Adyabo Times

Political reporting and analysis on Tigray, past and present, written from Adyabo and for Tigrayans everywhere.

Peace Process

Pretoria’s Broken Promise: Why Tigray’s Peace Failed Its People

The Pretoria Agreement failed to deliver lasting peace because its promises lacked strong enforcement, displaced Tigrayans remained unable to return home, and justice remained incomplete. Tigrayan leaders deserve scrutiny for accepting inadequate safeguards and allowing political divisions to undermine recovery. The African Union must answer for ineffective monitoring, while Western partners should explain why diplomatic and economic cooperation advanced without sufficient accountability. Allegations of deliberate betrayal or favoritism remain unproven; the clearest failure is the continued suffering of civilians.

Adyabo Times·5 Oct 2026·5 min read
Current Situation

The Price Paid to Hold a Country Together

Tigray played a pivotal role in defeating Ethiopia’s dictatorship in 1991 and shaping the federal system that followed. Although the EPRDF’s rule deserves scrutiny, its failures cannot justify collective blame against Tigrayans. The subsequent war inflicted documented mass killings, sexual violence, starvation, and displacement on civilians, creating a profound betrayal of the promise of shared citizenship. Ethiopia’s unity must rest on equal protection, historical truth, and accountability—not on any community’s suffering or silence.

Adyabo Times·5 Oct 2026·4 min read
Current Situation

Back to the brink: what we know about the fighting that began on 22 September

Months of rising tension between Mekelle and Addis Ababa turned into open fighting across Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Here is what has been reported so far.

Adyabo Times·4 Oct 2026·1 min read
Peace Process

From Pretoria to collapse: how the 2022 peace deal unravelled

The agreement that ended the last war left the hardest questions for later. Four years on, those questions brought the parties back to conflict.

Adyabo Times·3 Oct 2026·1 min read
History

The 2020–2022 war: a timeline

Two years of fighting reshaped Tigray. A short guide to how it began, how it spread, and how it stopped.

Adyabo Times·1 Oct 2026·1 min read
Western Tigray

Western Tigray: Ethnic Cleansing, Historical Belonging and the Right to Return

Ethinic cleansing happening in western Tigray, Western Tigray has longstanding historical ties to Tigray that predate Ethiopia’s modern federal system. Haile Selassie’s imperial reorganisation placed western territories under Begemder/Gondar, while punitive boundary changes following the 1943 Woyane rebellion detached southern territories from Tigray. These changes challenge claims that the areas have always been Amhara land. During the war beginning in 2020, human rights organisations documented ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and pillage against Tigrayans in Western Tigray. The Pretoria agreement did not settle the territorial question; lasting peace requires recognition of history, accountability and the safe return of displaced communities.

Adyabo Times·28 Sept 2026·2 min read
History

Fifty years of the TPLF: from armed struggle to a fractured party

Founded in 1975, the TPLF went from guerrilla movement to the centre of national power, and then to open conflict with Addis Ababa.

Adyabo Times·24 Sept 2026·1 min read
Adyabo

Tigray Under Renewed Attack: Civilians Need Protection, Truth, and Accountability

We are collecting first-hand accounts of the war years and the present crisis from people in and from Adyabo.

Adyabo Times·20 Sept 2026·2 min read
Opinion

Editor's note: why Adyabo Times exists

Opinion. A space for Tigrayan voices to explain their own history and argue about their own future.

Adyabo Times·18 Sept 2026·2 min read
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Adyabo

Tigray Under Renewed Attack: Civilians Need Protection, Truth, and Accountability

We are collecting first-hand accounts of the war years and the present crisis from people in and from Adyabo.

Adyabo Times·20 Sept 2026·2 min read

Tigray Under Renewed Attack: Civilians Need Protection, Truth, and Accountability

_October 5, 2026 — Commentary based on recent reporting_

Tigray’s civilians are again facing the fear and disruption of war. Reports of drone strikes, aerial bombardment, and damage to civilian infrastructure demand urgent international attention. People struggling to rebuild their lives should never have to face another cycle of destruction while the world waits for a complete casualty count.

The concerns about Ethiopian government drone operations have a documented basis. On September 23, the European Union expressed concern over several drone strikes conducted by the Ethiopian National Defence Force in preceding weeks. It also condemned strikes affecting humanitarian convoys and the denial of humanitarian access. These warnings require a serious response from Ethiopia’s federal authorities, including transparency about military operations and independent examination of reported civilian harm.

On October 2, Amnesty International reported receiving credible accounts of civilian objects destroyed through shelling and air strikes. It described intensified aerial attacks across Tigray, including Axum and Mekelle, and reports that schools had been damaged or targeted. Fighting around Maychew and Alamata reportedly caused civilian casualties and endangered essential infrastructure. Amnesty warned that these developments could involve violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. These are grave reports; responsibility for individual incidents must be established through independent investigation.

The situation continues to change rapidly. Associated Press reported on October 4 that government-allied fighters entered Mekelle following the TPLF’s announced withdrawal. It also described severe communications disruptions, suspended flights, and residents’ fears of renewed isolation. Changes in military control do not resolve the central question: whether civilians can live safely and obtain essential services.

Communications failures make the danger harder to measure. Amnesty warned that disrupted communications could conceal serious abuses and obstruct independent monitoring. Limited information should prompt greater efforts to obtain access and preserve evidence—not indifference toward people whose suffering remains difficult to document.

The Ethiopian government must answer credible allegations concerning its forces. Tigrayan forces and other armed groups must also face scrutiny for abuses attributed to them. Accountability should follow evidence, regardless of the perpetrator’s political affiliation. Civilian protection must never depend on ethnicity, residence, or presumed allegiance.

The immediate priorities are clear: halt attacks that endanger civilians, secure humanitarian access, restore communications, and allow independent investigators and journalists to work. The African Union and international partners should press for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a credible political process that places civilian safety at its center.

Tigray’s people deserve more than expressions of concern. They deserve protection from bombardment, access to care and food, and an honest accounting of what has happened to them. Every credible allegation of an atrocity deserves investigation. Every civilian life deserves protection. Peace must be measured by the safety of families—not simply by who controls a city.