UN Official: May be 'Many Months' Before Full Scale of Tigray Rapes Known

Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions of rape.

A senior United Nations official says that it may be many months before the full scale and magnitude of atrocities being committed against women and girls in Ethiopia's Tigray region is known, as more reports of sexual violence emerge from the conflict zone. "Testimonies of some rape survivors reveal the brutal and heinous war being waged on the bodies of women and girls," Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said during a discussion about Tigray at Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security on Wednesday. The U.N. says the majority of rapes reported have been committed by men in uniform. Cases reported have involved Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara Special Forces, and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia.