Tigray Residents Resume Daily Life as Fears of Wider War Grow in Mekelle
Shops and banks reopen in Mekelle, but delayed salaries and renewed fighting keep residents anxious about what comes next
By AXY World Desk ·
Key points
- Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters retook Mekelle, Tigray's regional capital, on October 4, and residents say the city's reopening offers little relief.
- 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.
- An 8.5-billion-birr funding shortfall, about $52,000 according to the report, affected salary payments and development projects.
- More than 5,000 returning students had applied for placements by September 17–18, as students weigh transfers to universities elsewhere in Ethiopia.
Shops are reopening in Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray in northern Ethiopia, and banks have resumed services. But residents say the return to routine offers little relief. Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters retook the city on October 4, and renewed fighting has raised fears that the region's fragile recovery could be derailed once again.
For the people living there, the question is not whether a shutter goes up or a bank counter opens. It is whether a salary arrives this month, whether children can keep going to school, and whether the next week will bring another disruption to jobs and classes that are only just restarting.
How Tigray Got Back to This Point
Tigray has been through a hard recent history. Between 2020 and 2022, federal forces fought the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, the region's dominant political movement. The TPLF is the political party that has long shaped life in Tigray, so the war was not only a military conflict. It touched how the region was governed, who held power in regional offices, and how public money reached the region in the first place.
That war ended with a peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2022. The deal was meant to end the fighting and open a path to rebuilding. For ordinary families, it meant a chance to repair what the war had broken, including homes, incomes and schooling. Many had hoped the worst was over.
The return of fighting has reopened those wounds. Residents are not only reacting to the loss of a city. They are measuring the new fighting against what they lost the first time, and they are asking whether the recovery they were promised can survive a second round of instability.
Shops Reopen, but Household Budgets Stay Tight
A reopened shop does not mean a normal household budget. Businesses and financial services are gradually coming back in Mekelle, but many families are struggling to afford basic necessities. Food, rent and school costs are the expenses that cannot wait, and they are arriving every day whether or not the money has come in.
Delayed salaries have left public employees short. Years of conflict have already drained family savings, which means many households have less of a cushion to fall back on when pay is late. Once savings run out, families cut back on the things that keep a household running, and that drop in spending is felt by the shops that have only just reopened.
One public servant in Mekelle, Gebregziabher, said the reopening has not fixed the underlying problem. "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," said Gebregziabher, a public servant in Mekelle.
That sentence captures the mood in the city. A reopened bank is useful only if there is money to deposit or withdraw. A reopened market is useful only if people have cash to spend. Without reliable income and greater security, everyday costs remain hard to manage, and the return to normal life stays partial.
Civil Servants Waiting on Federal Transfers
The pay crisis reaches far beyond one household. In March, Tigray's interim administration, the temporary body running the regional government, said it could no longer cover monthly salaries for about 137,000 civil servants. The reason it gave was that expected federal budget transfers had not arrived.
That is a very large number of people. Teachers, health workers, office staff and other public employees all depend on regular payments from the regional budget. When those payments stop or slow down, the effects spread into every neighbourhood where those workers live, shop and send their children to school.
In April, the regional finance bureau, the office that manages the region's money, reported an 8.5-billion-birr funding shortfall. The birr is Ethiopia's currency. The report puts the shortfall at about $52,000. The gap affected both salary payments and development projects, so the money meant for building and repairing public works was also at risk.
For a civil servant, a late salary is not an abstraction. It decides whether rent is paid this month and whether school fees can be found. Public workers spend their wages in local shops and markets, so a delay in government pay can ripple from government offices into the small businesses that are only now trying to reopen. This could explain why a shop front being unlocked does not automatically bring customers back.
Students Weigh Transfers Out of Tigray
For students, the renewed fighting has brought back an old fear: losing another year of study. Many already lost valuable time during the previous war, and they worry that every interruption makes it harder to catch up. For a young person still in school, a lost year can change which jobs are open to them later.
In Adigrat, a grade 10 student named Shewit said uncertainty over classes and security had left him worried about his future. "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," said Shewit, a grade 10 student in Adigrat.
Some university students have already 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. More than 5,000 returning students had applied by September 17–18, according to reporting on the ministry's programme.
Abel, a third-year student at Axum University, travelled to Addis Ababa to request a transfer. His trip shows that the choice facing students is no longer only about exams. It is about whether they can keep learning in a region where classes may be interrupted again, and whether a place at a university elsewhere in the country is a realistic route to finishing a degree.
A transfer is not a simple fix, either. Moving to a new campus means a new city, new costs and a new set of classmates. Students who stay in Tigray face the opposite problem: they must keep studying while wondering whether the next term will open on time. Both paths carry real costs for families who are already short of money.
Three Tests for Mekelle's Recovery
Several things will show whether Mekelle's recovery can hold. The most immediate is whether the federal budget transfers arrive and whether public salaries are paid on time. Until they do, families like Gebregziabher's will keep stretching food and rent money, and the reopening of businesses will stay partial. Salaries are the link between the government's money and the city's shops, so a steady pay cycle would be the clearest sign that daily life is recovering.
The second test is education. The ministry's temporary placements suggest that officials are trying to keep students enrolled, even when they have to study far from home. But the more than 5,000 applications show how many families are looking for a way out of disruption. Whether those placements work for students who want to stay near home will matter as much as how many are approved.
The third is security. Renewed fighting after the capture of the regional capital on October 4 has changed how people judge the future. The next test is whether the fighting stays contained or spreads, and whether residents can plan a week or a term without a fresh shock. This could mean recovery in Tigray is slower and more uneven than reopened shop fronts suggest.
For now, residents are getting on with daily life. They are opening businesses, sending children to school and queuing at banks, but many are doing it with one eye on the next pay date and the next news bulletin.
Questions and answers
Why did fighting return to Mekelle?
Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters retook the Tigray regional capital on October 4, as renewed fighting raised fears that the region's recovery from the 2020–2022 war could be derailed again.
Why are public workers in Tigray struggling with money?
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.
Why are students leaving Tigray?
Some university students have gone to Addis Ababa to seek transfers. The Ministry of Education announced temporary placements at universities elsewhere in the country, and more than 5,000 returning students had applied by September 17–18.
Topics: Tigray, Mekelle, Ethiopia, TPLF, Addis Ababa, Axum University, Ministry of Education
Sources: Al Jazeera RSS