Locating an atrocity in #Ethiopia.
As the Ethiopian army advances, upsetting images and videos have emerged of the alleged killing of prisoners outside Tinishu Rebi/Chefa Robit in Wello during December.
@Quen10Tarantino and I investigate ⬇️
#OSINT
The images and videos available on social media accounts have shown bodies in a pit on a roadside in #Ethiopia varying states of decomposition in December.
@Quen10Tarantino and I will not be sharing some parts of the images and videos as they are too graphic for @Twitter
According to a resident, the people in the pit were from prison. Their bodies were recognised by locals.
They were allegedly executed by #Ethiopia’s security forces who are in control of the nearby town.
The number of bodies in the pit has changed over time, some have been dragged from the hole (possibly by wild animals) but more have been added to the pile since their discovery. #Ethiopia
Where are the bodies in #Ethiopia? Several Tweets say that it is located in ‘Cheffa’. Another by Hamza Oromiya suggested that it occurred in ‘Wallo, Chefa Robit’. This is located in the Oromia Special Zone.
Since Tigrayan forces pushed south towards Addis Ababa in the summer of 2021, in coordination with the #OLA, fighting has been fiercest along this corridor.
@MapEthiopia has been documenting the civil war.
#Ethiopia
google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie…
Since late November and early December, the civil war’s pendulum has swung the way of government forces.
Air and drone power, and rearming of the army, has pushed #TPLF and #OLA forces back.
The war continues to rage
economist.com/middle-east-an…
The #Oromia Special Zone is located here. Journalists @BilehJelan and @siyanne have reported for @addisstandard on worsening ethnic violence between Amharic and #Oromo communities there since April here and in South Wollo and North Shewa Zones.
addisstandard.com/analysis-amid-…
The town in question on this conflict ‘corridor’ and valley is here. It is also known as Tinshu Rebi on @EarthOutreach but several buildings correlate with the name mentioned in the tweets: Chefa Robit. #Ethiopia
The mountains in the video footage give a clue to the location (the pit containing the bodies is to the left in this video). Note the road to the right, which the TukTuk is driving along. That is the A2.
#Ethiopia
The mountains in the video footage give a clue to the location. Āba Boker Terara is the mountain in the backdrop, and it and the other hills in front of it lines up with the frame in the video. #Ethiopia on @PeakVisor_app
There is a road to the right of the cameraman, and they are looking southward. We have rough coordinates (provided by @Quen10Tarantino) via @PeakVisor_app. #Ethiopia.
The bodies are north of Chefa Robit along the A2, just around the corner from the town.
10.479046° 39.936410°
In the counter-offensive by the Ethiopian government, Chefa Robit was recaptured from Tigrayan and #OLA rebels on December 3rd, 2021. The next day, Kemise was also captured as reported by @MapEthiopia
The territory is currently under government control, and remains so today (December 27th). According to locals, the people executed were alleged #Oromo political prisoners.
They were taken from the town prison and executed at Intale on December 17th
Troublingly, these executions may be still going, as more bodies have been dumped in this particular pit since December 17th. In this video, posted on Twitter on December 25th, there are more bodies than before when compared to video @Quen10Tarantino obtained (recorded on 21st)
The bodies decomposition in the pit also correlates to 3-10 days after death in videos provided. This matches the timeline of the alleged execution date (December 17th) to bodies being discovered and shared on social media on December 19th, 21st & 25th
aftermath.com/content/human-…
Some of the people’s body positions remain the same in images and videos available. Grimly, it may be that those responsible for executing these prisoners are dumping them out in the open as a warning to other political dissidents. #Ethiopia
Whoever is responsible for these executions, what has happened over the last two weeks in Chefa Robit are serious human rights violations and potential war crimes. Grimly, they still might be happening elsewhere in the region and wider #Ethiopia
These executions are one piece of a wider conflict and a war within a war between the #OLA and government where tit-for-tat atrocities are being committed with impunity in a brutal counter-insurgency war. #Ethiopia
economist.com/middle-east-an…
The international community must act to end the civil war in #Ethiopia before the country breaks apart, and hold those responsible for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity to account.
economist.com/middle-east-an…
Thanks to @Quen10Tarantino for all his help. If you would like to access to the images and videos in question, DM us, and we can provide them in a safe space. #OSINT
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