Addis Abeba — Protests are set for next week in Mekelle, the regional capital, and Geneva, Switzerland, under the rallying cry "Enough of Spending Rainy Seasons in Tents." These demonstrations call for the return of residents displaced from their homes, who remain scattered as internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Sudan. They face the daunting prospect of enduring a fifth rainy season in temporary shelters.
The Tsilal Western Tigray Civil Society, a group focused on displaced civilians in the region, is organizing the protest. An organizer stated the demonstration aims "to create impact and draw attention."
Scheduled from June 18 to 20, 2025, the main goal is to demand the return of residents displaced by the two-year brutal war in the Tigray region. These individuals are currently living in various temporary shelters and refugee camps, and organizers want them home before the upcoming rainy season, according to local television.
Organizers also aim to pressure both the signatories and brokers of the Pretoria Agreement, including the federal government and the international community. They hope "this historic, collective, and peaceful demonstration - both inside the country and abroad - to serve as the voice of the displaced," according to local television.
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The organizers also stated that the protest aims to put pressure on both the signatories and brokers of the Pretoria Agreement, including the federal government and the international community. In so doing, the organizers want "this historic, collective, and peaceful demonstration - both inside the country and abroad- to serve as the voice of the displaced."
In January of this year a similar peaceful demonstration took place in which participants called for the return of IDPs took place in the regional capital, Mekelle. The demonstrations began on 13 January, 2025, in Mekelle and continued for three days across various towns in the region. The demonstrations took place in Adwa, Axum, Shire, Abi Addi, Adigrat, Sheraro, Alay Koraro, Endabaguna, Addi Daero, Selekleka, and Nebelt. The demonstrators called for a return home and "full implementation of the Pretoria Agreement."
During the rally in Mekelle, protesters chanted slogans such as "Return us to our homes," "Give attention to IDPs in Sudan," and "Living in tents is enough." Many IDPs, displaced for years, continue to endure dire conditions, including hunger, lack of medical care, and inadequate aid.
The current interim Administration pledged returning Tigrayan IDPs was one of its top priorities. Speaking during a meeting with Jens Hanefeld, German Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Observer to the African Union, President Tadesse Werede spoke of the critical need for urgent intervention in the region's worsening territorial and humanitarian crisis. "Forty percent of the Tigray regional state's territory is under the control of invaders," Tadesse stated, stressing that the administration's foremost responsibility is to restore the region's constitutional borders and facilitate the safe return of displaced people. Highlighting the dire conditions in Tselemti, a district in Western Tigray, he acknowledged the failure of previous efforts to return residents: "The poor security situation has led to further displacement and suffering," he said. "We must start working with the federal government as much as possible to help our people, who are forced to live in indescribable conditions, return to their homes before winter."
Citing the grave situation in Tselemti area of Western Tigray as an example, Tadesse acknowledged the failure of earlier efforts to facilitate the return of displaced residents. "The poor security situation has led to further displacement and suffering," he said, urging coordinated action before conditions worsen. "We must start working with the federal government as much as possible to help our people, who are forced to live in indescribable conditions, return to their homes before winter."
Despite the pledge, however, Tigrayan IDPs remained scattered in 99 makeshift camps across the region and continue to face severe hardships, including critical food shortages, limited access to medical care, and inadequate humanitarian assistance.
The situation is particularly dire in the most densely populated IDP camps in Adwa, Adigrat, Shire, and Axum. These camps are suffering from a critical lack of aid and medical services, with reports indicating a significant rise in hunger-related deaths, especially among vulnerable groups such as children, women, and the elderly.
In an interview with Addis Standard, Wolay Berhe, the coordinator for IDPs in Shire town, revealed that nearly 300 displaced individuals residing in the Hintsad center have died over the past three months.
He stated that at least one death is recorded daily, with some days seeing the burial of two or three individuals at once.
"Mothers, children, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable in this regard," Wolay explained. "The deaths are primarily due to hunger and lack of medical care."
In July last year, Addis Standard reported that the first group of 456 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were returned to their villages in the Tselemti district, located in the North Western Zone of the Tigray region, more than 18 months after the signing of the Pretoria Peace Agreement in November 2022.
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However, subsequent report by Addis Standard showed that months after their initial resettlement, many returnees in these districts were once again displaced as they struggle to survive without the promised support and protection from the government and humanitarian agencies. They were also unable to access essential service including food aid, healthcare, education, and clean water.
Western Tigray, which remains occupied by forces affiliated with Amhara region and the federal governments, is where some of the most devastating atrocities were committed during the two-year brutal war in the Tigray region, promoting the US State Department to designate the crimes as "crimes against humanity" compounded by forcible transfer of civilians and ethnic cleansing.
Despite the signing of the Pretoria agreement, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and several media reports including by Addis Standard had previously documented continued ethnic cleansing, human rights abuses and forcible expelling of Tigrayans from the areas.
On Friday last week, the TPLF lamented the "consistent entry of 250 to 300 individuals" into shelters in the Sheraro vicinity monthly and blamed the federal government for "sustained pattern" of non-adherence to the Pretoria Agreement, which is facilitating, "the continued systematic persecution of the Tigrayan people."
