Shocking UN report on sexual violence in Ethiopia

Wafaa Said, Deputy Aid Coordinator for The UN in Ethiopia, This week reported more than 500 cases of rape, which it relieved allegations made in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which is currently plagued by episodes of ethnic cleansing.

“Women report being raped by armed men and have also revealed stories of gang rapes, rapes in front of relatives and men forced to rape members of their own family under threat of violence,” the coordinator said. .

Further, he noted that according to “the accounts of people who traveled with them, […] the women were raped, some got pregnant and gave birth along the way, losing their babies. ”

From the UN, they issued a joint statement in which they called for an end to indiscriminate and selective attacks against civilians in the region of Tigray, and in particular denounced reports of rape and other forms of sexual violence. “It is essential that an independent investigation be opened into sexual violence in the conflict in Tigray with the participation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,” said the document.