“More than one million people have been displaced, and fighting continues. Access and security remain serious i”Sexual and gender-based violence has also been used systematically,”
“The volatile situation and fighting on the ground continue to restrict the humanitarian response. There remains a strong need to urge all parties about the need to respect international humanitarian law and international refugee law,”
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.”
the safety and security of humanitarian personnel must be ensured, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Since the beginning of the conflict in Tigray, the EU, together with its Member States, has been one of the largest humanitarian donors to the crisis and has been consistently advocating for the respect of IHL, including the obligation to protect civilians. I reiterate this call once more, condemning all crimes against civilians, including rape, and calling the perpetrators to be swiftly brought to justice.”
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?
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.
Ethiopia sent its troops to the northern region of Tigray in early November to fight against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, then the regional ruling party.
The TPLF withdrew from the regional capital Mekelle before the end of the month, and the Ethiopian government declared victory.
“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.”
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.
Of the more than 2,000 employed, only 700 have returned to work.Phone lines, the internet and other means of telecommunications were unavailable for many days, with garment and textile factories looted and destroyed.
The United States provided supplies that will be used to build a temporary shelter for more than 80,000 people who had been forced to flee their homes after the conflict broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday
