Ethiopian Civil War Destroys Some of Africa’s Oldest Christian Sites

The latest Ethiopian civil war has caused unexpected casualties since it started in November 2020, including the destruction or damage of several ancient Christian churches built into rock walls in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the Conversation, a non-profit media outlet, reported on Tuesday.

The Conversation detailed on May 3 alleged or documented acts of destruction at the following ancient Christian sites in Tigray since Ethiopia’s latest civil war began in November 2020:

The Monastery of Abunä Abraham was established before the 14th Century. … It is among the sites that have been bombed.

Debre Medhanit Amanuel Ma‘go, a church in Wuqro, was shelled by invading troops in November 2020.

There is also local testimony of the destruction of the library of the rock-hewn church and monastery of Maryam Yerefeda.

“Membere Gebremedhin, a coordinator for the culture and tourism sector of the district of Hawzen in eastern Tigray, has reported that 31 monasteries and churches in the area have been heavily damaged,” the Conversation further revealed on Tuesday. “He added that church property and ecclesiastical materials have been looted. Footage of this destruction was shared by Dimtsi Weyane Television, a Tigrayan station.”

Ethiopia’s latest civil war sparked on November 4, 2021, after forces allied with a separatist militia known as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked a federally administered military base in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The assault prompted Ethiopia’s federal government, centered in the national capital of Addis Ababa, to launch an air and ground offensive against the TPLF that remains ongoing today.

The conflict is perhaps most notable for the wake of destruction and suffering its fighting has left behind across Tigray and the neighboring Ethiopian states of Afar and Amhara. The war has caused the displacement of thousands of Ethiopians, many of whom have chosen to flee their home country for nearby Sudan. This humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by an associated food shortage that the United Nations (U.N.) blames on Addis Ababa’s alleged failure to allow foreign aid shipments into affected regions. Ethiopia’s federal government has refuted the U.N.’s claims, insisting that incessant attacks on its soldiers by the Marxist TPLF militia have prevented Addis Ababa from distributing aid.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has spearheaded the civil war against the TPLF in a stark reversal of his previous public image as an arbiter of peace. Abiy won the 2019 Nobel Peace Price for helping to broker a peace deal between Ethiopia and its neighbor, Eritrea.