NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Eritrean government rejects The Associated Press story as ‘outrageous lies’ in which witnesses describe a massacre of several hundred people carried out by Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel criticized Thursday’s story of the massacre in the holy city of Axum in Ethiopia in a series of Twitter posts.
“Relevant Ethiopian institutions have long established the complete error of the story,” he said. Neighboring Ethiopia has repeatedly denied the presence of Eritrean soldiers in its Tigray region, which has been largely cut off from the world since fighting began in November between Ethiopian and allied forces and those of Tigray.
During the months-long Tigray conflict, Bremeskel did not respond to AP questions,
Eritrea’s government has not confirmed the presence of thousands of troops in Tigray.
Witnesses from various communities in Tigray have accused them of widespread looting, murder and sexual assault. The Tigray region borders Eritrea, and witnesses described trucks looting cargo on their way to the country.
In Thursday’s story, witnesses are quoted as saying Eritrean soldiers attacked and killed civilians in the streets and churches of Axum, blocking some people from burying the bodies. One church deacon said he believed about 800 people died in one weekend at the end of November, and that thousands died in Axum altogether.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most mysterious countries, has long been an enemy of the now-fledged former leaders of the Tigray region, who have dominated the Ethiopian government for nearly three decades. During that time, Ethiopia and Eritrea waged a two-decade border war.
The conflict ended in 2018 when the future prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, made peace with Eritrea, for which he received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Now some critics of the Tigray conflict accuse Abiy of collaborating with longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to target the region.
No one knows how many thousands of civilians were killed.
The Ethiopian Red Cross warned this month that without improved humanitarian access to a region where 80% of the population of 6 million is still unreachable, thousands of people could starve to death after a month.