Ethiopia: “I don’t know if they realized I was human”

Women and girls in Tigray have been raped and suffered sexual violence by forces allied with the Ethiopian government, Amnesty International said.

Amnesty calls on the Ethiopian government to take immediate action to stop members of the security forces and allied militias from committing these “brutal” war crimes, which “may constitute crimes against humanity.”

The organization interviewed 63 survivors who were subjected to gang rape, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation and other forms of torture.

Warning: This article contains descriptions of violent rape and other details that may be disturbing to some readers

A report on the conflict found that almost half identified soldiers from neighboring Eritrea as the perpetrators.

Eritrean soldiers have supported Ethiopian government forces in their protracted conflict against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional ruling party, which began last November.

Letay, 20, was attacked in her home in November last year.

She said: “Three men came into the room where I was. It was evening and already dark. I didn’t scream; They motioned to me not to make any noise or they would kill me. They raped me one by one.”

“I was four months pregnant.

“I don’t know if they realized I was pregnant. I don’t know if they realized I was human.”

Nigist, a 35-year-old mother of two, said: “Three of them raped me in front of my child. We had a woman who was eight months pregnant and they raped her too.”

“They gathered like a hyena that saw something to eat.”

Health facilities in the region recorded 1,288 cases of gender-based violence from February to April this year, but Amnesty said the actual number was likely much higher.

Some tested positive for HIV after being raped, others were held captive for days and weeks.

Two survivors suffered permanent damage from large nails, gravel and other types of metal and plastic fragments.

Soldiers and militiamen repeatedly attempted to humiliate their victims with ethnic slurs, insults, threats and demeaning comments.

Tigray is self-governing and the TPLF dominated politics until Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. The TPLF says its sweeping reforms have marginalized it.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: “The gravity and scale of the sexual crimes committed are particularly shocking and constitute war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity. This makes a mockery of the central tenets of humanity.”

“It has to stop.”

The women’s names have been changed.

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