‘Soldiers raped us and starved us’, shocking incident with women in Tigray, hundreds of women and girls during the Tigray war : Amnesty International

New Delhi : In the eastern African country of Ethiopia, women and girls have been subjected to heart-wrenching atrocities. Human rights organization Amnesty International says soldiers in Ethiopia and Eritrea have raped and tortured hundreds of women and girls physically and mentally during the Tigre War. The human rights organization has published a 36-page report on the atrocities and torture of these soldiers on women. According to Al Jazeera, Amnesty has cited conversations with 63 victims in its report. This report came out last Wednesday.

Soldiers have been found guilty in the investigation
According to the report, the allegations against the soldiers have been investigated by the legal authorities of Ethiopia. At least three soldiers have been found guilty in this investigation and charges have been framed against 25 others. Some women victims say they were gang-raped and held captive for several weeks. Some told that she was raped in front of the family.

‘Nails put in private part’
Amnesty’s report says that pieces of stone and nails were inserted into the private parts of some women. Amnesty said, ‘This has permanently damaged women’s private parts.’ Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard said: “It is clear that rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon to inflict great physical and mental trauma on the women and girls of Tigre. The way women have been tortured and sexual violence on such a large scale is shocking to them. It is like a war crime and a crime against humanity.

‘Violence continues since November’
Violence has been raging in Ethiopia’s northern region since November. Incidents of mistreatment of women came to the fore in the area after Prime Minister AB Ahmed sent his troops to topple the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The PM said that the TPLF carried out attacks on the Federal Army Camp, after which there was a reaction from the soldiers. After the arrival of the army in Tigre, the situation here became very bad. The United Nations says that some 400,000 people living in the area are facing famine-like conditions. It has become difficult for human rights organizations to reach these people.

‘They raped us and starved us’
Amnesty’s report alleged that the women were raped by militia fighters from the Amhara region, and soldiers from neighboring Eritrea and the government that supported Abiy. More than 12 victims told Amnesty International that they were raped by Eritrean soldiers, while others reported that both Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers were involved in the rape. According to the report, a 21-year-old victim, who was allegedly imprisoned for 40 days, said, “They raped us and starved us.” There were many who raped in turn. They took 30 women like us. We all were raped.’

AFP has interviewed many victims
News agency AFP has already interviewed several victims of gangrape by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. Amnesty International says the victims continue to suffer physical and mental complications. The organization says that many women have been found HIP positive after rape.