Young men flee Tigray amid fears of forced recruitment

Gebru, 27, was taken to a local administration office with other young men, and his parents paid 20,000 birrs to secure his release. He then left Tigray for Addis Ababa, fearing he would be forcibly recruited again. Many young men are fleeing Tigray due to rising tensions and reports of forced recruitment by Tigrayan authorities, despite the 2022 Pretoria Agreement ending the war between Ethiopia's federal government and TPLF.