Sergent Ebsa Terefe: We were instructed to “Kill them all. Slaughter them. Burn every house.”
First, there was a written order from the Ministry of Defense. “Do not kill innocent civilians. You must not kill civilians”. But our commanders didn’t put into practice the written order. They told us: “Kill them all. Slaughter them. Burn every house … instead of putting them in jail, you would put them in front of their houses and shoot them.”
Sgt Ebsa Terefe, Ethiopian govt POW
Bante Tefera (POW): We were instructed “to kill anyone and anything we come across in Tigray“
Ethiopian government soldier captured by Tigrayan forces on Dedebit front says they were ordered to “kill anyone and anything they come across” in Tigray. Bante Tefera, originally from Arba Minch city in Southern Ethiopia, also says they were explicitly ordered “not to leave anyone alive” in Tigray.
Captain Berhanu Biramo Erbora: ‘We were ordered to annihilate the Tigrayan ethnicity‘
Cap. Berhanu Biramo Erbora served as commander of the 4th regiment within the ENDF’s 53rd Division until he was captured by Tigrayan forces. He says they were ordered “to annihilate” the Tigrayan ethnicity and, in line with the order they received, he says “property have been stolen, people have been killed, women have been raped, houses have been burned down and, in the name of destroying Tigray, people of all ages have been killed” . . . “Even the blind and elderly people were killed in Temben [Central Tigray], he adds. He admits that himself and other Ethiopian government soldiers were “engaged in large-scale looting of property including TV sets, mattresses, gold, money. Captain Berhanu also said houses were broken in to and property looted – small and large alike – in all towns starting from Hawzen”. According to the POW, livestock belonging to the civilian population were slaughtered and women were raped. Captain Berhanu says he “witnessed it all with his own eyes and engaged in all of these crimes”.