Gebrehiwot

“I don’t want anything extraordinary. I just want to live peacefully, stay with my family and never have to pick up a gun again.”

Gebrehiwot · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-25

Gebrehiwot, who remains in Tigray, says he just wants to live peacefully and never have to pick up a gun again.

“I know what the battlefield looks like. I don’t want to go back there and risk not coming home.”

Gebrehiwot · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-25

Gebrehiwot, who remains in Tigray, says his previous war experience makes another mobilisation difficult to contemplate.

“We were told that we were fighting for our people, but after the war ended, I saw wounded fighters and families of the dead being abandoned.”

Gebrehiwot · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-25

Gebrehiwot, 28, fought in the previous war and says the experience changed how he viewed the war's leadership.

“Former combatant friends were being called back to the army and I heard some had been taken away forcibly. I was afraid I would be next, so I left my hometown and moved to Mekelle, hoping I would not get identified here.”

Gebrehiwot · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-25

Gebrehiwot says reports that former combatants were being called back increased his fears, prompting him to move to Mekelle.