“No one can deal with another war”

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People in Mekelle, the main city of Tigray, who lived in the Ethiopian war, told the BBC they fear they would soon fall into conflict again.

Increasing tensions threaten the fragile peace agreement signed by the end of 2022, which ended a brutal civil war that was estimated to have taken away one million lives.

Many are preparing for the worst–either set out to the federal capital Addis Ababa, sold-out flights, or stockpile emergency supplies and withdraw savings from banks.

“It’s all because of anxiety,” one resident said.

Tseganesh Kassa, a former combatant of Shire, a city in central Tigrey, suffered severe injuries to her leg during the war. She now walks with crutches and needs regular treatment.

She said the war “shocked my family.”

“I am now a disabled person, my family has always been [ruined] Economically. I don’t want to see it again. The displaced persons living in temporary camps have not even returned home.

“No one can handle another [war]. ”

Tigray is the center of conflict.

The gun was silent when the peace agreement was signed by two major warring groups, the Ethiopian federal government and the Tiguele People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s main political party.

Mekelle people want to know what will happen next [Amensisa Negera/BBC]

This led to the establishment of a provisional government, responsible for running the region until elections were held. But in recent months, the power struggle between senior figures between the TPLF and Tigray’s Provisional Government has grown increasingly.

The government accuses certain TPLF politicians of trying to seize power by force.

Some in the TPLF accuses Provisional Government leaders of failing to support former fighters or bringing back people displaced by the war.

It was once under the territory of the Tigray government before the battle, but it is still under the control of others.

Both sides accuse each other of participating in treason involving “external actors.”

There are now concerns that the peace agreement could undermine, and even the prospect of a direct conflict between Ethiopia and its neighbor Eritrea.

During the Tigray War, Eritrea supported the Ethiopian government. But relations between the two countries have deteriorated since the peace agreement and Eritrea has not signed it.

Eritrea has since then had a feeling that it had been reportedly a fallen man of atrocities committed during the war.

During the Civil War, all parties were charged with serious abuse – including mass killing of civilians and widespread sexual violence. Eritrean soldiers are particularly accused of falling behind dozens of civilians in the historic city of Aksum.

Tigray’s interim government said Eritrean forces are still occupying part of the land in the region along the shared border and they continue to inflict abuse.

Meanwhile, Eritrea’s information minister called the allegations “fabricated”, plus the region in question was “Eritrean sovereign territory.”

Tigrayan officials hope to return to these and other disputed areas under the control of troops in the neighboring Amhara region outlined in the peace agreement.

Ethiopia’s chance to enter the sea is another factor with Eritrea.

There are concerns that the two neighbors may return to the war six years after they mend their relationship.

If violence returns to Tigray – or if conflicts between Ethiopia and Eritrea break out, the impact will be very big in already volatile areas.

Charred remaining T-72 tanks lay on the road connecting Shiraro to Shire on October 12, 2024 — War reminders can be seen on Tigray’s road [AFP]

In Mekelle, residents are tired of the prospect of further conflict.

“Young people are tired of violence,” Tesfay Gebreabgzi, his 20s shoe, told the BBC. “exist [civil] In war, many people have the desire to fight. Now there is only fatigue. ”

Haimanot Gebremariam, a vegetable supplier in her fifties, said her two children joined the battle on Tigrayan after the war broke out in 2020.

But when her daughter returned safely, her son suffered permanent wounds. She said she didn’t want to see “dark days.” She told the BBC that the situation is now “very worrying.”

“We are still living in the trauma and scars of the last war. We don’t want to shed tears again.”

The Tigray region has not yet fully recovered from the catastrophic impact of the conflict.

Nearly one million displaced people have not returned home, and some critical infrastructure, including schools and healthcare facilities, have not yet been rebuilt.

Despite this, Mekelle is normal despite the obvious anxiety. Businesses and stores operate regularly. And there are no large number of security forces on the street.

But, in recent memory, experienced one of Africa’s most deadly conflicts, many followed every small development.

In a café, young people were glued to their phones and watched clips from the recent news report by Tigray’s interim management head, Getachew Reda is currently in “negotiating” with federal authorities hundreds of miles away in Addis Ababa.

In another café, a young man said he was waiting to hear the city’s new mayor – a new mayor appointed by the dissident TPLF faction will calm the public down.

It seems everyone is waiting for what the next few days and weeks will bring.