She’eb and the Unfinished Question of Justice for Eritrea

by @Dahlakib

Many massacres were committed in Eritrea by successive Ethiopian regimes, but few match the scale and cruelty of the She’eb massacre, one of the darkest chapters in Eritrea’s long struggle for self-determination. These atrocities were not accidental byproducts of war; they were deliberate acts of terror aimed at breaking the will of a people who had already rejected forced political arrangements imposed against their consent.¹

It is historically important to state clearly: Eritreans took up arms before the UN-imposed federation was formally dissolved, because they never accepted it in the first place. The federation of 1952 was not an expression of Eritrean self-determination but a geopolitical compromise imposed without a referendum.² From its inception, Eritreans opposed it through political resistance, protests, and underground movements.
That resistance escalated into armed struggle on September 1, 1961, when Hamid Idris Awate fired the first shots of the Eritrean revolution, one full year before Ethiopia officially annexed Eritrea in 1962.³ This act marked the beginning of the Eritrean War of Independence and made clear that Eritreans rejected domination, imposed federation, and the systematic erosion of their autonomy.

Unable to defeat the liberation movement militarily, Ethiopian regimes, imperial, Derg, and later, turned their fury against civilians.

On May 12, 1988, the Ethiopian Derg regime committed one of its most heinous crimes in the coastal town of She’eb, following its humiliating defeat at Afabet. The town was burned to the ground. Civilians, women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, were deliberately targeted. Those who could not run were burned alive, crushed by tanks, or summarily executed. Entire families were erased.⁴

She’eb was not an isolated incident. Ethiopian regimes carried out atrocities across Eritrea on a scale that, in modern terminology, would be classified as genocidal acts. Massacres and scorched-earth campaigns took place in Ona, Besigdera, Agordat, Ad Ibrahim, Adi-Keih, Digsa, Weki Dba, Tera Imni, Om Hajer, Hirgigo, Emberemi, Nakfa, Molki, Hazemo, Mendefera, and She’eb, among many others. These were not battles between armies but assaults on innocent people, children, women, and the elderly, used as instruments of intimidation.⁵

Despite enduring immense suffering, Eritrea chose restraint after independence. The country paid a heavy price by refusing to dwell endlessly on past crimes or pursue vengeance against previous Ethiopian regimes, prioritizing peace and regional stability, particularly peaceful coexistence between the two countries. Eritrea moved forward without demanding compensation, tribunals, or confessions, believing that peace required looking ahead rather than reopening every wound.

However, history shows that Ethiopian regimes failed to learn from the past. Instead of reckoning with previous crimes, similar atrocities continue, this time against their own people. Civilians are killed by drones, shelled by heavy weapons, and massacred by their own army in different regions of Ethiopia. Innocent men, women, and children remain victims of state violence, and the cycle of atrocities has not stopped.

This tragic repetition exposes a painful truth: ignoring past crimes does not erase them, it allows them to resurface. Justice delayed is not only justice denied for Eritrea; it is also a warning unheeded, now paid for by innocent lives elsewhere.

Remembering She’eb is not about reopening wounds; it is about defending historical truth. Recognition, accountability, and justice are essential not only for Eritrea, but for any region seeking lasting peace. Without confronting these crimes honestly, reconciliation becomes hollow.
She’eb stands as a permanent reminder: Eritrea said NO long before annexation, paid an extraordinary price for its freedom, and that price must never be erased, denied, or rewritten.

Footnotes

1. Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991) – Historical overview of the conflict and civilian targeting.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean_War_of_Independence
2. UN-Imposed Federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia (Resolution 390-V) – Background and consequences of the federation imposed without Eritrean consent.
   Shabait – Eritrea Ministry of Information:
   “Tracing Decades of Injustice”
   https://shabait.com/2023/09/30/tracing-decades-of-injustice/
3. Start of the Eritrean Armed Struggle (September 1, 1961) – Hamid Idris Awate fires the first shots before annexation.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adal
   Shabait: “The Shot Heard Around the Globe”
   https://shabait.com/2017/09/02/the-shot-heard-around-the-globe/
4. She’eb Massacre (May 12, 1988) – Civilian massacre and destruction of the town.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27eb_massacre
   Shabait: “May in the History of Eritrea”
   https://shabait.com/2019/05/15/may-in-the-history-of-eritrea/
5. Massacres and Atrocities Against Eritrean Civilians – Documentation of Ona, Om Hajer, Hirgigo, and other massacres.
   Setit: “No Peace Without Justice: Eritrea’s Rightful Claim to Accountability”
   https://setit.org/no-peace-without-justice-eritreas-rightful-claim-to-accountability/
   Shabait: “Remembering Ona”
   https://shabait.com/2009/12/05/remembering-ona/
6. 1993 Eritrean Independence Referendum (UN-Supervised) – Confirmation of Eritrea’s independence by popular vote.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Eritrean_independence_referendum