This Rebels from Tigray region in northern EthiopiaCaught in a war with the Ethiopian government that “killed dozens” in the neighbouring Amhara region last year, Amnesty International (AI) condemned it on Wednesday.
Fighters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (PFLT), the party that ruled the region before the conflict erupted in November 2020, also pledged Dozens of gang rapes of women and girls – some as young as 14 – And looted goods in two towns in Amhara, a region loyal to the Ethiopian chief executive.
The atrocities occurred in and around Chinna and Kobo in late August and early September 2021, when Tigrin forces took control of these areas in July.
Amnesty International said in a report that the attacks were often marked by acts of violence and death threats, as well as racial slurs and derogatory remarks.In Kobo, a small town northeast of Amhara, the human rights NGO interviewed 27 witnesses and survivors condemn death of unarmed civilianas they found the bodies of local residents and farmers apparently shot in the head, chest or back, some with their hands tied behind their backs.
“The first bodies we saw were right next to the school fence. Twenty corpses in underwear lie in front of the fence Three more are on campus. Most have guns around their necks, some on their backs,” one man told AI.
Since July 2021, Tigray forces have raped dozens of women and girls, often in the victims’ own homes, in China, a town north of Bahir Dar, the capital of Amhara, forcing them to serve as victims. They cook and cook. Sexual violence comes with an “appalling level of brutality, The NGO investigation revealed assaults, death threats and racial slurs.
Of the 30 survivors Amnesty International interviewed, 14 claimed to have been gang-raped by multiple Tigrin rebels, and Some people are raped in front of their children. Seven of the victims were under the age of 18.
“Tigray forces have completely disregarded the fundamental rules of international humanitarian law that all warring parties must abide by,” Sarah Jackson, AI’s deputy director for East Africa, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, said in a statement. a statement.
“There are growing signs that war crimes are being systematically committed and may crimes against humanity Since July 2021, Tigrayan forces have been attacked in the area of the Amhara area they control,” Jackson stressed.
In Kobo and Chenna, residents told Amnesty International that Tigrin forces stole property from their homes and shops, and looted and damaged public property, including medical centres and schools.
“These atrocities have brought people back to the negotiating table and a The international community took swift action Investigate abuses by all parties” and “hold those responsible,” Jackson added.
The war broke out on November 4, 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an armed attack on the PFLT in retaliation for the attack on the Tigray federal military base and escalating political tensions.
According to the United Nations, some 5.2 million people in Tigray need humanitarian assistance, Amhara and the adjacent Afar region. Likewise, thousands of people have died and some 2 million people have been forced from their homes as a result of the violence.