A War on Itself

ETHIOPIA'S CIVIL WAR HAS BECOME A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS, WITH MILLIONS DISPLACED, THOUSANDS DEAD, AND THE NATION'S EXISTENCE IN JEOPARDY.

- LYNSEY ADDARIO AND RACHEL HARTIGAN

The only roads open in the besieged state of Tigray in northern Ethiopia lead to endless tales of darkness.

Along a path on the outskirts of Abiy Adi, in central Tigray, Araya Gebretekle tells his story, tragic in its simplicity. He had six sons. He sent five of them to harvest millet in the family's fields. Four never came home.

When Ethiopian soldiers arrived in the village in February, “my sons didn't flee,” says Araya, wiping his eyes with his white headscarf. “They didn't expect to be killed while harvesting. But the soldiers aimed their weapons at his sons, and a female soldier gave the order to shoot. “Finish them, finish them, she said. The brothers pleaded for their lives. “We're just farmers,” they said. “Spare one of us to harvest and deal with the animals,” they begged. The soldiers spared the youngest, a 15-year-old, and executed the others, leaving their bodies in the field where they fell.

Three months later, “my wife is staying at home, always crying, Araya says. “I haven't left the house until today, and every night I dream of them.” He wipes his eyes again. There were six sons. I asked the oldest one to be there too, but thank God he refused.” (Ethiopians are referred to by their first names.)