Foreign
ROUGHLY 5,000 children are at risk of experiencing violence and sexual abuse, six months after the conflict that broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
An aid organization, Save the Children, said on Tuesday, that the children who had been separated from their parents now faced much greater danger than during the conflict.
The crisis engulfed the region when the Ethiopian government launched a military offensive in November 2020, against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in northern Ethiopia.
The TPLF had held sway in the region until the attack.
The move followed years of tension between the TPLF and the central government in Addis Ababa.
The ongoing conflict has already caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), has said that rape was being used as a weapon of war in the conflict.
“Women are having to engage in sexually exploitative relationships, receiving small amounts of money, food, and/or shelter to survive and feed their children,’’ said Victor Odero, a policy adviser to the IRC.
Save The Children, however, said many of such cases were often not reported by women and children for fear of stigmatization and reprisals. (dpa/NAN)
– MAY 04, 2021 @ 14:04 GM
Tags: Children face greater risks 6 months after Ethiopia conflict – Aid group
