Society Trapped, sold, silenced: Traffickers Exploit Tigrayans, People from Eritrea across the Horn
Trapped, sold, silenced: Traffickers Exploit Tigrayans, People from Eritrea across the Horn
May 24, 2025
Leaked Report Unmasks Trafficking Networks, Sparks Political Turmoil
By: Lewam Ataklti
In March 2023, Abel Tsegay and Yafet Eyob, two Eritrean nationals, arrived in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region with a promise of safe passage. Instead, they were ensnared in a web of extortion and betrayal that underscores the growing perils faced by migrants in the Horn of Africa.
Upon reaching Ethiopia’s northernmost region of Tigray, the two men were instructed to deposit 10,000 birr into a Wegagen Bank account registered under the name Hagos Kidanemariam. But after receiving the money, Hagos broke off contact, ordering them to return to Eritrea. Desperate, Abel and Yafet sought help from another broker who arranged their transfer from Rama to Mekelle and secured temporary shelter at the Barkot Hotel.
There, the situation deteriorated. The men were threatened and told they would not be released unless they paid between 300,000 and 400,000 birr. In a bid for freedom, they struck a deal with the hotel owner, who helped orchestrate their escape.
But the trap had already widened. A man named Angesom, using surveillance tools, tracked down and detained both the hotel owner and the broker accused of detaining Abel and Yafet. Before the case could reach a courtroom, a police officer—allegedly bribed with 50,000 birr—intervened, securing the suspects’ release.
The ordeal is emblematic of a broader crisis. Human trafficking rings are thriving across the Horn of Africa, targeting displaced and vulnerable populations—especially Eritrean refugees and internally displaced Tigrayans.
A 2023 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned that the erosion of legal migration pathways, coupled with weakened governance, has allowed transnational criminal networks to exploit the region with near-total impunity. Migrant routes have become corridors of abuse, the report said.
Eritreans fleeing indefinite military conscription and authoritarian repression often face abduction, forced labor, or sexual exploitation en route to Sudan or beyond. A 2024 Human Rights Watch report documented how refugees from Eritrea are kidnapped for ransom, sold into servitude, or trafficked into the sex trade in Libya and Sudan.
Tigrayan women, many displaced by Ethiopia’s civil conflict, face similar fates. Lured by promises of work abroad, they are frequently trafficked into domestic servitude or sexual exploitation. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that without urgent, coordinated action among regional governments, human trafficking in the Horn could spiral further, threatening thousands more.
A leaked 85-page investigative report obtained by The Reporter reveals just how deeply entrenched these networks have become. The document, compiled by Ethiopian authorities, outlines human trafficking activities in Tigray and implicates a staggering array of actors: 231 suspects, including senior military officers, local administrators, business owners, hotel managers, airline staff, and others.
The report alleges a broad spectrum of criminal activity—money laundering, kidnapping, abuse of power, illegal border crossings, and the use of forged documents to secure unlawful employment and travel.
According to the leak, traffickers have exploited bureaucratic loopholes to procure fake Ethiopian ID cards for Eritrean migrants, allowing them to board domestic flights and avoid detection. The report includes names, bank accounts used for money transfers, and hotels where victims were hidden. It also catalogues verbal testimony, photographs taken in secret, audio recordings, and other forensic evidence collected during the investigation.
Political Fallout
Tensions within Ethiopia’s Tigray region escalated sharply on May 18, 2025, after the Office of the President of the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) accused former TIA President Getachew Reda of leaking a confidential investigative report for personal gain.
In a public statement, the TIA alleged that Getachew—now serving as Special Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on East African Affairs—intentionally disclosed the document, which was compiled through months of research, in a calculated act of revenge. “This irresponsible act is not only aimed at the individuals he wanted to target,” the statement read, “but also at those who participated in the study and are now at risk of being harmed at any moment.”
Getachew swiftly denied the allegations, accusing the interim administration of shielding wrongdoers. “I submitted the information to a higher authority, knowing that no action would have been taken had I kept it within the TIA,” he said. He added that some of the individuals named in the report had already fled the country and emphasized that the report was intended to uphold the rule of law, not to exact political revenge.
In a recent two-hour interview with Fana Television, Getachew went further, publicly naming military officials whom he accused of corruption within the Tigray region.
Human rights advocates have warned against politicizing the revelations. Tesfalem Berhe, Director of the NGO Human Rights First, told The Reporter that justice should not be eclipsed by political score-settling. “We have received credible information on the issue,” Tesfalem said. “The interim administration must recognize the gravity of these human rights violations and ensure perpetrators are held accountable. If justice is not served, the crimes will only grow more frequent and more brazen.”
Others point to the broader, transnational scale of the trafficking networks. Alemseged Aregay, Deputy Chairman of the Tigray Independence Party, said that victims are charged as much as 400,000 birr for transit, in addition to 20,000 to 30,000 birr for forged Ethiopian ID cards. He said traffickers also help obtain passports in Addis Ababa before facilitating travel to Rwanda, Uganda, and parts of Europe.
Alemseged described a sprawling network that spans Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, and Europe, and warned that travellers from Tigray attempting to cross into the Afar region or Western Tigray are routinely intercepted and extorted. He called for urgent federal intervention.
“One political group currently dominates the interim administration,” he said, urging the formation of a more inclusive governing body. “The federal government must enforce the rule of law and bring those responsible to justice.”
The scale of trafficking in the region continues to mount. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking cases across the Horn of Africa have increased by 35 percent since 2020. The IOM estimates that over 100,000 individuals from the region were subjected to forced labor or sexual exploitation in 2024 alone.
The leaked report, which has become a flashpoint for political infighting, identifies 231 suspects—including military officers, local officials, and businesspeople—allegedly linked to trafficking syndicates. As the debate over the document’s release intensifies, calls for transparency, justice, and regional reform grow louder.