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| Left: Yitages Eshete and Eshete Moges |
ADDIS ABABA, DECEMBER 11, 2021 – Eshete Moges, 56, was a farmer and trader in Shewa Robit, who was martyred along with his son Yitages, 31, after killing over dozen TPLF terrorist fighters who invaded his home town.
TPLF’s terror and ransacking has allowed many Ethiopians to distinguish between the faint-hearted and the valiant, those who remained resilient despite the odds. Eshete Moges and his son were among the latter who sacrificed their lives to protect their homeland from tyranny and humiliation.
This is the story of bravery, of fatherhood and a story of every Ethiopian woman and man who fought and died while resisting the tyranny imposed on Ethiopia.
Eshete Moges was born and raised at Sar Amba village, Kewet Woreda, North Shewa zone, Amhara region. It was at this village, which was close to Shewa Robit, where he chose to settle with his family earning his living as a farmer and a merchant. He led a respectable and modest life.
Eshete Moges has a tall and fit complexion. He was a quiet and mostly serious person. He hangs his AK-47 on his shoulder which he was trained with since he was 15 years old.
In mid November, the TPLF terrorists approached Ataye town after looting and destroying Kemise. Eshete was at Shewa Robit and he knew what was about to happen. He knew what was coming. And so he was actively engaged in mobilizing his townsmen to resist the impending invasion.
It was on November 26, 2021, that Eshete Moges encountered the TPLF terrorist fighters at Shewa Robit. He fought them fiercely together with his eldest son but they were outnumbered.
He got back to his home and built a trench and he wanted fight and die right there. But all the people that knew him asked his mother, who he revered highly, to tell him to leave. She implored him to leave and he had no choice but to heed to her call. He left with his son to Salayish, a town 15 kilometers east from Shewa Robit, where most of his relatives resided. There he got settled at Assefa Taye’s home.
But soon after, the TPLF terrorists invaded Salayish. And yet again Eshete was advised to leave and to retreat again along with others. But he refused. “If we don’t fight for our home, then who will?” inquired Eshete showing his oath and firm conviction. Yitages, his son, also refused to leave and he wanted to stay and fight with his father.
The TPLF fighters eventually found Assefa Taye’s house and encircled Eshete and Yitages who were the only ones in the house. The TPLF fighters were many but Eshete and his son had a stronger faith. They were not shaken. Both of them took out their weapons. Then all hell went loose in the compound.
Eshete was regarded as a sharpshooter. It was said he could even hit a thread in spider’s web. He killed five of the enemy fighters shooting them on the head.
But they were too many for the two of them to handle. They had to leave the house and go to the backyard in the sorghum farm. But, unfortunately, they got his son, Yitagesu. They shot him. He immediately fell and died right next to his father.
On the summer of Friday, November 26, 2:30 PM in the afternoon, Eshete Moges understood that his last moment has arrived. He wanted to follow his son in martyrdom and so he gathered all his strength and phoned his brother-in-law to tell him that he has entrusted his children to him and to tell him where they can find his and his son’s dead bodies.
“Listen! Listen to me carefully! I want you to spread this message. They have surrounded us. I was with my son at Assefa Taye’s home”, said Eshete to his brother-in-law.
“I have killed five of them and Yitages got three. We have killed these men. I swear! St. Michael is my witness. Listen to me! But they got my son. They killed my Yitages”, cried Eshete in what would be his last phone conversation.
“I am calling to tell you where you will find our dead bodies. I am next to my son and this is where I will die. You will find our corpse at the backyard of Assefa Taye’s house inside his sorghum farm. Please remember. I will question you in the Afterlife”, said Eshete.
“I am also calling you to ask you to protect my children. All I had was my car which is here but they are going to burn it. I don’t want my kids to go hungry. Please inform the government. My children are my trust unto you”, uttered, the valiant, his last words.
Eshete, after he hanged up his phone, fought and killed as many terrorists as he could until he run out of bullets. But in the end he got his wish. He was martyred next to his son.
Both of these men remain martyrs and they will be remembered in Ethiopia’s history for this is a country that has always been grateful to its brave men and women.
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