Thanks
@AJEnglish
for choosing the story. Would not have been possible as I hate applying for awards
@Teo_Kermeliotis
, thanks for being an incredible editor.
The winner of the Written News category is ‘A Tigrayan womb should never give birth’: Rape in Tigray
‘A Tigrayan womb should never give birth’: Rape in Tigray
Displaced people from Ethiopia’s western Tigray region report cases of rape, looting and extrajudicial killings allegedly perpetrated by Amhara forces.
By Lucy Kassa
Published On 21 Apr 2021
21 Apr 2021
Warning: The story below contains descriptions of extreme sexual violence
Akberet* knew she was no longer safe.
The Amhara fighters in charge of her hometown of Humera and other disputed areas of western Tigray had just ordered all Tigrayans in her neighbourhood to leave their homes within 24 hours.
“The militiamen who have been terrorising us for months,” said the 34-year-old mother of three, “told us we are not allowed to live there anymore, because we are Tigrayans. They ordered us to leave empty-handed. They said all the properties we owned belong to Amharas, not to us.”
The Amhara forces entered western Tigray from neighbouring Amhara region in support of Ethiopian federal forces in November last year, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an offensive against Tigray’s then-ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Since then, the Amhara, who are Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group, have taken control of several areas in the region – land, they claim, that historically has been theirs.
Akberet wasted no time after the ultimatum.
Continue reading https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/2 ... pia-tigray
