Addis Ababa (AMECO)— Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has condemned what he described as a campaign of forced recruitment by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing the group’s leadership of using underage youths as “cannon fodder” in a bid to destabilise the country.
Speaking on recent developments,Prime Minister Abiy warned that the TPLF is acting as a tool for foreign entities seeking to deprive Ethiopia of peace. He alleged that the group is openly declaring its intent to launch a fresh military campaign against the federal government, supported by proxy groups operating in the Amhara and Oromia regions.
The allegations come as communities in the northern region of Tigray continue to grapple with the devastating aftermath of the recent war, which left thousands dead, displaced millions, and crippled local infrastructure.
According to the statement, young people and adolescents who are neither physically nor psychologically prepared for combat are being stripped of their right to education and a peaceful upbringing. Children who should be holding pens are instead being forced to take up arms.
The recruitment drive has reportedly inflicted severe emotional trauma on mothers across the region, who face the painful loss of their children to renewed fighting, leaving many condemned to a daily existence of fear, grief, and isolation.
Demanding an immediate end to the forced conscription, Prime Minister Abiy stressed that the youth of Tigray must no longer be used as pawns in high-stakes political gambits, calling for an immediate halt to actions that threaten to endanger future generations.
