Civil war in Ethiopia: Amnesty reports mass rape in Tigray

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Refugee women from the Tigray region

Photo: YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP

The civil war in Tigray has been smoldering for ten months - and the consequences are devastating.

More than two million people have already fled the fighting between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the humanitarian situation in the troubled province is disastrous.

The central government around Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed and its ally Eritrea are relying on hunger and violence against civilians in the region in order to break the resistance in Tigray.

Most recently, an estimated 400,000 people went hungry.

Now a report by the human rights organization Amnesty International supports reports that women in the conflict region have been victims of sexual violence en masse.

According to the Amnesty survey, health facilities in Tigray recorded 1,288 cases of sexual violence between February and April this year.

According to doctors, the number is significantly higher than usual, and the vast majority of cases are related to the conflict.

Some of those affected became infected with HIV

There is "overwhelming evidence" which shows "that Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers and militias are responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Tigray," writes Amnesty.

more on the subject

• War in Ethiopia: The horror of the women of Tigray From Ethiopia report Fritz Schaap and Daniel Etter (photos)

• War in Ethiopia: How the government uses hunger as a weaponBy Fritz Schaap, Cape Town

• War in Ethiopia: Until the country burnsBy Fritz Schaap, Cape Town

• War in Ethiopia: Tigray fighters take Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site

For the report, the organization also interviewed 63 affected women and girls from the region.

They described rape in alleged house searches by the army, weeks of abuse of women as sex slaves, the rape of pregnant women and minors, accompanied by beatings, threats and humiliation.

Some of those affected became infected with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV during the attacks.

According to Amnesty, many of the women said they had not yet sought medical treatment.

In some places there is a lack of medical infrastructure to even record cases and help those affected.

The actual number of acts of violence against women is therefore likely to be significantly higher.

Several of those affected have their say and describe the horror.

“I don't know if they noticed I was pregnant.

I don't know whether it was clear to them that I was human, "a woman from Baaker in western Tigray is quoted as saying she was raped in November 2020.

Amnesty calls on the Ethiopian government to investigate reports of sexual abuse in the conflict area "immediately, effectively, independently and non-partisan" and to hold those responsible to account in fair trials.

Ethiopia and Eritrea should give clear instructions to their armed forces to prevent sexual violence and uphold international law.

Territorial gains for the separatists

The organization also urged the UN to send experts on sexual violence to the region to speak to survivors in Tigray or in refugee camps in Sudan.

In the conflict, the TPLF recently achieved territorial gains.

The separatists reportedly captured the Unesco World Heritage Site of Lalibela in the neighboring Amhara region.

The conflict between the rebels in Tigray and the Ethiopian government escalated after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused them of attacking an army base.

After initial success for the army, the TPLF is now on the advance.

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