Young Men Flee Tigray Amid Fears of Forced Recruitment

Human Rights Watch reported in July that Tigrayan authorities and forces had forcibly recruited civilians, including children as young as 15, since at least April. The organisation documented cases involving former combatants and other men and boys who it said were taken from streets, homes, workplaces and gold-mining areas. … Human Rights Watch says the recruitment allegations extend beyond former fighters to civilians and young people. “We found that both former fighters but also civilians – young men, sometimes boys – were being abducted, detained,” said Laetitia Bader, the organisation’s Horn of Africa director. “Sometimes in the streets, in marketplaces, also in mining areas which is an important form of livelihood in the region.” (Al Jazeera)