U.N. calls for stop to 'horrific' sexual violence in Ethiopia's Tigray

FILE PHOTO: An Ethiopian woman who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carries her child near the Setit river on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dozen top United Nations officials on Monday called for a stop to indiscriminate and targeted attacks against civilians in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, particularly calling out reports of rape and "other horrific forms of sexual violence."

In a joint statement the officials, including U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock, rights chief Michelle Bachelet and refugee chief Filippo Grandi, called on the warring parties to protect civilians from human rights abuse, condemn sexual violence and hold perpetrators accountable.