Death toll from mid-April ethnic clashes in Ethiopia may be 200, official says

Residents and officials in Oromiya Special Zone, an area in Amhara with a majority Oromo population, and the town of Ataye said there were deadly clashes in the area on April 16.

“According to information we got from people who are displaced, we estimate that up to 200 people might have died from both zones, but we still need to verify the number,” Endale Haile, Ethiopia’s chief ombudsman, told Reuters.

‘Look after my babies’: In Ethiopia, a Tigray family’s quest

The violence had broken out in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region at the worst possible time for Abraha and his family. Their village of Mai Kadra was caught in the first known massacre of a grinding war that has killed thousands of ethnic Tigrayans like them.

Abraha pleaded with his wife, writhing from post-childbirth complications, to be silent, as any noise could bring gunmen to his door. His two young sons watched in fear.

“Dying by blood or by hunger”: The war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, explained

Residents and officialsThe bodies of the two brothers were left for more than a day. Their families knew they were there, but the soldiers wouldn’t let them collect the bodies. The soldiers left behind witnesses, though: two boys, barely teens, tied to a tree nearby, after the soldiers forced them to spend the night on the ground, between the bodies of the murdered men.

“According to information we got from people who are displaced, we estimate that up to 200 people might have There have been massacres and mass executions. Jan Nyssen, a geography professor at the University of Ghent, and a team of researchers have compiled a list of 1,900 Tigrayans killed in approximately 150 mass killings since the fighting began.

‘Look after my babies’: In Ethiopia, a Tigray family’s quest

The violence had broken out in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region at the worst possible time for Abraha and his family. Their village of Mai Kadra was caught in the first known massacre of a grinding war that has killed thousands of ethnic Tigrayans like them.

Abraha pleaded with his wife, writhing from post-childbirth complications, to be silent, as any noise could bring gunmen to his door. His two young sons watched in fear.

UN breaks silence on Ethiopia crisis, urges investigation into reported Tigray atrocities

The United Nations Security Council has voiced “deep concern” over a humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region for the first time since conflict erupted there five months ago, calling for reported atrocities to be investigated.

“Look after my babies,” she said. “I’m going to d”We have, however, heard some reports of Eritrean soldiers now wearing Ethiopian Defence Force uniforms. And regardless of uniform or insignia, humanitarian staff continue to report new atrocities which they say are being committed by Eritrean Defence Forces.”

‘Look after my babies’: Fleeing war in Ethiopia, a broken Tigray family seeks safety

War had broken out in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region at the worst possible time for Abraha and his family. Their village of Mai Kadra was caught in the first known massacre of a grinding conflict that has killed thousands of ethnic Tigrayans like them.

“Look after my babies,” she said. “I’m going to die. I don’t have hope. I’m very sorry.”

It May be ‘Many Months’ Before Full Scale of Tigray Rapes Known, UN Official Says

“Testimonies of some rape survivors reveal the brutal and heinous war being waged on the bodies of women and girls,” Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said during a discussion about Tigray at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security on Wednesday.

The U.N. says the majority of rapes reported have been committed by men in uniform. Cases reported have involved Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara Special Forces, and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia.

‘A Tigrayan womb should never give birth’: Rape in Tigray

“I begged them to stop,” Akberet told Al Jazeera. “I asked them, crying, why they were doing that to me. What wrong have I done to you?

“You did nothing bad to us,” she said they told her. “Our problem is with your womb. Your womb gives birth to Woyane [derogative term used to refer to the TPLF]. A Tigrayan womb should never give birth.”

‘No end’ to conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, warns UNICEF

He said more than a million people were displaced, noting that fighting was continuing, and security remained a major issue. UNICEF had been “concerned from the onset about the harm that this is going to cause children, and unfortunately such fears are being realized.”

“What is really emerging now is a disturbing picture of severe and ongoing child violations, there is also unfortunately an education and nutrition emergency and I saw extensive destruction to systems on essential services that children rely on.”