Twenty-two-year-old Abeba Amdu has seen the best years of her life consumed by war, and she fears another conflict could erupt in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. She fought as a Tigrayan soldier in the 2020 civil war against the federal army and remains deeply traumatized more than three years after the brutal conflict ended. "I lost everything," she told BBC Tigrinya, highlighting the personal devastation wrought by the fighting.
Before the war, Abeba was a rising football star, having played since age seven and becoming a striker for the 70 Enderta female football team at 17. She identified as a feminist, challenging traditional attitudes toward women in sports, and was an outstanding IT student in Tigray's main city, Mekelle, with clear future plans. Her world halted abruptly due to the coronavirus pandemic suspending her studies, followed by the outbreak of war. "I was not a believer in war, because I knew what my parents went through," she said, referencing her parents' scars from the long war that ended in 1991 with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) overthrowing Ethiopia's then-ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Abeba's decision to join the TPLF's armed wing, the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF), stemmed from a mix of inherited duty and desperation. Raised in a household steeped in TPLF lore, with her father having fought against the Mengistu government decades ago, she felt a patriotic obligation. However, it was also a response to fear of rape after learning of women sexually abused by the "enemy." "The perpetrators did not come for one person; I would have had the same fate as the victims. It was the whole situation that forced me to fight," she explained. The thrill of sport gave way to war's harsh realities, including constant hunger and lack of basic necessities like sanitary pads.
The war's end did not bring the peace Abeba expected. Returning to her family and career proved challenging, with her stating, "Both my body and my mind are traumatized." She struggles with isolation, feeling misunderstood by those who did not share her experience, and notes a cycle of grief and friction in her personal life. The focus needed for professional football evaporated; though she attempted to train again, the weight of "wasted years" made it impossible to reclaim her former edge. To channel her pain, she worked briefly as a journalist and launched "Wegahta," a women's project mentoring 30 teenage footballers, but financial constraints stalled it.
Abeba's greatest fear is renewed war. In late January, brief clashes were reported between federal troops and Tigrayan fighters demanding the return of areas seized by the neighboring Amhara region during the conflict. Drone strikes hit Tigray, and flights to regional cities were suspended for nearly a week. The federal government has accused Eritrea of meddling in the region, allegedly backing Tigrayan forces this time, though Eritrea denies the allegation. The TPLF, in turn, accuses the federal government of deploying troops near Tigray's borders in preparation for fresh fighting, raising concerns about stability in the region.
The broader context involves the TPLF dominating the federal government until 2018, when current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office amid protests against its rule. After retreating to Tigray, tensions with Abiy over Ethiopia's direction led to the 2020 conflict, with Eritrea entering on the federal side. A peace deal brokered by the African Union in 2022 ended the war, with its envoy estimating around 600,000 deaths. Despite this, recent events suggest lingering risks, as Abeba's story underscores the human cost and ongoing trauma from the conflict.
Source: www.bbc.com