Up high on the mountains there are villages too. 60 year old Priest Kidanemariam Teklu served in a mountain top village named Ziqallay. The church he served in is known as Holy Saviour Church. /2 @JustinTrudeau @beynate @HonAhmedHussen @melaniejoly @CanadaUN @HedyFry @mbachelet

When Priest Kidanemariam heard gunshots coming from the direction of Maraym Dengelat he called his close friend Girum Kebedew (50). Together they investigated further & are reported to have been able to hear voices in the distance. /3 @amy_rao @astroehlein @FelixHorne1 @stejobin

The Eritrean troops were not just executing people,they were also firing their weapons indiscriminately. Their bullets struck & killed Priest Kidanemariam and his friend Girum. Many people were hiding in caves at this time so they did not immediately see the bodies. /4 @narimer

Later, on a dark evening, a younger brother of Priest Kidanemariam named Kahsay Teklu was out searching for a lost sheep and he accidentally found the body of his brother and of Girum shot dead on the ground. /5 @IrwinCotler @BernieFarber @BobRae48 @jworldwatch @GregMcLeanYYC

It was a difficult situation for the family and very hard for the whole Ziqallay community to accept the reality of their great loss, as they collected Priest Kidanemariam and Girum’s bodies that evening. Another man, Lemlem Gebrezgi (80) was also killed & found dead nearby. /6

Priest Kidanemariam was a humble priest who spent most of his life serving in Ziqallay’s church. He was a mediator of conflict in his community. He was killed by a holy tree, the tree of Aba Estifanos Zegundagunde. Local congregants consider it as important. /7 @CanadaEthiopia

Aba Estifanos, a 14th century monk was born in this same village of Ziqallay and he went on to found the monastery of Gundagunde: Aba Estifanos was killed by Emperor Zara Ya'iqoba, a figure who villagers compare with Eritrea|n dictator Isaias Afwerki. /8

Thus the people of Ziqallay now consider Priest Kidanemariam as someone who sacrificed his life like the Stefanities (1st protestants/Dekike Estifanos). There was no fighting anywhere near Maryam Dengelat when 160 people were killed during the #DengelatMassacre . /9 @denniswadley

160 farmers, newlyweds, kids & elders were killed at Maryam Dengelat b/c of their Tigray|an identity. I am sharing 5 stories of 5 priests leading up to the 1 year anniversary on Nov 30th. They were shared with me by Hagos Gebremariam who encouraged their public circulation. /end