MINILIK SALSAWI

  by Mesfin Tegenu, (  thehill.com) AP photo Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In recent weeks, the world’s gaze has been intensely focused on a war halfway around the world. Intense fighting between Israel and Hamas has left thousands of people dead, including many children, and generated television images that make it hard to look away.  At the same time, just 1,500 miles south of Gaza City, a violent and escalating conflict is largely being ignored by the outside world. Earlier this month, in northern Ethiopia’s Amhara region, government soldiers unleashed heavy weapons fire that witnesses said endangered historic, rock-hewn churches that date as far back as the 12th and 13th centuries.   The fighting between troops loyal to the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and civilians tied to the region’s Fano militia — forces that were on the s

 More than a year after the end of conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a severe humanitarian crisis continues to impact the area, with women being particularly affected, according to a new report by the nonprofit group Refugees International.    Senior fellow Sarah Miller, who conducted extensive research by interviewing civilians and health workers in the Tigray region, found that an estimated 40–50% of Tigray’s women experienced gender-based violence during the fighting between regional forces and the federal government. Of these victims, over 80% reported being raped, with nearly 70% reporting brutal gang rape by armed militia groups. The report also highlighted the lack of available support for the population of over seven million in Tigray, with only three clinical psychologists covering the entire area. This has led to many abused women facing untreated trauma, according to the report. Additionally, the report revealed that hundreds of thousands of people re