Ethiopia.Violent soldiers and militiamen and kidnap women and girls in the tiger - new report
Loyal fighters in the Ethiopian government have committed rapes and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls in the Tiger, said Amnesty International on August 11 in a new report on the current conflict in the region.
This report, entitled 'i don now if they realized i was a person': rape and other sexual violence in the conflict in tigray, reveals that women and girls have suffered sexual violence perpetrated by members of the forces of defenseNational Ethiopian (ENDF), Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), Police Special Forces of the AMHARA region (ASF) and the Militia Amhara Fano.
Military and militiamen have engaged in rapes, collective rapes, sexual slavery, sexual mutilations and other forms of torture, often accompanied by ethnic insults and death threats,Contrary to Tigernes women and girls.
"Obviously, rapes and other forms of sexual violence are used as weapons of war to inflict lasting physical and psychological damage to women and girls in the tiger.Hundreds of women and girls have been the subject of degrading and dehumanizing brutality, said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International.
"The gravity and extent of the sexual offenses that have been committed are particularly shocking and these acts constitute war crimes, even crimes against humanity.Their authors set foot on the principles that found our humanity.This situation must stop.
"The Ethiopian state must take immediate measures to prevent members of the security forces and allied militias from committing sexual violence and that the African Union does everything that is in its power so that the Peace Council andsecurity is looking at this conflict.»»
It is also necessary that the Ethiopian authorities allow the commission of inquiry of the African Commission for Human and Peoples to go there and that the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) dispatched to allEmergency in the tiger his team of law experts and questions relating to sexual violence committed during conflict.
Amnesty International has spoke with 63 victims of sexual violence, as well as with health professionals.Twenty-eight victims have appointed Eritrean forces as the only perpetrators of rape.
Generalized sexual violence
The course of acts of sexual violence, in which many victims were also witness to the rape of other women, shows that this violence was common and had the vocation to terrorize and humiliate the victims and their ethnic group.
Twelve victims, five of whom were pregnant at the time of the facts, said that soldiers and militiamen had raped them before the eyes of their loved ones, including children.
Letay* (20, from Baaker) told Amnesty International that she had been attacked at her home in November 2020 by armed men who spoke in amharic and wore a mixture of military uniforms and civil clothes.
She said: "Three men arrived in the room.It was evening, it was already dark [...] I did not shout;They made me understand by gestures that I should not make noise, otherwise they would kill me.They raped me one after the other […] I was four months pregnant;I don't know if they realized it.I don't know if they realized that I was a person.»»
Nigist* (35, mother of two, from Humera) explained that four other women and she had been raped by Eritrean soldiers in Sheraro on November 21, 2020.
She said, "Three of them raped me in front of my child.There was an eight -month pregnant woman among us, they raped her too […] They gathered as hyenas flairing something to eat […] They raped women and massacred men.»»
Tiger health services recorded 1,288 cases of gender -related violence between February and April 2021.The Adigret Hospital identified 376 cases of rape between the start of the conflict and on June 9, 2021.However, many victims told Amnesty International that they had not visited a health center, which suggests that these figures represent only a small fraction of the rape committed in the context of the conflict.
The victims continue to suffer from physical and psychological complications.Many have reported physical trauma, such as persistent bleeding, back pain, the inability to move or fistulas.Some have been carrying HIV since their rape.Lack of sleep, anxiety and emotional distress are common among victims and family members who have attended violence.
Sexual slavery and deliberate humiliation
Twelve victims declared that they had been kept in captivity for days, which have often become weeks, and raped repeatedly, generally not several men.Some have been detained in military camps, others in houses or fields in rural areas.
TSEDAY* (17) told Amnesty International that she had been abducted by eight Eritrean soldiers in Zebangena and kept captivity for two weeks.She said, "They took me to the countryside, in a field.There were many soldiers;Eight of them raped me [...] in general, they went out to stand guard in two teams.When four left, the other four stayed and raped me.»»
Blen* (21 years old, from Baden) explained that it was removed by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers on November 5, 2020 and held 40 days with around thirty other women.She said, "They raped us and strengthen us.They were so numerous, they raped us in turn.We were around thirty women […] they raped us all.»»
Eight women also pointed out that they were raped by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers as well as by allied militiamen near the border with Sudan, where they were looking to take refuge.
Two victims have suffered durable and perhaps irreparable damage caused by large nails, gravel and other pieces of metal or plastic that have been inserted into their vagina.
The military and the militiamen constantly attempted to humiliate their victims by frequently recourse to insults, especially of an ethnic character, threats and degrading comments. Plusieurs victimes interrogées par Amnesty International ont déclaré que les violeurs leur avaient dit : « C’est tout ce que tu mérites»» ; « Tu me dégoûtes»».
Lack of support for victims
Victims and witnesses told Amnesty International that they have received little or no psychological and medical support since their arrival in camps for displaced people from the city of Shire, Ethiopia, or in camps for refugees in Sudan.
The victims also suffered due to the destruction of medical centers and restrictions relating to the circulation of persons and goods, which hampered their access to health care.Victims and their families have declared that they are unable to get the food, shelter and clothes they needed because of the limited nature of humanitarian aid.
Most of the reports of sexual violence were hidden from the rest of the world during the first two months of the conflict, which started in November 2020, largely because of the access restrictions imposed by the Ethiopian State and the blocking of communications.
"To suffering and trauma was added the fact that the victims did not benefit from sufficient support.They must be able to access the services they need and to which they are entitled - including medical care, in particular mental health, support for livelihoods and psychosocial aid - which are the essential aspects of aIntervention focused on victims, said Agnès Callamard.
"All allegations of sexual violence must be the subject of an effective, independent and impartial investigation so that the victims get justice, and that an effective repair program is set up.All parties to the conflict must also take care not to hinder humanitarian aid.»»
Methodology
Between March and June 2021, Amnesty International questioned 63 victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence: 15 in person in Sudan and 48 from a distance by means of secure telephone lines.The organization has also been maintained with health professionals and humanitarian workers participating in the care of victims in the cities of Shire and Adigrat, as well as in camps for refugees in Sudan, in order to determinethe extent of sexual violence and corroborate information concerning cases in particular.
In May, the Ethiopian authorities announced that three Ethiopian soldiers had been declared guilty and 25 accused of rape and other acts of sexual violence.However, no information has been communicated about these trials or other measures taken to investigate and translate allegedly in charge.
On July 26, 2021, Amnesty International wrote to Prime Minister Ethiopian, the Ethiopia General Prosecutor and the Ethiopian Minister of Women, Children and Young people, as well as the Eritrean Minister of Information and a High AdvisorPresident Isaias Afwerki, to collect their reaction to the preliminary conclusions of his investigation.The organization had received no response at the time of the publication of this document.
Since the fighting broke out in the region, on November 4, 2020, thousands of civilians were killed, hundreds of thousands of people were moved inside the Tiger region and tens of thousands of people wereSudan refugees.
Note: *The first names have been modified.
