During the past week, soldiers of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have reportedly been rounding up thousands of young people in the Tigray region amid reports of preparations for renewed conflict with the federal government. According to multiple sources, TPLF forces have begun a mass mobilization campaign, with credible reports indicating that many young people are being taken in both rural areas and major towns such as Shire, Axum, Adwa, Adigrat, and Edaga Hamus.

Reports allege that these roundups are linked to broader efforts connected to the buildup toward a possible confrontation with the central government. A leaflet is said to be circulating with the message written in Tigrigna, “Tigray is calling you.”

Places of worship, public gathering sites, schools, and agricultural farms have reportedly become targets for the forced roundup of teenagers to serve as soldiers, it was said.

A local NGO, Human Rights First Ethiopia, said it has received multiple reports of mass roundups in the Tigray region over the past two weeks. Mebrhi Brhane, deputy director of Human Rights First Ethiopia, told Ethiopia Insider that the organization had documented cases of forced conscription, adding that some of those detained were later released.
Some reportedly said they paid bribes to secure their freedom. Soldiers conducting the roundups reportedly used force when young people attempted to escape. A witness from Abi Adi told Ethiopia Insider that he saw a person shot from behind while trying to run away.
The Tigray opposition party Salsay Weyane yesterday expressed concern over the mobilization, stating that it is engaging in political and diplomatic efforts to stop the recruitment.

The TPLF has recently reinstated the local parliament that existed before the 2020 war, a move that directly challenges the authority of the federal government. It risks further escalating tensions that have been steadily rising in recent months between Mekelle and Addis Ababa.