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Fighters from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region have been accused of gang rape and physical assault by 16 women in the neighboring Amhara region, according to a report released by Amnesty International on Wednesday.
Women from the Amhara town of Nifas Mewcha told Amnesty that fighters associated with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Ethiopia's central government in a year-long war in the country's north, committed widespread rape and sexual violence in mid-August.
"The testimonies from survivors describe despicable acts by TPLF fighters that amount to war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity. They defy morality or any iota of humanity," said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary general.
Reacting to the Amnesty report, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said in a post on Twitter: "The international community is starting to wake up to the atrocities of the TPLF. Looting hospitals and heinous atrocities throughout the Amhara region."
Besides the assaults, Amnesty reported that the women were denigrated using ethnic slurs such as 'donkey Amhara' and 'greedy Amhara' and were unable to seek medical assistance after their assaults because the non-governmental organization that provides care has left the region due to security concerns.
