Fresh Fighting Erupts in Tigray as Armed Groups Accused of Forcibly Recruiting Men and Boys as Young as 15

Fighting has erupted again in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, pushing the already devastated area toward the brink of a fresh humanitarian crisis. According to newly emerging accounts, a new armed coalition in Tigray is forcibly recruiting men and boys into its ranks.

Clashes resumed on September 23 between Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the force that controls the region. The fighting has shattered the fragile Pretoria peace agreement the two sides signed in November 2022.

According to the accounts, the latest round of fighting began after months of mounting tensions, when the TPLF launched an offensive, saying it was responding to drone strikes by the federal government.

Witnesses told the Guardian that a wide-scale forced recruitment campaign is under way in Tigray, targeting men and boys between the ages of 15 and 65.

Eritrean Defence Forces and Amhara militia groups — forces previously accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 2020-2022 conflict — have switched sides and are now fighting in support of the TPLF. Alongside this new alliance, testimony about forced conscription, child soldiers and new humanitarian crises continues to emerge from the region.

Gezu (*), 34, fought with Tigrayan forces during 2020-2022. He lost many friends on the battlefield and was lucky to survive. As he was planning to start a family, he received a call from the TPLF authorities ordering him to join an armed group after the new fighting broke out.

"I refused to fight," he said. "I told them they should kill me rather than force me back into the horror of the battlefield."

According to Gezu, when it became clear that no one was volunteering and people were fleeing toward the capital, the force began seizing people in the streets. "I didn't want to leave my home until things got worse," he said.

In recent months, many Tigrayans who could afford it tried to leave and head for the capital, Addis Ababa, fearing an impending war. On September 23, however, Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to and from Tigray after Tigrayan forces took control of the airport in Mekelle, the regional capital, leaving many people stranded.

Solomon (*), 52, who managed to reach Addis Ababa, said: "The main targets are people aged 15 to 40. I saw TPLF armed groups using guns to round up young people, even 15- and 16-year-olds, from the streets and public transport hubs."

"I know of parents who tried to save their children by giving them medical certificates. But recruiters don't care what illness you have; they force anyone who can still move their hands, eyes and legs," Solomon said.

Ephrem, 40, a father of three, said he had planned to leave the region weeks before the new fighting broke out because he feared being conscripted. "Every time I left the house, my wife and children were anxious. The children cried out of fear that I would be seized on the street," he said.

According to Ephrem, those with money try to protect themselves and their children from forced recruitment by bribing officials. "It's brutal; no one wants to fight," he said.

Over the past week, Tigray has been under siege after the federal government abruptly froze residents' bank accounts, preventing them from withdrawing money. Banks later reopened but limited withdrawals to 2,000 birr per day (about £9), with long queues waiting outside.

Negus (*), an elder in Mekelle, said: "We don't know how long the siege and the war will last. A 2,000-birr daily limit is barely enough to buy food now that prices have soared. There is no way to leave this war zone. Relatives outside have no way to send medicine or money. I just want this to end soon."

Internet and phone communications were also cut on TPLF orders until this week, leaving many families desperate for news of relatives in the region.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia's government has been accused of carrying out indiscriminate drone strikes. There have also been reports of attacks by opposition forces advancing toward Addis Ababa.

According to the British government, an estimated 300,000 to 800,000 civilians were killed in the Tigray conflict. Ethiopia's military, Eritrean forces and Amhara nationalist "fano" militias previously carried out serious atrocities against Tigrayans, deemed war crimes and crimes against humanity by the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. Tigrayan forces have also been accused of wartime atrocities in an Amnesty report.

(*) Names have been changed to protect identities.