Shops Reopen in Mekelle, but War Fears and Unpaid Salaries Haunt Tigray's Residents

In Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, shops are gradually reopening and banks are resuming services. But there is little relief among residents. Renewed fighting has raised fears that the region's fragile recovery could be derailed once again.

On October 4, Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters retook control of Mekelle. Since then, uncertainty has spread across the region, with ordinary people spending anxious days worrying about jobs, education, security and the future.

Tigray is still bearing the wounds of the devastating war that ran from 2020 to 2022. In that conflict, federal government forces fought the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's dominant political movement. Two years of fighting left the region's economy and public life in ruins.

The new fighting has reopened those old wounds. Although businesses and financial services are slowly restarting, many families are struggling to afford basic necessities. Delayed salaries have left public employees unable to cover food, rent and school costs, while years of conflict have depleted family savings.

Gebregziabher, a public servant in Mekelle, said: 'Things may be reopening, but that does not mean our problems are over. We still have expenses every day, and without our salaries, it is difficult to know how we will manage.'

The funding crisis has hit the wider public sector. In March, Tigray's interim administration said it could no longer cover monthly salaries for about 137,000 civil servants because expected federal budget transfers had not arrived. In April, the regional finance bureau reported an 8.5-billion-birr funding shortfall affecting salary payments and development projects.

For students, the uncertainty is another heavy blow. Many already lost valuable study time during the previous war, and the renewed fighting has revived fears of another interruption to their education and of falling further behind.

Shewit, a grade 10 student in Adigrat, said: 'I have already lost so much time because of the war. I am afraid that if our education is disrupted again, I will lose another year and fall further behind.'

Some university students have left Tigray for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, to seek transfers to other public universities. The Ministry of Education announced temporary placements at universities elsewhere in the country for students enrolled at institutions in Tigray. According to reporting on the ministry's programme, more than 5,000 returning students had applied by September 17–18.

Abel, a third-year student at Axum University, travelled to Addis Ababa to request a transfer. He said: 'I didn't want to leave, but I also can't keep putting my education on hold. I came to Addis to see if I can transfer to another university and continue my studies. I just want to finish what I started.'

Meanwhile, near the Eritrean border, military movements and conflicting accounts of troop deployments have heightened fears that the fighting could spread beyond Tigray. On October 8, The Associated Press reported claims by a commander allied with Ethiopia's government that Eritrean troops had entered Adigrat.

All told, Mekelle's reopening offers residents only a partial return to normality. Without reliable incomes and greater security, everyday expenses remain difficult to manage. The future of millions in Tigray now depends on whether the fighting widens again.