Fighting Flares In Afar Region, Displacing Communities Near Tigray

AFDERA, ETHIOPIA - MARCH 25: Elder Hamed sits in the room he and 32 other IDP's from Abala share at the Afdera High School on March 25, 2022 in Afdera, Ethiopia. Elder Hamed describes the conditions under which he and his neighbors from the town of Abala fled the town as the TPLF shelled the town from the hills and mountains that overlooked the town. He recounted how families became separated in the confusion and are now scattered over the 4 IDP sites and one site outside of Afdera. Afdera High School is the location of one of 4 IDP sites in Afdera and currently hosts 4,020 men, woman and children all from the town of Abala in the Afar region. Afdera itself is currently home to over 24,000 IDP's from towns like Erebti, Berhale and Abala which are located within some of the 6 woreda's attacked and occupied by the TPLF in the first months of 2022. The latest round of attacks by the TPLF led to a rise in the number of internally displaced people (IDP's) in Afar which is currently said to number at over 350,000. (Photo by J. Countess/Getty Images)