Over the past month, VICE World News has documented harrowing testimony from nine displaced Tigrayans who recalled wanton slaughter, the destruction of crops and livelihoods, and tens of thousands fleeing from areas of Ethiopia’s Tigray region under Eritrean military control. Their testimony has been largely confirmed by satellite image analysis by the U.K.-based research organization DX Open Network, and their recounting and the image analysis both suggest that Eritrean soldiers involved in Ethiopia’s war in Tigray are ethnically cleansing communities near the Ethiopian-Eritrean border. While several towns in the area have been previously reported destroyed, VICE World News found that, at minimum, an additional four villages in Tigray have likely been razed and their inhabitants killed.“They shot at everyone. They even killed priests who were hiding in the church.”
“Absence of scorching between blackened structures suggests intentional burning, not the result of a wildfire,” the DX Open Network said of the images in a statement to VICE World News. “Perpetrators likely went from structure to structure to initiate razing. And furthermore, there were no apparent indicators of any militarily valid targets.”“Many of them were burnt alive in their homes.”
![478 structures destroyed in Adi Mendi](https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1614451291846-478-structures-destroyed-in-adi-mendi.png)
A satellite image depicting Adi Mendi's scorched tukul homes. Analysis from DX Open Network says that because there is no damage to nearby trees, it is a clear indicator of deliberate and calculated burnings. (Courtesy of PlanetLabs INC)
In February, on a panel organized by German news outlet Deutsche Welle, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dina Mufti conceded that Eritrean soldiers “might have crossed into porous border areas to contain lawlessness.”“They aren’t just crossing the border, they are in control of the entire area.”
“Like the many similar attacks in rural communities, there are no apparent indicators of militarily valid targets in Adi Fitaw and there are clear indicators of the deliberate burning of homes there.”
The situation looks increasingly grim. The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments refuse to acknowledge abuses by their forces, and preventative measures don’t appear forthcoming. International pressure is also limited: While other governments have made statements condemning nearby attacks, very little has changed. Hirut Zeray, one of over 50,000 Ethiopians to flee into Sudan, agreed. “Sudan is my country now,” she told VICE World News. “I am safe here and the people are helping us with what little they have. But in Ethiopia, we are treated worse than animals.”“I think they want to kill us all.”