| Date: | 30 December 2020 |
| Gijet massacre | |
| Location: | Gijet, Tigray Region, Ethiopia |
| Partof: | Tigray War |
| Fatalities: | 21 civilians |
| Type: | |
The December 2020 Gijet massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Gijet in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 30 December 2020.[1] Gijet is the central town of woreda Saharti, southeastern zone of Tigray.
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) killed 21 youngsters, including a seven-year-old child in Gijet (SE Tigray) on 30 December 2020.[1] [2]
Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray war are (1) revenge when they lose a battle; (2) to terrorise and extract information about whereabouts of TPLF leaders; (3) murder of suspected family members of TDF fighters; and (4) terrorising the Tigray society as a whole such as in case of mass killings in churches.[3]
Dimtsi Woyane reported the perpetrators of this massacre as being the Ethiopian army.[2]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation” mentions 21 victims of this massacre.[1]
The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation”,[1] that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly regarding its Annex A, that lists massacres in the Tigray War.[3] [4] [5] [6]
After months of denial by the Ethiopian authorities that massacres occurred in Tigray, a joint investigation by OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was announced in March 2021.[7]