Classrooms that once echoed with the voices of students have become homes for families displaced by the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
asserted
that → echo → region
At a former high school in Abi Adi, families who fled Western Tigray have spent years waiting to return home.
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who → flee → years
Mattresses, cooking utensils and personal belongings have replaced school furniture as families share rooms originally designed for students.
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families → replace → students
What was supposed to be temporary shelter is now where children are growing up far from home.
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children → suppose → home
“We thought we would stay here for a few months before returning home.
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we → think → months
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.
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who → grow → 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.
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government → return → 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.
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that → sign → millions
But it left major political and territorial disputes unresolved, particularly over Western Tigray, where Amhara forces took control during the war.
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forces → leave → war
The area remains disputed, and the return of displaced Tigrayans has been one of the most contentious outstanding issues.
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return → dispute → issues
Disagreements over the withdrawal of non-federal forces, disarmament and the region’s political administration further complicated implementation.
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Disagreements → complicate → implementation
Relations between the federal government and Tigray’s authorities deteriorated, while divisions within the region deepened.
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divisions → deteriorate → region
Fighting escalated on September 22, 2026.
asserted
Fighting → escalate → September
TPLF forces launched an offensive the following day and seized Mekelle’s airport.
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forces → launch → airport
Both sides disputed responsibility for the escalation, the most serious since the 2020–2022 war.
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sides → dispute → war
Federal forces and allied fighters counterattacked, retaking Mekelle on October 4 as Tigrayan fighters withdrew.
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fighters → counterattack → October
Fighting continued elsewhere in the region, however, underscoring the fragility of the security situation.
asserted
Fighting → continue → situation
The federal government subsequently established a six-month caretaker administration to govern Tigray, restore public services and prepare the region for elections.
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government → establish → elections
But the change in regional leadership has not ended the fighting, and the underlying political disputes have remained.
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disputes → end → fighting
In an October 8 letter published the following day, Human Rights Watch and other organisations warned the United Nations Human Rights Council that renewed hostilities threatened to undo the Pretoria agreement.
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that → publish → agreement
They cited reports of drone strikes, mortar fire and artillery attacks, including in populated areas and near camps for internally displaced people, and called for international scrutiny of violations by all parties.
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They → cite → parties
The renewed fighting has exposed how little the agreement did to resolve the heart of the conflict.
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agreement → renew → conflict
Displacement with no end in sight
For families in Abi Adi, the unresolved status of Western Tigray has meant years of uncertainty.
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status → mean → uncertainty
Many fled their homes when the war broke out in 2020 and have struggled to rebuild their lives.
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war → flee → lives
At the displacement site, families say they face shortages of food, clean water and essential medicines.
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they → say → food
Overcrowding has made daily life particularly difficult for children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.
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life → make → illnesses
Selass, an internally displaced mother of two from Humera, said the lack of affordable medicine was a constant worry.
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lack → displace → medicine
“Sometimes, we take our children to the clinic, but the medicines they need are not available.
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they → take → clinic
We are told to buy them from private pharmacies, but we have no money,” she said.
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she → tell → money
For families who have already spent years away from home, renewed fighting has brought renewed fears that their displacement could become permanent.
uncertain
displacement → spend → fears
Hospitals struggle to treat patients
The crisis has also left Tigray’s health facilities struggling with shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies.
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crisis → struggle → medicines
Doctors at Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the facility lacked sufficient supplies of essential medicines.
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facility → speak → medicines
Patients were increasingly being asked to buy prescribed drugs from private pharmacies, where prices were often beyond their means.
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prices → ask → means
“Patients have to go outside the hospital and buy the medicines they need from private pharmacies.
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they → go → pharmacies
But not everyone can afford them, and this makes it difficult for patients to get the treatment they need,” one doctor said.
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doctor → afford → treatment
Although humanitarian organisations have continued to provide medical assistance and some hospitals have resumed operations, significant gaps in healthcare remain.
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gaps → continue → healthcare
Years of conflict have damaged health infrastructure and depleted medical supplies.
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Years → damage → supplies
The recent hostilities risk further disrupting services that have yet to recover.
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that → risk → services
Former fighters seek a way out of war
While displaced families wait to return home, thousands of former fighters are beginning the process of leaving military life behind.
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thousands → seek → life
On November 5, Ethiopia’s National Rehabilitation Commission said about 5,500 former Tigrayan fighters were receiving rehabilitation training at a centre in Mekelle.
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fighters → say → Mekelle
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
