Young Men Flee Tigray Amid Fears of Forced Recruitment
In Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, years after the war ended, rising political and military tensions are causing young men to flee due to fears of forced conscription.
Young men in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are fleeing amid fears of forced recruitment into fighting, nearly four years after the Pretoria Agreement ended the war. While the agreement halted large-scale conflict, key issues such as contested territories and the disarmament of Tigrayan forces remain unresolved, fueling anxiety among the youth.
Highlights
- Young men in Tigray are reportedly leaving the region due to allegations of forced recruitment and military mobilization.
- Human Rights Watch documented cases of Tigrayan authorities and forces forcibly recruiting civilians, including children as young as 15, since at least April.
- Tensions are escalating between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), with both sides accusing each other of military buildup.
- The November 2022 Pretoria Agreement ended the war, but unresolved core issues are raising fears of renewed conflict.
- The TPLF has denied forced recruitment allegations, stating that young people are joining voluntarily.
Details
Gebru, 27, told Al Jazeera that his parents paid 20,000 Ethiopian birr (approximately $123) to secure his release from potential forced conscription. Similarly, Shewit, 24, abandoned his studies and business to flee to Addis Ababa, seeking safety. Gebrehiwot, 28, a veteran of the previous war, moved within Tigray to avoid being re-enlisted, as he does not wish to return to the battlefield.
Laetitia Bader, Human Rights Watch's Horn of Africa director, stated that the organization has documented cases where former fighters, civilians, young men, and even boys as young as 15 were abducted and detained from streets, homes, and mining areas. A mobilization proclamation introduced in June reportedly criminalizes desertion and attempts by relatives to prevent conscription.
Muauz Gidey Alemu, an assistant professor of political science at the Tigray Institute of Policy Studies, suggests that the recruitment should be viewed as a symptom of a deeper political and security crisis stemming from the incomplete implementation of the Pretoria Agreement. He noted that the agreement effectively ended large-scale warfare but failed to resolve all post-war political and security issues.
Why it matters
This situation threatens the fragile peace in Tigray and casts uncertainty over the future of the region's youth. Allegations of forced conscription and escalating tensions have the potential to trigger a new humanitarian crisis for an already vulnerable population. The incomplete implementation of the peace agreement could perpetuate a cycle of instability in the region.