Thread by @mattckwilliams

An atrocity in #Ethiopia.

Security forces from the SNNPR along with Fano militias and Amhara special forces were caught on video burning a man alive.

@Quen10Tarantino and I investigate with help from @wdavison10.

Warning: Contains upsetting images.

On 11th March, a five-minute clip has been circulating on Facebook and Twitter, showing armed men throwing a man onto a fire in #Ethiopia.

Several other prisoners had already been burnt to death before the man’s murder by the Ethiopian soldiers and government-linked militias.

Due to the disturbing and graphic nature of this video, I will not be sharing it in full as it is too graphic for @Twitter. DM me if you want access to the full video.

The person videoing the footage on a mobile phone is this man. Several other men in the militia are also filming the burning. A group of between 50 and 70 men carry the man to an already burnt out pyre in the opening.

According to @wdavison10, they are speaking Amharic.

At least two to three people have already been burned alive when they arrive with the man. According to @wdavison10, the presence of Fano and Amhara SF is apparent. The other accent is of a Southerner. You can also see South Region Police uniform.

The mob proceeded to humiliate the man.

"You mother f*ck. You are yet to be perished. Here is your destiny [being thrown to fire]. This is their price. Are you going to burn him? (one asking) and the other replied 'yes', throw him [in the fire], yes dump him.

“Let him turn his face [towards the fire]. Let him see his brothers [comrades]. Hold him up [to throw him into the burning fire]... 1,2,3.. yes! (they threw him into the fire after counting 1 to 3).”

After humiliating the man, at 1:17 to 1:19 in the video they throw the man on the fire (pictures 1 and 2 below).

Several Ethiopian soldiers, helped by militiamen add dry grass and wood to the fire.

“Add a firewood [in tot the fire]. This mother f*cker. We burned like this when they killed the major. None of you never touch him. Just push him by using wood."

“Add more grasses, you trash mother f**ker. Bur him .. burn him. Let him burn. Is he not dead yet? , no [ other replied]. It is up to him if died or not. Mother f**k. The meat is read, where is injera? (one said) It is better with bread (the other replied)"

Where and when the video was captured is difficult to verify. The exact location is difficult to geolocate, however, according to one activist, it is located near the town of #Guba/#Gubba in the region of #Metekel.

This is in the north-west of #Ethiopia.

The Fano militia and SNNPR special forces were allegedly operating around Renaissance Dam.

https://twitter.com/wdavison10/status/1502351525234057216

According to @addisstandard, the regional special forces of Gambella, Sidama and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR seen in the video) were deployed to Bulan Woreda in Metekel Zone in Benishangul Gumuz region in September 2021. addisstandard.com/news-analysis-…

Communal violence, TPLF incursions, and attacks by unidentified armed groups have led to the deaths of civilians and the subsequent SNNPR deployment.

Nearly 250,000 civilians have been displaced by violence according to @reliefweb.

reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe…

Atrocities committed by Fano, government forces and rebels in the civil war have been well documented.

Unidentified armed groups in Metekel have also targeted government officials and security counterparts as well as other ethnic minorities.

amnesty.org/en/latest/news…

The murder of the prisoners/prisoners of war in this video could be retributive, revenge for the death of a major in the army.

https://twitter.com/wdavison10/status/1502352393253662724

Since December last year, the situation has been very tense in the Benishangul Gumuz region, which hosts more than 70,000 Sudanese and South Sudanese refugees and over 500,000 internally displaced Ethiopians.

Violence has intensified.

unhcr.org/uk/news/briefi…

As war rages in #Ukraine, it is vital the world does not ignore other war crimes, human rights abuses and atrocities occurring in other war zones like #Ethiopia.

npr.org/sections/goats…

Plagued by man-made famine, drought, and brutal civil war, #Ethiopia's catastrophe is set to deepen.

The civil war must not be forgotten.

theguardian.com/global-develop…

Thank you to @Quen10Tarantino and @wdavison10 for assisting in making this thread and translations.

If anyone knows the exact geolocation and date of this video in #Ethiopia, please DM me, or contact #OSINT community to conduct more research.

bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/0…

The Federal Government Communication Service revealed the location where government security forces were seen burning a victim to death. The government communication bureau disclosed that the location is Aysid Kebele in Guba, Metekel, Benishangul Gumuz @addisstandard

https://twitter.com/addisstandard/status/1502575714322821120

Some more info on the incident from a @EthioHRC press release here.

https://twitter.com/EthioHRC/status/1502924758953959427

A correction to this tweet here in the thread after discussion with Will, there was some miscommunication here. I don't have authoritative info that Fano or Amhara regional forces were involved.

Some more info on the incident from a @EthioHRC press release here however on involvement of Amhara forces. As above. ☝️

Link and tweet for above press release.

https://twitter.com/ethiohrc/status/1502924758953959427