Video shows the horror of rape as weapon of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region

When she arrived at the hospital, she was incredibly weak. The gynecologist who carried out the operation successfully removed two nails, several pieces of tissue, a balled up plastic bag and a rock from her vaginal cavity. She was bleeding but, thankfully, there were no perforations [Editor’s note: holes in the wall of her vaginal cavity.] There will be no permanent damage. Her reproductive organs still work. So there is no serious permanent physical damage. But in terms of psychological trauma, that is something else. 

All of the personnel at the hospital were horrified by this case. I haven’t seen or heard of this practice in any other case of rape during this conflict. And I haven’t heard of this taking place anywhere else. We see rape cases but not this… how can you reach that degree of inhumanity?

Ethiopia Asks UN to Urge Egypt, Sudan to Resume Nile Dam Talks

The two countries are downstream of the GERD and have refused a data exchange initiative by Ethiopia before the second filling of the dam during the upcoming rainy season.

“unilateral measures could harm the two downstream countries, due to the absence of a clear coordination mechanism between the three countries within the framework of a fair and binding legal agreement.”

In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, reports of sexual slavery and violent rape

Doctors showed Reuters the bloodstained stone and two 3-inch nails they said they had removed from her body.

The woman, 27, is among hundreds who have reported that they were subjected to horrific sexual violence by Ethiopian and allied Eritrean soldiers after fighting broke out in November in the mountainous northern region of Ethiopia, doctors said.

Saudi and Finnish foreign ministers hold talks on Ethiopia’s Tigray

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto in the capital Riyadh, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The two sides held an official session of talks, in which the foreign minister welcomed Haavisto, who began his regional tour with a visit to the Kingdom after concluding a trip to Addis Ababa mandated by EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

The two sides agreed to join efforts to bridge the gap between the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, and to support all regional and international efforts in this regard.

reuters: Eritrea admits presence in Ethiopia’s Tigray, tells U.N. withdrawing

“Neither the U.N. nor any of the humanitarian agencies we work with have seen proof of Eritrean withdrawal,” Lowcock told the Security Council on Thursday. “We have, however, heard some reports of Eritrean soldiers now wearing Ethiopian Defense Force uniforms.”

aljazeera: Eritrea confirms its troops are fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray

For months, both sides denied Eritreans were involved, contradicting testimony from residents, rights groups, aid workers, and diplomats.

The conflict arrived in the middle of the harvest in Tigray and for months humanitarian access was greatly restricted, prompting fears of widespread starvation.

Sexual violence being used as weapon of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray, U.N. says

Lowcock said he had received a report earlier on Thursday that 150 people had died from hunger in Tigray and warned that “starvation as a weapon of war is a violation.”

“There is no doubt that sexual violence is being used in this conflict as a weapon of war,” Lowcock said, adding the majority of rapes were committed by men in uniform, with accusations made against all the warring parties.