Zecharias Zelalem
My latest for The Globe and Mail newspaper:
Acting on tips from residents in Ethiopia's war torn Amhara region...we investigated & eventually learned that the Ethiopian government converted a 25,000 seater football stadium into a military base and artillery launch site, linked to the deaths of at least six civilians during the month of November and likely many more.
The stadium is off limits to the public, blocked off by soldiers. But satellite imagery was revelatory.
Zecharias Zelalem
We acted on tips that residents shared, including that they heard explosions and flashes in the sky reminiscent of artillery blasts originating from Woldia Stadium.
Woldia city stadium was built in 2017 at a cost of $22 million US. It was financed by Ethiopian born Saudi billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, who grew up in the city. It was hoped it would boost the football fanatic country's hopes to once again become an African Cup of Nations host nation.
I began looking into it.
Zecharias Zelalem
In addition, media reports from a slew of local outlets, but also the BBC and VOA's Amharic services made reference to artillery shells at civilian homes fired "from around the stadium." Most of these reports began making the rounds in and around July of this year.
Residents said the army cordoned off the stadium and made it its property around a year ago. But no one was immediately aware of the heavy artillery site established at the stadium.
Zecharias Zelalem
Google Earth imagery is the only way we can get a glimpse of the stadium grounds, as residents of Woldia say soldiers threaten to shoot anyone who approaches. Imagery from June 2024 shows terrible neglect, with the rotting football field grass, stadium tiles falling apart from what was once a beautiful sporting facility.
Dozens of army trucks are on the premises, of what was once a parking lot for happy, cheery football fans.
Zecharias Zelalem
A few minutes of searching, and I stumbled upon what looked like artillery guns at the stadium's main gate. I asked a renowned weapons expert to analyze the images. Wim Zwijnenburg of Dutch peace organization Pax identified them as Soviet origin D30 122 mm howitzers.
Here's a file photo of the model. They have a range of up to 15km, but with self propelled ammunition they can hit targets 20km away. This brings many rebel held villages within striking distance.
Zecharias Zelalem
With this range, the howitzers could hit numerous rebel held villages from the stadium in Woldia city. Among them, the village of Kalim 12km away, which relatives of victims tell us was hit on November 11th 2024, killing five people.
NASA Firms fire data also appears to show a number of suspicious blazes in villages, corresponding to the dates eyewitnesses gave us for artillery barrages on their homes. While fire data cannot confirm anything on its own, it can give further weight to claims.
Zecharias Zelalem
Eyewitness account from a highschool student:
“My aunt, uncle, cousin and I saw people screaming with horrific injuries like amputations. We ran towards the forest with many other people to try and escape the range of the bombs. We stayed hidden for a few hours. I believe people were killed, but I didn’t stay long enough to find out.”
The Amhara Association of America told me it documented at least one death and numerous injuries in the village that day.
-ZZ.
Zecharias Zelalem
@ohmu thank you! Yeah, I began receiving tips about this almost three months ago. I remember visiting the stadium in 2019. It was beautiful and inspired so much hope for sports development. Sigh.
Weird Socks
@ZekuZelalem
This shows some impressive and creative use of publicly available sources of reconnaissance.
The conversion of a football stadium this way is awful.
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