Ethiopian government soldiers pose for photographs inside the Tigray Martyrs’ Memorial Museum after looting, damaging, and desecrating the memorial and its collections.
The following videos, photographs, and screenshots document the condition of the Tigray Martyrs Memorial Museum after Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) withdrew from Mekelle in June 2021. The museum—established to preserve the history and memory of those who died during the 1974–1991 struggle against the Derg—was occupied by ENDF forces for approximately eight months. During the occupation, the museum was transformed from a place of remembrance into a military base and temporary detention center. The images below document extensive damage to the museum’s collections and facilities, evidence consistent with torture and detention, and items that museum staff associated with sexual violence.
The Museum as a Site of Sexual Violence
According to the museum curator, who was interviewed by the World Peace Foundation, blood-stained clothing, women’s garments, shoes, and other personal belongings were recovered inside the museum following the military occupation. These items were documented alongside survivor testimony alleging that women were detained and raped inside the museum during its occupation.
The two screenshots below, taken from a Dimtsi Weyane TV documentary, depict a blood-stained cloth consistent with sexual violence committed by soldiers inside the museum.
The Museum as a Site of Torture and Detention
The following screenshots from the Dimtsi Weyane TV documentary show images that museum staff identified as evidence consistent with the use of the museum as a temporary detention and torture site. The images include electric cables, handcuffs, chains, chairs, and other objects reportedly found in areas of the museum where former detainees described being held and abused. According to the museum curator interviewed by the World Peace Foundation, these materials were recovered after ENDF forces vacated the site and have been preserved as part of the museum’s documentation of the occupation.
Destruction of the Museum and Desecration of the Memorial
The following videos document the widespread destruction of the museum’s collections and infrastructure following the military occupation. They show damaged museum equipment and collections, historical photographs, destroyed exhibits, communication equipment used during the Tigrayan armed struggle, vandalized displays, looted artifacts, and the desecration of the remains of fallen fighters whose caskets were opened inside the memorial. Together, these videos illustrate the extensive damage inflicted on a site dedicated to preserving the history, memory, and sacrifice of those commemorated by the museum.
Dimtsi Weyane TV Documentary – Part I
Dimtsi Weyane TV Documentary – Part II
Tigrai TV Documentary
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Screenshots from the first two videos
