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Warning: This report contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence. Victims' names have been changed to protect their identities.
Survivors recount brutal assaults amid Ethiopia's Amhara crackdown
On a Sunday morning in January 2025, Ethiopian soldiers stormed the home of Enat, a 21-year-old Amhara woman, during a military operation targeting Fano militias in South Gondar. What began as interrogation over her ties to the rebel group escalated into rape-committed in front of her eight-year-old niece, she told the BBC. "I begged them," Enat recalled. "But their hearts didn't pity me."
Her account is one of thousands in Ethiopia's Amhara region, where sexual violence has surged since clashes between the Ethiopian army and Fano militias erupted in August 2023. Data collected by the BBC from 43 health facilities-just 4% of the region's total-reveals 2,697 reported rapes between July 2023 and May 2025, with 45% of victims under 18. Experts warn the true toll is far higher, as stigma and fear deter reporting.
Conflict roots: A rebellion born from betrayal
The violence stems from the government's 2023 decision to disband regional militias, including Amhara's Fano-former allies in the 2020-2022 Tigray war. Fano leaders, accusing Addis Ababa of abandoning them to attacks from Tigrayan forces and others, launched an insurgency for regional autonomy. The army's response, labeled a crackdown on "radical ethno-nationalists," has been marked by alleged abuses: extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and systematic sexual violence.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say the military bears disproportionate responsibility. "Survivors deserve justice," said researcher Haimanot Ashenafi, citing a "persistent pattern of impunity." The Ethiopian defense ministry did not respond to BBC requests for comment.
Targeted trauma: Women as weapons of war
Victims describe attacks as deliberate terror tactics. Tigist, 18, was gang-raped by soldiers after rejecting a customer's advances at her family's teahouse in West Gojjam. "My fear keeps me from going to work," she said, now housebound and suicidal. Lemlem, 23, was assaulted in her home after refusing to cooperate with soldiers' demands. "It's repulsive to be born a woman," she said, voicing the despair shared by many survivors.
"Before that day, I had never known a man. It would have been better if they had killed me."
Enat, survivor
Health crisis: STIs, pregnancies, and psychological ruin
Medical data paints a grim picture: over half of reported rape victims tested positive for STIs, while many became pregnant or suffered severe trauma. One senior health worker, speaking anonymously, called the documented cases "the tip of the iceberg." Delays in treatment-due to conflict-related transport disruptions-have rendered HIV prevention drugs ineffective for some, raising fears of a public health catastrophe.
Doctors report victims arriving "trembling, too intimidated to speak." Few name their attackers or seek justice, prioritizing survival over accountability. "Law and order have broken down," a medic noted, as survivors like Enat-now a mother after her rape-grapple with poverty and stigma. "If this is living," she said, "then yes, I am living."
Unequal accountability
While both sides face accusations, medics and a government source (who requested anonymity) said most cases involved army soldiers, particularly in urban areas under military control. Fano leader Asres Mare Damtie denied militia involvement, claiming no complaints had been filed. A government-commissioned investigation by Bahir Dar University is underway, with findings expected soon.
Historical precedent offers little hope: After similar allegations during the Tigray war, Ethiopia dismissed reports as "biased," and no perpetrators were publicly punished.
Silenced voices, shattered futures
For survivors like Enat, the violence has erased futures. Once dreaming of a traditional Orthodox wedding, she now lives with relatives, unemployed and raising a daughter born of rape. "I feared God," she said of considering an abortion. Tigist, meanwhile, abandoned her engagement and attempted suicide-saved only by family intervention.
As the conflict grinds on, Amnesty's Ashenafi warns of lasting damage: "They're still out there, with no consequences." With no end to the fighting in sight, the cycle of violence-and its invisible wounds-shows no sign of abating.
Support resources are available at BBC ActionLine.
