A Catholic minority in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is “in danger of disappearing” after three and a half years of brutal and violent occupation by the Eritrean army, according to a recent article in the Italian press.
The tragedy of the Irob community is unfolding against the larger tragedy across the Tigray region caused by two years of civil war that has resulted in at least 600,000 deaths, millions of displaced persons and a famine,reportsAvvenire, a leading Italian daily newspaper.
The Irob, who number around 50,000 people, have lived for centuries in the rural and mountainous territory on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, primarily as farmers. Speaking the Saho language and with the majority following the Catholic Faith, this has set them apart from the rest of the population of the surrounding region who speak Tigrinya and belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The Irob region was occupied by Eritrean troops in November 2020 as civil war escalated in Ethiopia; Eritrean forces joined Ethiopian government forces fighting against the Tigray military forces. As a result of the Eritrean occupation, the Irob have seen their lands turned into what some are calling an open-air prison.
