In the past few days, as the conflict and political debate continues over the crisis in the Tigray region in Ethiopia, a video clip has spread showing the atrocities and violations committed against what appear to be civilians in the troubled region.
The Ethiopian army said that this video is “a complete fabrication and drama coordinated by the agents of the Tigray Liberation Front Military Council,” according to the Ethiopian News Agency “INA”.
In a media testimony, the Director of Public Relations of the National Defense Forces, Major General Muhammad Tasima, said that the video was published by agents of the Military Council with the intention of confusing the audience. But he did not specifically refer to the intended video.
But last week, CNN published an analysis of a video clip showing a group of armed soldiers surrounding a number of unarmed people in civilian clothes on a mountain peak.
In its analysis, the network said that there are indications that the soldiers are members of the Ethiopian army, who execute innocent civilians by firing squad, in what it described as a “war crime.” The video then showed soldiers trying (apparently) to dump dead bodies from a cliff.
Tasima said that some supporters of the military council are now acting as bandits by hiding in the woods, stealing and killing innocent people in some parts of the region, indicating that they have intensified the killing of civilians in Tigray.
And Abizaid: “This dead organization has done a very bad act of sabotage against people, by photographing people who have slaughtered them and publishing them through the international media to condemn the government around the world.”
Muhammad claimed that the “flagrantly manipulated and recently released” video clearly showed the constant drama of SCAF agents and its allies as if it had been done by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.