Based on reports regarding the
conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region (starting on November 4, 2020),
the historic Debre Damo monastery was reported to be destroyed or
heavily damaged during the conflict, with allegations suggesting it
was targeted by drones and heavy weapons.
👉 Here
are the key details regarding this situation:
Destruction of Debre Damo:
Reports from February 2021 indicated that the 6th-century Debre Damo
monastery was destroyed, with buildings on top of the mountain
ruined and ancient, invaluable manuscripts and treasures looted.
Allegations of Drone
Involvement: Reports from the Mekelle Diocese and various observers
alleged that many monasteries, including Debre
Damo, were bombed by UAE-supplied drones and other weapons during
the genocidal jihad.
The
Drone Controversy: While there were widespread allegations, some
experts and investigators argued that there was no definitive
evidence of United Arab Emirates (UAE) drones being directly
used by the Ethiopian Air Force, suggesting instead that the
Ethiopian government used its own Chinese-made Wing Loong drones or
Iranian-made drones. However, evidence indicated that the UAE
operated Wing Loong II drones from a base in Assab, Eritrea, and
provided significant logistical support to the Ethiopian military
during the conflict.
Looting and Destruction: In
addition to the bombing, the Debre Damo monastery was reportedly
looted by forces involved in the conflict.
Debre Damo is an isolated,
6th-century monastery located in Tigray, known for its
inaccessibility and its collection of ancient manuscripts.
🔥 Genocide Alert:
Attacks on Ethiopia's oldest Churches and Monastries.
There are new reports that
the joint Eritrean & Ethiopian fascists forces are bombarding
Debre Damo, one of THE OLDEST MONASTRIES of the Orthodox Church (6th
century), with heavy artilleries. Dozens of civilian casualties,
mainly monks, also reported
Saint Abune Aregawi
(also called Za-Mika'el 'Aragawi) was a sixth-century monk,
whom tradition holds founded the Debre Damo in Tigray,
Ethiopia – said to have been commissioned by Emperor Gebre Mesqel
of Axum.
👉 Courtesy: The Times, UK, by Jane Flanagan, Tuesday
February 16, 2021.
Ethiopia’s
most famous monastery has been bombed and looted of its ancient
treasures according to reports emerging from the north of the country
where fighting has left tens of thousands of people at risk of
starvation.
Aid
organisations warned they are “preparing for the worst” after
four months of conflict between state forces and regional fighters in
Tigray that has killed thousands amid reports of multiple massacres.
Authorities in the capital have confirmed the rapes of scores of
women and girls.
International
experts have also raised the alarm over reports of “cultural
cleansing” in the heritage-rich region with thefts and destruction
of centuries-old artefacts at historically significant sites. In one
recent alleged incident, troops from neighbouring Eritrea, which is
backing government forces, ransacked manuscripts from the remains of
the remote sixth-century Debre Damo monastery after clambering 80ft
up a cliff to reach it.
Debre Damo is
one of Ethiopia's most important monasteries and can only be accessed
through a steep cliff with a rope.
Other buildings
on the flat-topped mountain that were also “completely destroyed”
included the monks’ ancient dwellings and the earliest existing
church in Ethiopia that is still in its original style, according to
the Europe External Programme with Africa.
Attacks have
also been reported in recent months at the Church of St Mary of Zion,
which many Ethiopian Christians believe houses the Ark of the
Covenant.
Specialists
have warned that Tigray’s stolen gems could be spirited out of the
country and sold to collectors. Video taken by Belgian journalists
reporting on the conflict apparently showed an Eritrean tank loaded
with plunder.
Alessandro
Bausi, an expert in Ethiopic texts and manuscripts at Hamburg
University, said he had heard from multiple sources that key sites
were being targeted and “irreplaceable” artefacts destroyed or
pillaged.
Mary’s Meals,
a Scottish-based charity working in Tigray, said that millions of
people were at imminent risk of starvation and lacked access to
proper sanitation or medical care.
It said: “The
region’s capital, Mekelle, is being overwhelmed by displaced and
traumatised people arriving every day. Many are unaccompanied
children who have lost their parents.”
