Addis Abeba — Almost four years after the end of the war that devastated Ethiopia's Tigray region, civilians continue to pay a heavy price--not on the battlefield, but in their homes, fields, and neighborhoods. Hundreds, if not thousands, have lost their lives due to accidents involving anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind after hostilities ceased. These remnants of war remain a critical and persistent threat to the civilian population, with children, women, and girls bearing a disproportionate share of the suffering.
Reports indicate that UXO and anti-personnel mines are scattered across the entire region--in residential compounds, farmlands, schools, marketplaces, and other public spaces. The contamination has not only caused devastating injuries and fatalities but also severely hampers efforts to rebuild livelihoods and restore normalcy. Farmers cannot safely tend their fields; children cannot walk to school without fear; and communities already burdened by economic collapse and social dislocation find their path to recovery obstructed by invisible, lethal hazards.
This article, written on behalf of GEM Tigray, underscores one of the most persistent and life-threatening dangers facing civilians in Tigray today: contamination by anti-personnel mines and UXO. This invisible menace continues to maim, kill, and disrupt everyday life, particularly for women and girls, long after active hostilities have ceased.
Confirmed contamination, ongoing risk from mines
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The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has deployed technical personnel throughout Tigray, Afar, and Amhara to conduct explosive ordnance threat assessments and clearance operations. In its latest reports, UNMAS confirms the presence of a wide array of explosive hazards--including anti-personnel mines, rockets, mortars, air-dropped bombs, grenades, and other dangerous ordnance--in the region. These assessments identified more than 1,500 such items, and hundreds more remain to be cleared or marked for community warning.
Independent humanitarian organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), have documented how large swaths of Tigray remain contaminated with explosive remnants of war, posing imminent danger to civilians returning home, working on farmland, traveling on rural roads, and conducting everyday activities in public spaces.
Reported incidents include civilian deaths, catastrophic injuries, and amputations. In one documented case, a married woman was grievously injured when a child brought home an unexploded device that then detonated.
Civilians--including women, children, and families--continue to be killed or severely injured by the detonation of UXO. In northern Ethiopia, UNMAS has reported over a thousand victims of explosive ordnance since the outbreak of genocidal war, with children comprising a majority of direct casualties. Survivors often require emergency care, long-term medical support, prosthetics, and psychosocial rehabilitation.
Explosive contamination of farmland, grazing fields, and rural areas also deters agricultural activity and jeopardizes food security. In places such as Kola Tembien in Central Tigray, farmers have been unable to resume cultivation due to pervasive explosives buried during the genocidal war. This hazard undermines the right to an adequate standard of living, particularly for women who shoulder primary responsibility for household food production and care.
Further, contaminated land and rural roads obstruct safe movement to and from homes, water sources, health centers, markets, and schools. The presence of mines near schools and public infrastructure creates a barrier to education and community rebuilding, forcing families--especially mothers and caregivers--to weigh fundamental safety risks against the basic needs of their children.
Survivors of explosive incidents often endure lifelong disabilities, including amputations and chronic mobility impairment."
Survivors of explosive incidents often endure lifelong disabilities, including amputations and chronic mobility impairment. Although organizations such as the ICRC and local partners have initiated physical rehabilitation programs, the scale of need far exceeds current support, particularly for women, caregivers, and persons with disabilities.
Response efforts, persistent gaps
While mine-action efforts are underway, the scope of contamination remains large, with many hazard areas either uncleared or only partially assessed. Publicly available data lacks adequate gender and age disaggregation, impeding effective, gender-responsive planning and resource allocation. There is limited public information on the specific challenges faced by female-headed households, women with disabilities, and caregivers navigating daily risks around contaminated zones.
Communities in remote rural areas face additional barriers, including damaged infrastructure, limited access to health and rehabilitation services, and continuing risk even in partially cleared areas.
The absence of comprehensive, publicly accessible data compounds the danger. First, lack of gender-disaggregated casualty and victim data limits understanding of how women and girls are uniquely affected. Second, no detailed public data exists on the disruption of livelihoods among female-headed households due to contamination. Third, information on long-term rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and socio-economic reintegration for survivors--especially women--is scarce. Fourth, documentation of daily risk exposures for women and girls, such as traveling to collect water or access health services, remains fragmentary. There is no updated, publicly accessible map of contaminated areas in Tigray, hindering safe return planning, clearance prioritization, and community risk education.
Recommendations
GEM Tigray recommends the following to international donors, UN agencies, and humanitarian actors. First, support funding for comprehensive mine-action efforts--including survey, clearance, risk education, victim assistance, and livelihood recovery. Second, invest in gender-sensitive data collection and monitoring, with systematic disaggregation by gender, age, disability status, and household type; and ensure regular public reporting on contamination and clearance status. Third, facilitate community participation, particularly of women's groups, survivors, and returnee communities, in risk education and planning.
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Human rights groups should also acknowledge the ongoing mine/UXO contamination in Tigray as a continuing threat to fundamental human rights--including the rights to life, health, movement, and an adequate standard of living--in human rights reporting and monitoring; advocate for inclusive, gender-sensitive mine-action and victim-assistance programs that prioritize the most vulnerable populations; and support independent documentation and monitoring by local civil society and victims' groups to enhance transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to community needs.
The legacy of genocidal war in Tigray is not only measured by the guns that lie silent but also by the deadly devices that remain hidden underfoot. For women, girls, and whole communities seeking to rebuild their lives, addressing explosive contamination--with a clear gender lens--is not optional; it is essential.
GEM Tigray urges the international community, Ethiopian authorities, and all humanitarian actors to act with urgency and inclusivity. The safety of Tigray's families, especially its women and children, depends on it. AS
Editor's Note: Batseba Seifu is the co-founder and leader of Gender Empowerment Movement Tigray, a movement advocating for the social, economic, and political empowerment of women and girls in Tigray. She holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University and a BA in Law and Justice from Central Washington University with distinction.
