News: #PM_Abiy issues stern warning to #Eritrea, says further attempt to harm #Ethiopia “will be the last”
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has issued a stern warning to Eritrea’s ruling establishment, saying Ethiopia “will not give him another chance” to harm its people, saying any such move “will be the last.”
Speaking in Tigrinya with Ethiopia News Agency on Tuesday, the Prime Minister reflected on the #Tigray war and sharply criticized what he described as atrocities and widespread looting committed by Eritrean forces after entering #Tigray.
“We started with good and were pushed back with evil,” Abiy said, acknowledging that while Ethiopia initially appreciated the support of the Eritrean army during the outbreak of the Tigray war, that support “does not cover the evil deeds committed later.”
Abiy detailed crimes committed in several cities across Tigray following the entry of Eritrean troops. He said that at the time, the federal government was engaged in fighting Tigrayan forces, leaving it unable to defend against what he described as foreign incursions.
The Prime Minister also turned to Eritrea’s internal political and economic situation, accusing its leadership of failing to prioritize development or peaceful power transfer.
Abiy said Ethiopia fully understands the behavior of what he referred to as “Shabia,” a term commonly used to describe Eritrea’s ruling party. “We know him well and will not give him the opportunity to harm our people again,” he said. “If he tries, I believe it will be his last attempt.”
Read more: https://t.co/nnxUxSWBPH
Five years ago, one of this century’s deadliest wars erupted in northern Ethiopia. The U.S. helped stop the fighting, but the Pretoria agreement remains only partly fulfilled. Tigray is still unstable, there is no justice for victims, and tensions with Eritrea continue. A secure, peaceful Horn of Africa protects U.S. interests, prevents extremist threats, stabilizes partners, and helps millions who are suffering.
#𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚: 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐫��𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 “𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞” 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 #𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲
Mekelle – A new report by the “Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide (CITG)” has documented what it describes as “war-induced genocidal sexual and gender-based violence” committed against hundreds of thousands of women and girls across Tigray during the two-year Tigray war.
The report, released on Thursday, paints a harrowing picture of the systematic use of rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of gender-based violence as weapons of war.
According to the report, out of 481,201 women and girls surveyed, 286,250 suffered at least one form of gender-based violence, while 166,621 (58.2%) reported experiencing sexual violence. It further reveals that 152,108 (53.14%) survivors were raped — 70 percent of them gang-raped by between two and fifty perpetrators. The findings indicate extreme brutality. Some 21,117 women (7.4%) were held in prolonged sexual slavery.
Commissioner Yemane told Addis Standard that the findings were based on a door-to-door survey conducted using the ODK application and guided by the IASC GBV principles. “As the war-induced sexual violence was widespread throughout Tigray, universal screening was employed,” he said.
Yemane noted that Thursday’s publication presents only the main findings. “We have thousands of testimonies and stories that were not included in the current report, so there will be additional work and reports focused specifically on SGBV-related issues,” he confirmed.
https://t.co/p4KM4Aqoui
Eritrea🇪🇷 is on a nationwide campaign pleading for Tigray to join in defending their own country, claiming that the threat is to both Eritrea and Tigray. While this video below is of Eritreans dancing with Fano after ethnically cleansing Western Tigray
Eritrea didn’t just cheer for Tigray’s annihilation — it led the genocide along with Abiy’s regime. In Ethio-Eritrean war, they were defeated — Meles saved them. If war erupts, there’s no Trojan Horse in Addis. This time, they’ll lose everything — even Assab. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier.
Can’t wait to get to a balance in my portfolio where I can just throw it in an index fund and never think about it. Shit is an emotional rollercoaster.
Silence over sexual violence in #Ethiopia enables yet more abuse, says report
The silence over grave sexual violence crimes committed during the conflict in Ethiopia’s #Tigray region has enabled the spread of similar atrocities in other conflict zones, says a report co-authored by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organisation for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH).
The report, “You Will Never Be Able to Give Birth”: Conflict-Related Sexual and Reproductive Violence in Ethiopia, released today, documents systematic abuse in Tigray predominantly committed by Ethiopian soldiers and their Eritrean and ethno-militia allies during the 2020-2022 war, and how a lack of accountability led to revenge attacks in the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.
Researchers analysed hundreds of medical records and surveys of health workers in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar to understand the intent of the widespread acts of sexual and reproductive violence.
The report concludes that, in Tigray, the aim was to prevent future Tigrayan births. Health providers relayed stories of women who had plastic bags, nails, stones – even abusive letters – forcibly inserted into their wombs to destroy their ability to have children, with the goal of “destroying communities, and the Tigrayan ethnicity”.
Tigrayan women were also held in captivity where they were raped – by multiple attackers – resulting in forced pregnancies. Tigrayan men also suffered rape and sexual assault, the report found.
These acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report noted.
The lack of accountability for those crimes triggered yet more violence. When Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) soldiers advanced into parts of Amhara and Afar in 2021, they committed similar deliberate acts of sexual abuse, noted Payal Shah, the report’s co-author and director of research at PHR.
https://t.co/vwBFrNTFtz
"The plunder of much of northern #Tigray was led and directed by EDF leadership and likely disproportionately benefited #Eritrea’s higher-ranking officer classes, most of whom had fought alongside Isaias since the 1970s," @TheSentry_Org report. https://t.co/BKgUGCdCqz