The ongoing crisis in Tigray is extremely dire, and there are so many indications that this has the potential to be incredibly catastrophic. We need everyone’s voice to encourage the international community to condemn this war and take action.

Tigray and Ethiopia

Ethiopia is split federally into 10 regions that are divided primarily along ethnic lines, and are considered nations within the state- this is why Ethiopia has considered itself a mutli-national federalism. So Tigray is the northern most region with about 7 million people, and over 100k Eritrean refugees. While much of Ethiopia is currently unstable and many groups experiencing persecution, only Tigray is currently undergoing a genocidal war in the name of collective punishment.

War on Tigray

In early November, the prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed began a so-called “law and order” enforcement operation against the elected Tigray regional government that quickly escalated into a regional war with international actors. Since then, the conflict has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, reportedly 2.5 million people internally displaced, and over 70,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan.

Over 5.2 million (up to 50-75% of the Tigrayan population) are in need of emergency food, 2.3 million are children. According to MSF, 87% of health facilities are no longer functional or fully functioning. Over 70,000 civilians have been killed.

Rape has been used as a weapon of war throughout Tigray. Over 10,000 women and girls have been victims of sexual violence and the UN projects that 22,500 survivors of GBV will seek aid in 2021. The Eritrean government is heavily involved in committing the large-scale killings, raping, looting, and destruction of infrastructure and UNESCO heritage sites. Alongside the Ethiopian government, Eritrean forces are among the primary reasons why unfettered humanitarian aid is being blocked from entering Tigray.