Edit by … Muhammad Abu Saleh

With the announcement by the Ethiopian government of the resumption of military operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), about days after the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Lai rejected watches from regional or international parties, most recently the Sudanese initiative to mediate between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

This decision was due to the successive victories of the Front, particularly in Amhra and Afar, where forces of the Tigray Liberation Front were able to control a number of important cities in the two territories.

After inviting civilians to join the Ethiopian army in the face of the Tigrai People's Liberation Front, the Ethiopian Government risks igniting the situation and spinning out of control, reinforcing fears that the conflict may turn into a popular confrontation among Ethiopian territorial members against the Tigrai people.

Several international reports over the past few hours from international organizations, including UNICEF and Amnesty International, have revealed the crimes suffered by civilians in Ethiopia as a result of the war between the Ethiopian army and its allied militias against the Tigray Liberation Front.

Amnesty International revealed its report on cases of rape and sexual violence against hundreds of women and girls from Tigray territory by forces loyal to the Ethiopian Government, noting that rape and sexual slavery constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.

Amnesty International said in a new report on the Tigray conflict that women and girls in Tigray were raped and other forms of sexual violence by warring forces loyal to the Ethiopian Government.

The Secretary-General of the Organization, Elias Callamard, stated: It is clear that rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon of war to cause lasting physical and psychological harm to women and girls in Tigray.

She added: "Hundreds have been brutalized to insult and dehumanize them."

The Secretary-General of Amnesty International stressed that "the severity and magnitude of the sexual crimes committed are particularly appalling, amounting to war crimes and potential crimes against humanity. It mocks the basic principles of humanity. It has to stop. "

Elias Kalamard called on the Ethiopian Government to take immediate action to prevent sexual violence by members of the security forces and allied militias, and the African Union should spare no effort to ensure that the conflict was brought before the African Union Peace and Security Council.

She said: The Ethiopian authorities should also grant access to the Commission of Inquiry of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations should urgently send the Panel of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict to Tigray.

The report reviewed a number of testimonies of girls and women from the Tigray region who had been raped, and Amnesty International indicated that it had interviewed 63 survivors of sexual violence, as well as a number of doctors.

Elias Callamard said: "Reports of sexual violence were mostly hidden from the outside world during the first two months of the conflict that began in November 2020, largely due to access restrictions imposed by the Ethiopian government and communication disruption."

She added: "We must see all allegations of sexual violence investigated effectively, independently and fairly to ensure that victims have access to justice, and an effective compensation programme must be established. All parties to the conflict must also ensure unrestricted humanitarian

On the other hand, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNICEF) issued a statement expressing its deep concern at the reported deaths of more than 200 people, including more than 100 children, in attacks on displaced families housed in a health facility and school in the Afar region.

The international organization concerned said that the escalation of fighting in Afar and other areas adjacent to Tigray is disastrous for children, following months of armed conflict throughout Tigray, which has placed some 400 thousand people, including at least 160 thousand children, in famine-like conditions.

FAO explained that 4 million people are suffering from crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity in Tigray and the neighbouring areas of Afar and Amhara, and more than 100 thousand new people have been displaced as a result of the recent fighting, in addition to 2 million already displaced from their homes.

UNICEF estimates a 10-fold increase in the number of children who will suffer from life-threatening malnutrition in Tigray over the next 12 months.

UNICEF said that the humanitarian disaster spreading across northern Ethiopia was driven by armed conflict and could only be resolved by the parties to the conflict.

The international organization called on all parties to end the fighting and implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

She said: "Above all, we call on all parties to do everything possible to protect children from harm."