Calling family members every other night, just  to hear the monotone voice saying that this phone isn’t  available. As a punishment for challenging his rule, Ethiopian Prime Minster  Abiy Ahmed, is denying  access of food, water,  electricity, and communication lines  to the people of Tigray.

Abiy Ahmed was elected as prime minister following  Hailemariam Desile resignation. Desile  received  death threats from the  ( Tigray People Liberation Fort), TPLF,  for favoring the Amarha and Ormina region over the Tigray region. After Abiy was elected many citizens of Tigray were happy that a Half Tigrian and Orminan would be ruling Ethiopia; but that all changed when his second term came to an end.

The prime minister was trying to avoid a new vote that might oust him out of office, yet the people of Tigray continued a “illegal” election. As punishment he  killed  many people in the TPLF and the citizen in Tigray.

“ A devastating and genocidal war was waged against the people of Tigray because they firmly fought for their right to self-determination and they held a democratic election,” news article  France 24 said.

Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize winner, was initially celebrated for creating peace with neighboring country Eritrea after fifty year since the civil war and trying to undo the problems of Desile’s administration.  However; Abiy Ahmed’s  alliance with Eritrea  is weakening the Tigray  region, since many citizen from Tigray have family that live in Eritrea after the civil war and are afraid of killing their own family members  .

“Before we are friends and family ,” news article France 24 said “ Suddenly they came and killed”

Many Tigraian people from the TPLF felt the need to fight back against an oppressive government.This  alliance between Abiy and Isias, Eritrean President, has caused families to fight against one another and the TPLF has only so much people that Eritrea and Ethiopia easily doubles their amount of soldiers-.

However Abiy has claimed that all he is doing is protecting Ethiopia from the TPLF which he has done since his first day as Prime Minister until he takes his last breath ,  quoted by New York Times.

The division and pride that many Ethiopians especially the prime minster had lead so many people to have limited to no access to resources.

“It’s hard to focus on anything when you don’t know if your family members are dead or alive”, American Citizen and Tigrian native Birtukan Abera said. “And hearing rumors that are being spread around of women being raped and men taking unborn babies out of pregnant women and stepping on them is only making matters worse”.

In the midst of an international pandemic and a year full of injustice brought to light, the deadly situation in the streets of Mekele has yet to reach many newspapers front pages and International news. Some worry this crisis hasn’t brought enough attention to stop Abiy to continue this war, and  ensure his term as prime minister.

“The situation in Tigray is so dire that people are running out of options and its already too late from them” The Association of Tigray, a organization in Washington supporting multiple international focuses nonprofit bases , said.