Tigray rebel groups ‘forcibly recruiting boys as young as 15’ as fighting spreads

A Tigray People's Liberation Front fighter poses in Mekele, Tigray’s capital, in the 2020-22 war. The TPLF is now allied to Eritrean forces and Amhara militias it fought then. Photograph: AFP

As renewed fighting has threatened a fresh humanitarian crisis in the northern region of Ethiopia, reports are emerging that a new alliance of armed groups in Tigray has been forcibly recruiting men and boys to its ranks.

Renewed conflict erupted on 23 September between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the region, shattering the fragile Pretoria peace agreement signed between the two sides in November 2022.