Thousands of Ethiopians took to the streets in the capital Addis Ababa to protest what they describe as forced military mobilisation in the northern Tigray region, as tensions between the regional authorities and Ethiopia's federal government once again edge toward open conflict. The demonstrations, in which protesters waved national flags, reflected growing concern over alleged interference in the country's internal affairs and the prospect of renewed fighting in a region already scarred by war.

The protests follow a damning report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which accused authorities in Tigray of forcibly recruiting civilians — including boys as young as 15 — in a campaign that has intensified since late April. According to HRW, officials have conducted nighttime house-to-house searches, rounded up men and boys from streets, markets, offices and gold-mining sites, and used neighbourhood informants to identify potential recruits. A proclamation compelling military service was issued by regional authorities in June. "The Tigrayan authorities' campaign to forcibly recruit men and boys into their forces is creating a climate of fear throughout the region," said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at HRW.

Tigray, a mountainous region in northern Ethiopia bordering Eritrea, was the epicentre of a devastating civil war fought between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) — the political party that dominates the region — and Ethiopia's federal government from 2020 to 2022. A peace agreement ended that conflict, but relations have remained fragile, and observers warn the situation is once again deteriorating. The TPLF has denied using forced recruitment, but testimonies gathered by HRW and earlier reporting by AFP paint a troubling picture. One former fighter described being taken from his home at night by three armed men in Tigray Defense Forces uniforms, alongside roughly 17 others, including several teenagers. A witness in the town of Adi Gudem recounted soldiers and police abducting workers and farmers, with one man beaten unconscious after attempting to flee.

The impact on the civilian population is severe. Some residents have resorted to sleeping in different locations every night to avoid detection, while others have fled the region entirely. "If they can't find you, they take your younger relatives," one 30-year-old told HRW — a tactic that has deepened the atmosphere of fear. Human Rights First-Ethiopia has separately confirmed that forced recruitment is taking place across most of the region.

The rallies in Addis Ababa underscore the political sensitivity of the crisis for Ethiopia as a whole. With memories of the 2020–2022 war — which claimed tens of thousands of lives and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe — still fresh, any return to large-scale fighting would carry profound consequences for the country and the wider Horn of Africa. International human rights organisations are calling for an immediate halt to forced conscription and urging all parties to pursue dialogue rather than escalation.