In Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray, shops have reopened and banks are once again welcoming customers. Yet beneath this surface return to normal activity, residents remain deeply anxious. Federal troops and allied forces recaptured the city on October 4 after renewed clashes disrupted the fragile recovery from the 2020–2022 war between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Even with storefronts open, basic survival remains a daily struggle for families whose savings were depleted by years of conflict. Around 137,000 public servants have gone unpaid after regional officials reported an 8.5-billion-birr shortfall when expected federal funds failed to arrive. “Things may be reopening, but that does not mean our problems are over,” said Gebregziabher, a civil servant in Mekelle, who worries about paying for food and rent without an income.
The uncertainty has hit young people especially hard, bringing renewed fears that classrooms will close again. In Adigrat, tenth-grader Shewit expressed alarm about losing another academic year after already falling behind during the previous war. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 university students have applied for emergency transfers to campuses elsewhere in Ethiopia, hoping to finish their studies away from the conflict zone.
Fears of a wider confrontation are also growing along the northern border with Eritrea. On October 8, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrean forces of advancing up to 60 kilometers into Tigray and appealed to the United Nations Security Council, an allegation Eritrea denied. While Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a six-month temporary administration to stabilize the region, residents across Tigray are left wondering whether fragile peace or broader war lies ahead.