Precise casualty figures of the Tigray war are uncertain. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded over 100,000 battle-related fatalities to the Tigray conflict in 2022 alone, primarily military but including some civilians. A peer-reviewed study by researchers from the University of London calculated over 102,000 excess deaths in Tigray from November 2020 to mid-2022, of which 72% are from violence and the rest from lack of healthcare and famine. According to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium, the combined impact of wartime violence and famine and a lack of medical access had killed an estimated 162,000–378,000 people, with other reported estimates reaching numbers as high as 600,000 killed. The African Union mediator, Olusegun Obasanjo, publicly stated that the war likely killed around 600,000 people. The scale of the death and destruction led The New York Times to describe it in November 2022 as "one of the world's bloodiest contemporary conflicts."

Breakdown True casualties statistics have been difficult to determine, largely due to deliberate information blackouts in the region. Journalists have noted the difficulty they face attempting to report on the war, as the Ethiopian government has taken steps to reduce press access to the Tigray Region, facing the risk of getting killed or imprisoned. It is also been reported that there is an unwillingness from either side to fully confirm precise numbers.

While Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed initially spoke of no civilian casualties in the early days of the war, by February 2021, he described the level of death in Tigray as "hav[ing] caused much distress for me personally.”

BreakdownEstimated & claimed casualtiesTime periodSourceCivilians52,000+ killed3 November 2020 – 2 February 2021Tigrayan opposition parties Military (all sides)100,000+ killed3 November 2020 – 16 February 2021TPLF100,000 killedSeptember 2022 – October 2022Kjetil TronvollTPLF allied forces3,400+ killed, 1,300 wounded3 November 2020 – ENDFEthiopian and Eritreanallied forces9,273 killed, 6,473 wounded3 November 2020 – TPLF90,000+ Ethiopian casualtiesSeptember 2022Alex de WaalTotal deaths 100,000+ killed1 January 2022 – 3 November 2022Uppsala Conflict Data Program 102,000 killed3 November 2020 – 3 November 2022University of London162,000–378,000 killed3 November 2020 – 4 November 2022Ghent University600,000 killed3 November 2020 – 4 November 2022Olusegun Obasanjo

Massacres

Numerous reports have been made of extrajudicial killings and summary executions (in many cases, targeting civilians) since the war began.

Terminology: ENDF – Ethiopian National Defense Forces EDF – Eritrean Defense Forces TDF – Tigrayan Defense Forces Fano – Amhara militia Date Place Number Perpetrators Sources Notes4–10 November 2020Shiglil7Government-allied militias9–10 November 2020Humera54Fanorelated: EHRC report5–19 November 2020Dansha25Civilians were caught in the crossfire between warring parties9–10 November 2020Mai Kadra600 or 1100Tigrayan Samri kebele youths or Fano militiasvictim ethnicity and perpetrators disputed13–17 November 2020 Zalambessa86EDFKilled mostly in house-to-house searches after shelling the town14–17 November 2020Bisober27–31TDF & ENDF Shelling crossfire and house-to-house search17 November 2020Shire200EDFElders say people were "slaughtered like chicken"c. 19 November 2020Hitsats305TDF or EDFPerpetrators disputed. EEPA claims 300 Eritrean refugees executed by EDF, HRW claims EDF, refugees claim local Tigrayan militia or EDF, Ethiopia claims TPLF; five humanitarian workers killed in battle21 November 2020Idaga HamusDozensEDFafter capture of townc. 21 November 2020Adigrat12EDFafter capture of town27–28 November 2020Wukro220EDF, ENDFkilling spree accompanying the massive looting of the town28–29 November 2020Axum750EDFinitial body counts; in-depthDaily killings preceded and followed the main massacre.30 November 2020Dengelat80–150EDFat Maryam Dengelat churchlate November/early December 2020Irob52EDF50 men, 2 women1 December 2020Mekelle27ENDF4–7 December 2020Ziban Gedena150–300EDF Also: 150 houses burnt, 90% of livestock killed, harvests burnt and stolen13 December 2020Kola Tembien20ENDFSoldiers kept terrorising civilians in Tembien in an effort to get the location of the leader of the TPLF.c. 23 December 2020Hawzenup to 70EDF70 bodies recognised by witness5 January 2021Gu'itelo29EDFat Medhane-Alem church8 January 2021Bora70–187ENDFKilling spree after a battle with TDF9 January 2021Ari Giyergis12EDF12 young deacons taken out of the church and executedmid-January 2021Mahbere Dego50–74ENDF (Amharic speaking)People were executed and thrown off a cliff, according to geolocated video evidence.January 2021Irob187EDFincludes 30 Coptic priests, 50 women, 100 children1 February 2021Kerebera5ENDF & EDFfive priests were killed in the village church10 February 2021Wukro18EDFkilled in street protests10 February 2021Kola Tembien182ENDF, EDFhouse-to-house killing; access to bodies permitted on 15 Feb, by which time many were partially eaten by wildlifefew days before 14 February 2021Adwa + Shire30EDFkilled in street protests15 FebCheli180EDFc. 19 February 2021Khisret, Gijet100+EDF22 February 2021Debrekerbe9EDF23 February 2021May Weyni80EDF1–3 March 2021Humera250Amhara militia, Fano, EDF11 March 2021Enkikumel, near Shire100+ENDF/EDFReports suggest that ENDF/EDF soldiers went door to door and kidnapped civilians in order to force militias to give up their weapons and surrender. Once the militias surrendered, they and the remaining hostages were all executed. All victims were reportedly young men.14 March 2021Wukro3–5ENDF/EDFretaliation for attacks by TDF23 March 2021Inda Teka Tesfay between Mekelle and Adigrat4ENDFMédecins Sans Frontières staff observed the execution of at least four men by the ENDF. They were taken off a public bus and executed.24 March 2021Grizana, near Samre11–18EDF30 March – 5 April 2021Wukro Maray~161EDF & ENDFAs revenge for lost battles1 or 3 April 2021May Atsmi, Tisha and Haddush Addi, Tahtay Maychew district~140EDFAs revenge for lost battles5 April 2021Debrekerbe in Zana district116EDF5 April 2021Haruka kebele, Afar Region30+ Afar Regional Special Forces8 April 2021Freweyni7EDF8 April 2021Hawzen30+EDF8 April 2021Around Wukro Maray, between Shire and Axum200+ENDF and EDF12 April 2021Adwa, Central Tigray3–9EDF12 April 2021village near Axum11presumably EDF12 April 2021Hugumburda, Southern Tigray15Amhara militias and ENDFc. 12 April 2021Wukro Maray town near Aksum300+EDF29 April 2021Idaga Hibret20EDF30 April 2021(Bure, Amhara and Danchu Kebelle)21EDFDuring the attacks, some civilians had reportedly been burnt alive.8 May 2021Guh village, Hawzien, Eastern Tigray19EDF12 June 2021Menji and Guyya villages near the town of Abi-Adi Tembien.16EDF and ENDFReports indicate that cluster bombs and phosphorus gas was used in the shelling of both villages.22 June 2021Togoga village50–80ENDF50–80 civilians were killed in an airstrike on the village's market area. Reports indicate that the ENDF blocked ambulances from attending to the dead and wounded in the village, possibly increasing the casualty toll.17–19 July 2021Yalo20TDF or ENDFVictims of shelling~3 August 2021Humera and elsewhere along the Tekezé River95Amhara militia, Fano, EDFThe victims had been shot with their hands tied5 August 2021Galikoma, Afar Region107–200TDFIndiscriminate killing by TDF31 August–4 September 2021Chenna (near Dabat)120–200TDFExtrajudicial killings; Using civilians as human shields9 September 2021Kobo600TDFExtrajudicial killings30 October 2021Kombolcha, Amhara region100+TDFExtrajudicial killings, looting and ransacking WFP and UN trucks and aid essentials, private and public properties.8 October 2021Mekelle3ENDFAirstrike killing civilians, all children21 November 2021Prison camp near Mirab Abaya, SNNPR83 (+20 missing)Ethiopian policeMassacre of imprisoned Tigrayan soldiers; according to The Washington Post, the prisoners in question had not engaged in combat against the government.6 January 2022Mai Aini refugee camp3UnknownAirstrike killing Eritrean refugees, including 2 children7 January 2022Dedebit56–59ENDFAirstrike hitting a camp for internally displaced people; has been called a war crime by the UN and Human Rights Watch10–11 January 2022Mai Tsebri and Hiwane19ENDFDrone strike killing civilians23 February 2022Chenna and Kobo24+TDFExtrajudicial killings23 February 2022Berhale5+Unknown; suspected to be the TDFExtrajudicial killings of Eritrean refugees26 August 2022Mekelle4ENDFAirstrike killing civilians, including 2 children6–12 September 2022Sheraro40+EDFExtrajudicial killings of civilians, including Eritrean refugeesShimblina46ENDF/EDF13–14 September 2022Mekelle10Unclear; suspected to be the ENDFAirstrike killing civilians, 13–15 September 2022Kobo17+TDFSystemic torture and killings of civilians4 October 2022Adi Daero, La'ilay Adiyabo50-65+ENDFAirstrike hitting a school sheltering internally displaced people24 October 2022Egela district, Tigray96EDFExtrajudicial killings of civilians26 October 2022Adwa60+EDFExtrajudicial killings of civilians17–25 November 2022Eastern Zone, Tigray111EDFKidnapping, extrajudicial killings of civilians; 241 houses destroyed and overall "widespread looting."Mid December 2022Central Zone, Tigray550+EDFExtrajudicial killings and mass rapes.

Civilian deaths

, the highest estimate of civilian deaths in the Tigray War is that given by three of the opposition parties from the 2020 Tigray regional election: National Congress of Great Tigray, Tigray Independence Party, and Salsay Woyane Tigray, which were allocated 15 seats in September 2020, prior to the war. The three parties' statement, published on 2 February 2021, estimated that at least 52,000 civilians had been killed by the ENDF, the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), Amhara militias, and other forces allied with the ENDF. Hailu Kebede, head of foreign affairs in Salsay Woyane Tigray, said that the three parties' collection method was to try to register data from witnesses in every administrative area of Tigray Region. He stated that "thousands" of names were already recorded.

A peer-reviewed study by researchers from the University of London calculated over 102,000 excess deaths in Tigray from November 2020 to mid-2022, of which 72% are from violence and the rest from lack of healthcare and famine. According to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium, the combined impact of wartime violence and famine and a lack of medical access had killed an estimated 162,000–378,000 people, with other reported estimates reaching numbers as high as 600,000 killed. The African Union mediator, Olusegun Obasanjo, publicly stated that the war likely killed around 600,000 people.

Military deaths

2020 An ENDF soldier present at the attack on the Adigrat base of the ENDF Northern Command during the 4 November Northern Command attacks, Bulcha, stated to BBC News that there were 32 ENDF fatalities and 100 TPLF fatalities.

Based on its 14–18 November 2020 visit and a visit starting 10 January 2021 to the Tigray Region, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported a Humera hospital employee's count of the war deaths as 92, including military (ENDF and TPLF) and civilian deaths.

An estimated 760 troops (ENDF and TPLF) were killed during fighting in the Raya region.

The TPLF claimed on 24 November to have killed thousands of ENDF and Eritrean in three fronts: Adwa, Idagahamus and Ray-Mokoni. They also claimed to have killed almost an entire Ethiopian division during fighting at Raya. This division is the 21st mechanised division.

On 7 December 2020 heavy fighting broke out between AMISOM troops and Ethiopian troops in Hiran region, Somalia, when Ethiopian troops tried to disarm Tigrayan troops. In total 21 Tigrayan soldiers and 20 Ethiopian soldiers were killed.

2022