A chronicle of the Tigray tragedy (2020 - 2024)

The Tigray region in Ethiopia faced a catastrophic humanitarian situation, with the Aksum massacre and others causing widespread disarray. The situation was exacerbated by the ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray. The situation was documented in the Atlas of the Humanitarian Situation, which provided a comprehensive overview of the humanitarian situation in Tigray. The blockade has led to famine, crop failure, and the cover-up of war crimes. Despite the Pretoria Agreement, the entire Western Tigray zone remains occupied in addition to other areas along the Amhara and Eritrean borders, with 840,815 internally displaced persons unable to return home, facing hardships. The situation has been worsened by the escalation of violence and the lack of international diplomacy and rescue efforts: the UN and EU failed to provide adequate support and aid to the affected communities. This Chronicle of the Tigray tragedy is largely the result of informal exchanges with informants and concerned friends that informed decisions on what to prioritize in the 67 Digests published between November 2020 and June 2024. It should be seen as the collective perception by a loose group of friends of Tigray, documented with a sense of urgency by the author. Although the Chronicle stops its regular updates in 2024, notwithstanding a formal declaration of the war’s end, the tragedy in Tigray continues unabated. The Chronicle includes various events such as the famine, massacres, and weaponized rape, as well as the ongoing humanitarian situation in Tigray. It also gives an insight on how news of this barbaric war became known to the world, despite government blockades. The Chronicle serves as an informed and progressive insight into the developing humanitarian catastrophe in Tigray, which the world largely chose to ignore. Added value of this Chronicle is its continuity over time and largely over space as it covers all parts of Tigray, and adjacent areas. It complements more time-specific or ‘specialised’ reports and articles and serves as a record of sources about the Tigray humanitarian disaster, as informed by a range of direct contacts with individuals on the ground.