“The six-month bullet fence”: the voice of armed conflict survivors in Kobo and Agamsa districts, Amhara region of Ethiopia

Abstract

Following the politically motivated and ethnically induced war, Tigray People Liberation Front political and militia groups inflicted a deliberate massacre of civilians in the Kobo and Agamsa districts of the Amhara region. This study aimed to examine the attacks perpetrated in war-torn districts of the Amhara region on civilians. To this end, a qualitative method with a phenomenological study design was used. The purposive sampling technique was employed to select 15 participants. An in-depth interview and non-participant observation were used as data collection techniques and thematic analysis was employed. The findings revealed that, Amharas in both the Kobo and Agamsa districts were horrifically killed, and massacred, deliberately to cause death, harm, and genocide. Through kidnapping and hostage-taking, women and teenage girls were found to be sexual violence as a weapon of war with experienced gang rape that caused abortion and complicated reproductive health problems. Survivors of the massacre also experienced humiliation and dehumanization. Over seventy-three homes and properties were ruined in the Agamsa district, which significantly affected the livelihood of survivors. Vandalism of private and public properties, and institutions was the mantra of the massacre. Within the framework of the Convention against Genocide, the massacre is argued to be a war crime and a crime against humanity that caused a severe human rights violation and humanitarian crisis upon civilians including, ethnic-based displacement, migration, social unrest, economic insecurity, forced prostitution, and trauma. Overall, the intent of the massacre had psychological and sociological impacts that targeted the socio-cultural values and history of the ethnic Amhara.