed was a massacre, captured on the soldiers’ own cameras and brazenly posted on social media.
They said to him, ‘You are a fighter, you are a fighter’. He kept saying, ‘No, no. I’m a farmer, I’m a civilian.’
– Meaza Teklemariam, massacre survivor
Videos show dozens of men gathered on a clifftop, then methodically shot and tossed into the valley below. Today, a modest stone monument at the site in Mahbere Dego town tallies the dead at 50. Mass graves at local churches hold unidentified remains, as loved ones were reduced to scraps of clothing and bone.
Eritrean Forces Implicated
Eritrean troops, fighting alongside the Ethiopian military, stand accused of some of the conflict’s gravest atrocities. In the ancient city of Axum, hundreds of men and boys were reportedly killed in a door-to-door spree in November 2020.
Tirhas Berha recounts how Eritrean soldiers burst into her home and gunned down her husband Tamrat. She and her children were trapped inside with his body for days.
We need justice, but it’s been four years and nothing has happened. They have just forgotten about us.
– Tirhas Berha, Axum massacre survivor
Doubts Over Government Commitment
As Ethiopia prepares to launch investigations and a truth commission, human rights groups question the government’s commitment to a transparent process. During the conflict, officials downplayed abuses and resisted international scrutiny.
The final transitional justice policy limits international experts to training and advisory roles, prompting fears of an opaque, “quasi-compliant” effort primarily aimed at appeasing foreign donors.
Time and time again, the government has demonstrated outright resistance to any international oversight, scrutiny and transparency. And we are seeing that again with this process.
– Laetitia Bader, Human Rights Watch
An Elusive Path to Justice
Trust in government institutions is shattered in Tigray, with a mere 2% of residents wanting domestic courts to handle cases. Ongoing fighting and atrocities in other regions cast further doubt on the sincerity of the endeavor.
For survivors like Kiros Berhe, who lost six relatives in the Mahbere Dego massacre, faith in earthly justice is all but lost. “I am sure God will punish them,” she says, “but I don’t trust the government. They are responsible for this.”
As Ethiopia navigates its fragile transition, the cries for accountability grow louder. But in a nation fractured by unthinkable violence, the road to reconciliation remains treacherous and uncertain. For the countless lives shattered, justice feels painfully out of reach, a fading glimmer in the shadows of war.
