The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Ethiopian authorities to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the killing of Dawit Kebede Araya, a reporter for Tigray TV, and his friend Bereket Berhe.
The CPJ emphasized the need to determine whether Dawit’s journalistic work motivated the attack and to hold those responsible accountable.
Details of the Incident
On the evening of January 19, unidentified attackers shot and killed Dawit and Bereket while they were driving near Dawit’s home in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray state. The region has been embroiled in conflict since November 2020.
According to news reports and four anonymous sources who spoke to CPJ, the two were found the next morning with gunshot wounds to their heads and were buried later that day.
Allegations and Official Response
The Ethiopia Human Rights Council,—an independent watchdog group—suggested that government security forces may have been involved, possibly due to a violation of the region’s dusk-to-dawn curfew.
Anonymous sources cited by the Addis Standard and Agence France-Presse also pointed to security forces as potential culprits.
On January 22, Mulu Nega, head of Tigray’s interim administration, confirmed that an investigation was underway and urged residents to adhere to the curfew.
Context of the Killing
Dawit was detained by police on January 16 and questioned about Tigray TV’s coverage of the ongoing conflict between federal troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Federal forces took control of Mekelle on November 28, 2020.
A witness who visited the scene on January 20 reported finding the car with bullet holes in the windshield and rear window, suggesting it had crashed into a tree. Two other individuals in the car at the time of the attack remain missing.
Dawit’s Journalistic Career
Dawit began his career at Ethiopian Television and later founded and served as editor-in-chief of the magazine Dahai.
He had recently resumed work at Tigray TV, which was offline for several weeks in late 2020. Social media clips show Dawit reporting on the TPLF’s alleged downing of an Ethiopian plane in November, a claim the government later disputed.
CPJ’s Concerns
Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, warned that unresolved questions about Dawit’s killing could intimidate Ethiopia’s media community and perpetuate impunity for attacks on journalists. The CPJ has called for a swift, credible investigation with public findings.
Unanswered Questions
Despite efforts to contact Mulu Nega, Mekelle’s mayor Atakliti Haile Silassie, and federal government spokesperson Redwan Hussein, CPJ received no responses.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the prime minister’s office also did not reply to inquiries.
