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Christiaan Triebert Profile picture
@trbrtc
Nov 5, 2020 • 40 tweets • 25 min read • Read on X
Barely a year ago, Ethiopia's PM Abiy was acclaimed as a peacemaker, a youthful African leader awarded the Nobel Prize after signing a peace deal with Eritrea. But this week, he started a sweeping military operation against Tigray, one of his own regions. nytimes.com/2020/11/04/wor…
“Mr. Abiy announced the operation on Facebook just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, an hour after internet and phone links to the region went down, according to NetBlocks, an organization that tracks internet services.”
“Without any substantive foreign backing and Sudan and Eritrea cooperating with the Ethiopian military, it remains unlikely that the TPLF will be able to resist the Ethiopian military’s incursions for long.” mailchi.mp/thesoufancente…
Re: geolocated video above, Amnesty believes likely hundreds of people not involved in the ongoing military offensive were stabbed or hacked to death in May Cadera. Witnesses say forces loyal to TPLF were responsible for the mass killings. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
There's also lots of online disinformation regarding the ongoing military offensive by Ethiopia. Good fact-check overview here by the BBC's @MwaiPetrov. bbc.com/news/world-afr… ImageImageImageImage
A Chinese-made Wing Loon II was spotted by @wammezz at Assab, the Emirati military base in Eritrea. While TPLF has claimed to be under attack on several fronts, this is no evidence that the UAE is actively supporting the Ethiopian Air Force above Tigray. bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-w… Image
Started a specific thread monitoring airstrikes here.
Over 30,000 people have fled to Sudan already, according to the UN. And with the federal government stating its troop are marching on the capital Mekele, it's expected that number will continue to rise in the coming days.
“From fleeing refugees to missile attacks — the fallout from the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray Region is spilling into other countries and threatens to destabilize an already fragile region,” says @ReutersAfrica's @Katchysangel.
At least 30 destroyed buildings lining the main road near Dansha airport, where the Ethiopian government says there was a Nov. 4 surprise attack by the TPLF on federal troops, are visible on this Nov. 18 @Maxar satellite image. reuters.com/article/us-eth… ImageImage
Shire (ሽረ) was reportedly captured by ENDF forces on Nov. 17. Satellite imagery of @planetlabs shows smoke rising from this warehouse google.com/maps/place/14%… that day. It appears to have been reduced to rubble judging from the image a day later, as was also noted by @Obs_IL.
Last week, three ambulances were attacked, according to the Ethiopian Red Cross Society. Details of the incidents remain unclear, ICRC stated, but it's “a worrying sign that medical workers and first responders are not being respected and protected”. facebook.com/EthiopianRedCr… ICRC https://www.icrc.org/e...ICRC https://www.icrc.org/e...
The Dejena Hotel in Shire (google.com/maps/place/Dej…) appears to have been damaged as well, especially the firs floor, as seen in before and after images. It's unclear exactly when, why, and by whom the hotel was damaged. ImageImage
Follow this thread by @ryanmofarrell for, as far as I've seen, the most accurate territorial control situation in Ethiopia's Tigray Region. It's striking how little we know of what's going on in TPLF-held territory, given the communications blackout.
AFP journalist @rcoreyb and photographer @edusoteras were the first independent journalists to report from inside Humera, after Ethiopian federal forces took the town on Nov. 12 from forces loyal to the TPLF, and found the scars of the conflict everywhere. uk.news.yahoo.com/inside-tigray-…
Multiple people told @rcoreyb that, during the battle, they heard mortars coming in “from the north”, referring to Eritrea. While Ethiopian federal forces make use of Eritrean soil, AFP writes, Ethiopia denies that Eritrea takes part in the fighting.
Axum's runway was obstructed with dirt barriers and other objects, @fanatelevision footage shows. The state-affiliated broadcaster blames TPLF, which lost the popular tourist location home to a UNESCO World Heritage site to federal forces in the past days. fanabc.com/english/desper… ImageImage
The dirt barriers (probably trenches) can faintly be seen on this @sentinel_hub satellite image too. I counted over 20 of the barriers, aimed to obstruct aircraft from using Axum Airport.
From yesterday: “The leader of Ethiopia's dissident Tigray region has said that his people are "ready to die" defending their homeland, rejecting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's ultimatum that they surrender within 72 hours.” news.yahoo.com/tigray-leader-…
At least 9 out of 27 apparent warehouses/storage sites northwest of Wikro (ውቕሮ), #Ethiopia, were heavily damaged if not entirely destroyed, @sentinel_hub satellite imagery shows. Fire data suggests this happened on Nov. 27. ImageImage
Here's a higher resolution satellite image look at that location northwest of Wikro, #Ethiopia.
An Ethiopian Air Force MiG-23 crashed in the TPLF-controlled Kola Tembien district yesterday, per Tigray TV. @projectowlosint and @NotWoofers identified suspected wreckage parts of fighter jet, such as the canopy, variable wing assembly, and the helmet.
In mid-November, the Ethiopian Air Force said the TPLF had targeted Bahir Dar with rockets (amharic.voanews.com/a/Ethiopia-con…). This satellite image strongly suggests at least one rocket hit the airbase, which is home to several MiG-23s.
A satellite image of a storage site southwest of Asmara is making the rounds, alongside the claim that looted goods from Tigray are being sold in Eritrea. Please note that this satellite image is outdated; it's from April 2019.
As the first foreign media, @vrtnews went as deep as Shire into Ethiopia's Tigray Region, spotting desolated villages, burned houses, destroyed armoured vehicles, and a dire situation in a hospital, ran by volunteers. See @vercrus' timeline for more.
vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020…
This video, obtained by @vrtnews, is making the rounds as evidence of Eritrean soldiers transporting looted goods in Tigray. While it's possible to identify the tank as a T-55(A)MV, it's important to note that it's unclear who's operating it here. H/t @Rebel44CZ @oryxspioenkop.
Thread on the Hitsats camp for Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. /28
The tomb of Nejashi, the Abyssinian king who sheltered Muslims seeking refuge in the 7th century, was damaged during, photos and videos show. The first reports of looting and damage emerged on Dec. 16, but there was no visual confirmation of damage until now. H/t @MarksSimon. ImageImageImage
The northern corner of the Najashi tomb [orange] suffered most damage, footage suggests. Unclear whether the nearby 7th-century mosque [yellow], believed to be one of the oldest on the African continent, was damaged. Both were restored by Turkey in 2018: tika.gov.tr/en/news/the_ab…. Image
Update on apparent aerial weapon remnants. /31
Fires —that appear to have been deliberately set— destroyed +500 structures this week in and around the town of Gijet, @Reuters reports based on @planetlabs satellite imagery. May be related to fighting between federal forces and local militias. /32 mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/id… Image
Based on 41 survivor and witness testimonies, @amnesty claims that Eritrean forces “systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians” on Nov. 28-29 in Axum, a city in Ethiopia's Tigray region. “All we could see were dead bodies and people crying.” /33 amnesty.org/en/latest/news… ImageImageImage
If you're looking for a primer on the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, make sure to watch this video by @Salem_Solomon and her team which traces the beginnings of the conflict that grew into a humanitarian crisis: voanews.com/episode/tigray…
The exact location of the “Mahbere Dego massacre,” shown in multiple videos that appeared online last month, has been found. Important work by @bellingcat @Newsy #BBCAfricaEye for potential accountability and to counter disinfo narratives on Tigray Region.
Read more about the geolocation process of these videos on the @bellingcat website. Specifically the value of using a website like PeakVisor is worth mentioning. bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/0… Image collage made from scr...This panorama composite of ...
The identities of both the perpetrators nor the victims were found. But #BBCAfricaEye suggets that the details of the uniforms, including the camouflage pattern and flag patch, appear to match those worn by the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF). bbc.com/news/world-afr… Image
CNN and Amnesty International independently reached the same geolocation conclusion — but on top of that we're also able to find out more about the victims, speak to a family member, and where one of the videos came from: a soldier-turned-whistleblower.
*('were' not 'we're') — anyway, great work by all of those involved at Amnesty International, BBC Africa Eye, Bellingcat, CNN, Newsy and others.
And here's the link to the joint CNN and Amnesty video investigation. edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2…

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More from @trbrtc

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The Biden admin has hailed its efforts to restrict Iran's oil revenue — and its ability to fund proxy militias. But lax government oversight allowed deceptive tankers to move $2.8 billion worth of oil, all with American insurance. Our visual investigation: nyti.ms/3I0dQOr
Since this investigation — with @BlackiLi, @_neilbedi, @ajcardia and @bottidavid — relied heavily on openly available online sources and tools, I wanted to give some insights in our reporting process below.
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Aug 1, 2023
Just moments ago, reports of yet another drone attack in Moscow (early hours of August 1), making it the fourth attack in the span of just one week. Threading details as they emerge below:
This video shows smoke rising at a skyscraper in Moscow City, a symbol of Russia's economic resurgency under Putin. The area was also hit by a suspected Ukrainian-made Bober drone on July 30. https://t.co/4fdGOS8yDnt.me/ENews112/14811
According to Tass, the Russian state news agency citing “emergency services”, one drone was shot down in the Moscow Region while another one hit, indeed, one of the Moscow City skyscrapers.
https://t.co/fl9oG1SUB7t.me/tass_agency/20…
t.me/tass_agency/20…
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Jul 31, 2023
“The only way to stop this,” Ukraine's military intelligence told us, “is the immediate withdrawal of Russian occupation troops from Ukraine.” Our latest visual investigation into Kyiv's growing fleet of homegrown kamikaze drones that have hit Moscow: nyti.ms/455tphc
Public glimpses of Ukraine's long-range kamikaze drone program are rare. The first came in December, when influencer @igorlachenkov got an unexpected phone call from GUR, Ukraine's military intelligence. They needed money, and fast, for a “drone that can fly very far.”
@igorlachenkov Lachenkov, who had been raising money for the war effort, asked his million followers on Telegram for donations. 20 million hryvnia, or about half a million dollars, was needed to fund five Bobers — Ukraine's equivalent of the Iranian-made Shaheds used by Russia. Image
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Christiaan Triebert Profile picture
May 31, 2023
We tracked how several tankers, all acquired by shell companies after Russia invaded Ukraine, secretly moved at least half a billion dollars worth of Russian oil — an apparent effort to deceive their U.S.-based insurer. Our latest visual investigation: nyti.ms/43DQxTn
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Since the U.S., European Union and G7 countries imposed a price cap on Russian oil, there's been quite some chatter about Russia amassing a “dark,” “shadow” or “ghost fleet” — but little specifics. So we decided to take a closer look at what we could find. (Many dead ends, too.)
Read 31 tweets
Christiaan Triebert Profile picture
Apr 13, 2023
We've identified the leader of the Discord group where top secret U.S. documents were leaked — it's a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, specifically its intelligence wing. Gift link, no paywall: nytimes.com/2023/04/13/wor…
Extraordinary team work here by @AricToler, @mschwirtz, @heytherehaley, @riley_mellen, @malachybrowne, @Tmgneff, @julianbarnes, Adam Goldman, @cjchivers, @kitty_bennett, @sheelaghnyc.
Law enforcement outside the home of the Airman's mother. Photo by @heytherehaley. A U.S. official has confirmed that federal authorities have begun the search the home. Law enforcement outside the...
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