Estimates among interviewees for the death toll across the affected communities range from a few dozen to as many as a hundred. These figures could not be independently authenticated, because of communications outages in the Amhara region.
Last week, the Tigrayan Defence Forces captured the holy city of Lalibela, home to 12th century rock-hewn churches that are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Despite the war displacing millions and leaving hundreds of thousands in Tigray in famine conditions, the Nobel Peace Laureate remains adamant that a military solution is the only way out and called for the mass mobilisation of all able-bodied citizens last Tuesday.
Fesseha Tessema, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, described The Telegraph’s findings as “outrageous” and denied any wrongdoing.
“They are just farmers, struggling to make a living,” said Taddese Biruk. “They don’t even care about politics. There’s no reason they should ever get caught up in a mess like this.”
In November 2020, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed joined forces with Eritrea’s dictator Isaias Afwerki to crush the heavily armed regional government of Tigray in a devastating pincer movement.
Since then tens of thousands have been killed and millions pushed to the brink of famine. Ethiopian and Eritrean national forces have been accused of a dizzying array of war crimes, ranging from ethnic cleansing, mass gang rape and man-made starvation.
But in late June the conflict was suddenly thrown on its head. Tigrayan guerrilla fighters stormed out of the mountains and beat the Ethiopian and Eritrean back in a series of devastating battles.
Now the Tigrayan Defence Forces are fighting in the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions. The war crimes which up to now were confined to Tigray are spreading.
(Additional reporting by Will Brown in Nairobi)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/