News Returnees in Tigray face targeted violence, humanitarian crisis: EHRC report
April 12, 2025
A recent report from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) indicates that displaced Tigrayans returning to their homes continue to confront security risks, including targeted violence and unstable humanitarian conditions.
The findings underscore systemic challenges to safe reintegration, with returnees reporting threats of armed attacks, inadequate access to basic services, and lingering tensions in conflict-affected communities.
The Commission collected data from group discussions and interviews with relevant government officials, defense forces, health facility leaders, heads of international NGOs, and community elders.
A previous report from February 2024 indicated that most IDPs in Tigray were willing to return to their homes. The latest one reveals that many of them have now been transported back to the areas they previously lived in.
According to the report, the displaced individuals confirmed that their return was “voluntary” and that public transportation was arranged to facilitate their return to their respective areas.
“Displaced individuals interviewed by EHRC who returned to Alamata, Korem, Ofla, Raya Alamata, Chercher, and Zata stated their return was voluntary,” the report reads. “Returnees interviewed by EHRC in Tselemti, Lailay Tselemti, and Mai Tsebri reported being returned to their areas by the Tigray Interim Administration after the security situation was stabilized.”
However, returnees say they face security risks.
“Returnees in the Waja Tumuga Kebele health center in Raya Alamata woreda were unable to return home due to the presence of armed forces nearby,” reads the EHRC report, adding that a lack of official documentation has created a sense of disregard among returnees in areas including Teselemt and Mai Tsebri.
“While we were preparing to leave, elders from Tselemti began selecting who would go and who would stay,” the report quotes returnees. “This made the return process dependent on the selectors’ wishes. In addition, some displaced people who had boarded vehicles were made to get off, delaying the journey by a day. Even after starting, there were instances of harassment along the way.”
Furthermore, the report indicates that EHRC gathered information from community elders, returnees, and the Tigray Interim Administration that the National Defense Forces are responsible for maintaining peace and security in all areas, due to the absence of regular administrative structures.
The report also stated that relations between returnees and the local community in Tselemti, Lailay Tselemti, and Mai Tsebri are peaceful. However, it also noted that “unresolved disputes exist between former Amhara regional administrators and returning Tigrayan political and security leaders”.
“This has created security concerns for returnees,” reads the report.
The EHRC has called for urgent intervention by Ethiopian authorities and international actors to strengthen protection mechanisms and address the precarious conditions facing thousands of vulnerable families attempting to rebuild their lives.
The Commission further called for the provision of adequate, timely, and accessible food and humanitarian aid until sustainable reintegration is achieved, along with the deployment of security forces to ensure the safety of returnees and support peaceful cohabitation.
Reports indicate that more than 750,000 IDPs have not yet returned to their homes.
A recent assessment conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that living conditions in IDP settlements across Tigray continue to deteriorate due to dwindling resources and overcrowding.
“In addition to poor living conditions, the continued use of schools as shelters is severely disrupting education, leaving thousands of children unable to attend classes and further exacerbating the crisis. This situation is also straining relationships between the host community and IDPs, as local residents face disruptions to essential services, particularly education,” reads a report on ReliefWeb.