Medical records from across the Tigray region reveal that Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers continue a widespread campaign of rape, despite the peace agreement signed in November 2022. A new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa documents sexual violence from November 2020 to June 2023, including cases after the ceasefire.
The report reviewed 304 medical records of conflict-related sexual violence; 128 showed rape occurring after the peace deal. Survivors ranged in age from eight to 69, with 76% of cases involving gang-rape. Ten accounts described captives raped by multiple perpetrators. In 96% of cases, perpetrators were from military or paramilitary groups.
Lindsey Green, a report author and PHR senior programme officer, said the records depict “horrifying” experiences. “The sexual violence we have documented is brutal and used as a way to intimidate and terrorise communities,” she said. Healthcare professionals reported cases of gang-rape, sexual slavery, and murder, including of children.
Women interviewed by The Guardian described ongoing attacks. Selamawit, 22, was gang-raped in February by Eritrean soldiers. “First, it was three soldiers who gang-raped me. But it did not stop there. Three more soldiers came and gang-raped me cruelly,” she said. Harnet, 19, was raped by Amhara militia in December 2022 and held captive for two days.
The report lists serious health consequences, including PTSD, depression, incontinence, uterine bleeding, and HIV. A nurse in northern Tigray said, “There is a lack of medicine and a shortage of facilities to treat the physical and mental health complications of the survivors. New cases are still being reported.” The findings corroborate other reports by the UN and human rights organisations.
