MEKELLE, October 16, 2025 (Tigray Mass Media Agency) —Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide (CITG) has released a detailed report revealing that the Tigray war from November 2020 to November 2022 was marked by widespread sexual and gender-based violence, which the Commission says amounts to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
According to the report, which is available on the commission’s official website https://citghub.org/, out of 481,201 respondents surveyed, 286,250 approximately 59.5% survived at least one form of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Among them, 166,621 (58.4%) individuals endured sexual violence, including rape and sexual slavery. The Commission reports that more than 152,000 (53.1%) survivors of GBV experienced rape, while 12.67% were held in sexual slavery, often for weeks or months and subjected to repeated assaults.
The report further indicates that psychological violence affected about 54.8% of survivors, and severe physical assault was reported by roughly 36.43%. Among these cases, 975 survivors were burned with chemicals and 529 were killed during the assaults. The Commission emphasizes that sexual violence was also perpetrated against boys and men, confirming that the crimes were widespread and indiscriminate (CITG, 2025).
The Commission notes that gang rape was the most frequent form of sexual violence, affecting about 70% of victims willing to participate in the inquiry. In 13.37% of cases, survivors were attacked by six to 50 perpetrators. The report also reveals that in 24.51% of cases, family members were forced to witness assaults, and in 15.23% of cases, family members were coerced to participate in the violence. Approximately 25.27% of survivors reported foreign objects, such as razors/blades, bayonet (military tools), sand, hard soil, tissue pepper, condoms, nails, a dead snake, sharp metallic materials, sticks, rough stones, dirty cloth, rubber, and plastics, were inserted into their genitalia or anus, causing severe and lasting physical and reproductive injuries (CITG, 2025).
According to the report by CITG, nearly 19.02% of survivors suffered physical injuries, and 16.66% experienced reproductive health complications. These included genital, pelvic, rectal, or oral injuries, incontinence, fistulas, menstrual disorders, miscarriage, pelvic pain, pregnancy complications, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and infertility. Physical injuries included immobility, back pain, bleeding, bone fractures, dislocations, and loss of sight or hearing (CITG, 2025).
The Commission of Inquiry reports that psychological harm was pervasive, with 73.6% of survivors experiencing high-level distress and 24.5% moderate distress. Social and familial relationships were disrupted, with 41.11% of rape survivors reporting marital strain or separation, and 26.71% experiencing blame or rejection from family or partners. Many survivors lost property, livelihoods, or were displaced, compounding the socio-economic impact (CITG, 2025).
The report by CITG attributes about 55.63% of sexual and gender-based violence to the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), 35.78% to the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), 5.75% to Amhara forces, and 0.07% to Afar forces. Co-perpetration among forces accounted for 2.89% of all documented cases (CITG, 2025).
The report by CITG concludes that the documented acts constitute systematic and coordinated crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes. Both state and individual actors, from foot soldiers to high-ranking military and civilian officials, are criminally responsible for the atrocities (CITG, 2025).
The CITG emphasizes the need for urgent and impartial international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and possible ad hoc tribunals. The Commission also calls for comprehensive medical, psychosocial, and economic support for survivors, stressing that justice and rehabilitation are critical for preventing recurrence.
The Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide reaffirms its commitment to documenting crimes against humanity and ensuring that the atrocities committed during the Tigray war are neither denied nor forgotten. The full report and supporting evidence are accessible at https://citghub.org/ (CITG, 2025).
