I used to live in Afar and owned a restaurant. There were 9 female employees working in my restaurant, six of them Amharas and three Tigrayans. Soldiers [mix of Ethiopian and Eritrean] took four of us Tigrayans to a prison in Semera. They didn’t touch the six Amharas. From Semera, they separately took 59 Tigrayan women to another prison in Shiket desert. They regularly raped us, did whatever they want and beat us. Whenever they lost in battle, they raped and beat us. I somehow remember 6 of the rapists but as I eventually lost consciousness, I barely remember what followed. After Tigrayan forces pushed, the rapists left the area. An Afar man informed Tigray forces about whereabout and they brought us to Mekelle. Out of the 59 women, 14 died while being raped and beaten. Another one died in Quiha on the way to Mekelle. Myself and others miraculously survived. I am a married woman with three children. My husband was also imprisoned. I was told he later joined Tigrayan forces but I have not heard from him till now. I am now under treatment.
A victim of sexual violence [Translation Yonas Nigussie]
A victim of gang-rape in Afar says Ethiopian & local forces took 59 Tigrayan women from a camp in Semera to Shiket where they raped & beat them, 15 died later
The victim gang-raped by at least 6 soldiers says 15 of the 59 women taken from a concentration camp in Semera to Shiket in the Afar region have died as a result of sexual and physical violence.