Tigray displaced families fear renewed war as hopes of returning home fade

Résumé détaillé

Displaced families face renewed uncertainty as fighting returns to Tigray.

Abi Adi, Tigray, Ethiopia – Classrooms that once echoed with the voices of students have become homes for families displaced by the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

At a former high school in Abi Adi, families who fled Western Tigray have spent years waiting to return home. Mattresses, cooking utensils and personal belongings have replaced school furniture as families share rooms originally designed for students.

What was supposed to be temporary shelter is now where children are growing up far from home.

“We thought we would stay here for a few months before returning home. It has been years now. Our children are growing up in this school, and we still don’t know when we will be able to go back,” said Tewolde, who was displaced from Setit Humera in Western Tigray.

His hopes of returning have been further undermined by renewed fighting, four years after Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an agreement to end their devastating war.

The Pretoria agreement, signed in November 2022, ended two years of war that left an estimated 500,000 people dead, including from violence, famine and the collapse of healthcare, and displaced millions. But it left major political and territorial disputes unresolved, particularly over Western Tigray, where Amhara forces took control during the war.

The area remains disputed, and the return of displaced Tigrayans has been one of the most contentious outstanding issues.

Disagreements over the withdrawal of non-federal forces, disarmament and the region’s political administration further complicated implementation. Relations between the federal government and Tigray’s authorities deteriorated, while divisions within the region deepened.

Fighting escalated on September 22, 2026. TPLF forces launched an offensive the following day and seized Mekelle’s airport. Both sides disputed responsibility for the escalation, the most serious since the 2020–2022 war.

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