The nightmare of the Tigray war: Rape as a weapon and people starving to death

Rape is used as a weapon of war, while reports coming for the first time speak of people dying of starvation. “The humanitarian crisis has worsened” in the province Tigray Ethiopia’s Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Mark Lukok told the UN Security Council on Thursday.

In the field “there is no evidence” that the Eritrean military forces, accused of atrocities, have withdrawn from the area, as stated in late March by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed, Lukok added during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

This meeting, the first in more than a month, was held at the request of the United States.

“Unfortunately, I have to say that neither the UN nor any of the humanitarian organizations we work with have seen evidence of Eritrea’s withdrawal,” he said.

In a statement, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that “the Eurasian government must immediately withdraw its forces from Ethiopia.”

“We are shocked by reports of rape and other acts of sexual violence of unspeakable brutality that continue to surface.”, he also called for the removal from the Tigris of Amhara forces, who have also been accused of atrocities.

“The conflict is not over and things are not improving. “Without a truce, this already serious humanitarian crisis will continue to worsen,” Lukok warned. “I reiterate the need for the Eritrean forces to stop the atrocities and withdraw. “The announcement is not the same as the act”, he underlined.

“We have heard reports of Eritrean soldiers now wearing Ethiopian army uniforms,” ​​Lukok said.

“And regardless of the uniform and the insignia, humanitarian workers continue to report new atrocities, which they say are being carried out by Eritrean security forces,” he explained.

“But the Eritrean soldiers are not the only perpetrators. “According to some reports, civilians were attacked and evicted from their homes in western Tigray by Amhara militias,” Lukok said.

Rape as a weapon of war

Moreover, according to him, sexual violence has risen sharply in Tigray.

“Most rapes are committed by uniformed men”, write down.

Dr Fasika Amdesalassi, the federal’s state-appointed provincial governor of Tigray, told Reuters – at least 829 cases of sexual assaults had been reported since conflict in the region in November.

“There is no doubt that sexual violence is being used in this conflict as a weapon of war, as a means to humiliate, intimidate and injure an entire population,” Lukok said, adding that most rapes are committed in uniform.

“Nearly a quarter of complaints received by a service are about gang rape, with many men attacking a victim. In some cases, women were repeatedly raped over many days. “Girls up to 8 years old have become targets,” Lukok complained.

“We need to significantly increase humanitarian aid to the population throughout Tigray. We already know that at least 4.5 million people out of a total of six million are in need of humanitarian assistance. “The government itself estimates that 91% of the population of Tigray is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.”

Lukok said he received a report yesterday, according to which 150 starve to death in Tigray, warns famine is used as weapon of war.

Moreover, as he explained, “the number of displaced people is increasing” and at the end of March it reached “1.7 million”.

For his part, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UN, Taia Atzesselasi Amde, told Reuters that the government was investigating all allegations of human rights abuses. He even accused Lukok that “he is not behaving like the head of a humanitarian organization, but like a nemesis determined for some kind of revenge”.

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