“They raped me one after the other, I don’t know if they realized I was a person”: Amnesty International published harsh report on sexual violence as a weapon of war

A report of Amnesty International He reported that hundreds of women and girls have been subjected to rape, sexual slavery, genital mutilation, beatings and other forms of torture by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers and local militias. .

These abuses are part of “an offensive to control” the territory of Tiger, in Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, where an armed conflict has been taking place since November 4. “Three soldiers entered the room where I was. They told me if I made noise they would kill me. They raped me one after the other. I was 4 months pregnant. I don’t know if they realized that I was a person”Said Letay, one of the survivors interviewed by Amnesty International.

The report, titled “I Don’t Know If They Realized I Was A Person”: Rape and Other Acts of Sexual Violence in the Tigray Conflict, “blamed members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. defense of Eritrea, the Amhara region special police, and Fano, an Amharic militia.

According to the report, soldiers and militiamen subjected tabby women and girls to rape, sexual slavery, genital mutilation and other forms of torture, often amid offensive ethnic comments and threats. of death.

The Tigray region is the northernmost of Ethiopia’s ten ethnic regions, the Tigray ethnic group lives there and its capital is Mekele. It is bordered to the north by Eritrea, to the west by Sudan, to the east by the Afar region and to the south by the Amhara region. There, a civil war is waged between the Ethiopian government and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF), the ruling party in the region.

“Rape as a weapon of war”

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said that “it is clear that rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon of war to inflict persistent physical and psychological damage on the women and girls of Tigray. Hundreds of them have been subjected to brutal treatment with the aim of degrading and dehumanizing them, ”he said.

And he added: “The gravity and scale of the sex crimes committed are particularly shocking; constitute war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. They degrade basic human principles and must be eliminated ”.

“The Ethiopian government must act immediately to prevent members of the security forces and allied militias from committing acts of sexual violence, and the African Union must spare no effort to ensure that this conflict is discussed in its Peace Council. and security, ”he warned.

Callamard also called on the authorities to allow access to the Commission of Inquiry of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and urged the UN Secretary-General to urgently send his team to Tigray. experts on the rule of law and sexual violence in conflict.

“Generalized sexual violence”

In a statement, Amnesty International said it had interviewed 63 survivors of sexual violence, as well as medical staff. According to the note, 28 survivors identified Eritrean forces as the sole perpetrators of their rape. Many survivors also witnessed the rape of other women, and this pattern indicates a widespread sexual violence to terrorize and humiliate victims and their ethnic group, he said.

Twelve survivors interviewed by Amnesty claimed to have been raped by soldiers and militiamen in front of relatives, including children. Five of them were even pregnant when they were raped.

Harsh testimonials

let, a 20-year-old woman from Baaker, told Amnesty International that she was assaulted in her home in November 2020 by gunmen speaking Amharic and wearing a mixture of military uniforms and civilian clothes.

“Three men entered the room where I was. It was dark, it was dark. I didn’t scream. They indicated to me by gestures that if I made noise, they would kill me. They raped me one after the other. I was four months pregnant. I don’t know if they realized. I don’t know if they realized that I was a person “, he said.

Letay, woman of the Tigray ethnic group

They raped me one after the other. I was four months pregnant

Negist, a 35-year-old woman from the Humera region and mother of two, said she was raped along with four women by Eritrean soldiers in Sheraro on November 21, 2020.

“Two of them raped me in front of my son. Among us was a woman who was eight months pregnant, and they raped her too. They flocked like hyenas when they saw food. They raped the women and murdered the men, ”he said.

Amnesty also cited that medical centers in Tigray recorded 1,288 cases of gender-based violence between February and April. At Adigrat hospital, 376 cases of rape have been recorded since the start of the conflict until June 9.

Many survivors said they did not go to any medical center after being attacked. Amnesty believes that these figures therefore represent a small fraction of the number of rapes in the context of the conflict.

As the entity warned, the survivors suffer from significant physical and mental problems and many suffer from physical injuries, such as constant bleeding, back pain, immobility and fistulas.

Others have tested positive for HIV after being raped. They also suffer from insomnia, anxiety, and emotional pain.

Elsewhere in the lengthy report, Amnesty detailed that “twelve of the survivors claim to have been held captive for days, often weeks, and repeatedly raped, in most cases by multiple men.”

He added: “Some were detained in military camps, others in houses or land in rural areas.”

Today, 17, said eight Eritrean soldiers kidnapped her in Zebangedena and held her captive for two weeks. “They took me to a plot in a rural area. There were a lot of soldiers. Eight of them raped me. Normally, they went out in two teams to guard the area. When four of them left, those who remained raped me, ”he said.

Another young woman bought, 21, from Bademe, said she was abducted on November 5 by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers, who detained her for 40 days with 30 other women. “They raped us and starved us to death. There were many of them and they raped us in batches. About thirty women had been kidnapped. They raped us all.

Blen, woman of the Tigray ethnic group

About 30 women were taken away. They raped us all.

The report further states that eight women said they were raped by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers and allied militiamen near the border with Sudan as they tried to find protection. Two of them large fingernails, gravel, and other pieces of metal and plastic were inserted into their vagina which had caused lasting and probably irreversible injuries.

According to Amnesty, soldiers and militiamen have constantly tried to humiliate their victims, often with offensive ethnic comments, insults, threats and degrading comments. Several survivors said the rapists told them ‘this is what you deserve’ and ‘you suck’.

Lack of support for survivors

Survivors and witnesses told Amnesty International that they had received little or no psychological or medical support since arriving in IDP camps in the town of Shire, Ethiopia, or in refugee camps. in neighboring Sudan.

In addition, they suffered the destruction of medical facilities and restrictions on the movement of people and goods which hampered access to medical care. The victims and their families said they suffered shortages of food, shelter and clothing due to limited humanitarian assistance, according to the report.

Amnesty said that between March and June it interviewed 63 survivors of rape and other acts of sexual violence; 15 in person in Sudan, and 48 remotely, via secure telephone lines. He also interviewed medical and humanitarian workers who were treating or assisting survivors in the towns of Shire and Adigrat and in refugee camps in Sudan.

In May, according to the report, Ethiopian authorities announced that three Ethiopian soldiers had been convicted and that 25 others had been formally charged with rape and other acts of sexual violence. However, no information was provided on these tests or any other measure.

Since fighting broke out in the region on November 4, 2020, thousands of civilians have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Tigray and tens of thousands have sought refuge in Sudan.