Residents of Eritrea, one of the world's most closed nations, are living in fear as tensions with neighbouring Ethiopia escalate, raising the spectre of a new devastating war. Many who have survived previous conflicts say they are haunted by the past and dread what the future may hold.
Voices from a Closed Nation: Trauma and Conscription
Tewolde, a man in his 40s living in the Eritrean capital Asmara, has fought in multiple wars for his country. He first saw combat in the late 1990s during the brutal border war with Ethiopia and later during the recent clashes in Ethiopia's Tigray region from 2020 to 2022. Speaking under a false name for his safety, he told AFP, through an intermediary, that another war would bring immense loss. "If the war starts, many people will go to the front and, as before, many children will lose their fathers, mothers will lose their husbands, parents will lose their children," he said, adding, "We've already experienced this and we know the losses are severe."
Gathering such testimonies from Eritrea is extremely difficult. The country, with a population of around 3.5 million, is often described by rights groups as the "North Korea of Africa" under the lifelong rule of President Isaias Afwerki. Civilians face indefinite conscription into the army or a national service programme the UN has compared to slavery.
A Fractured Peace and Rising Tensions
The current fears mark a dark turn from the hope sparked in 2019. That year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for signing a peace deal with Eritrea. Ironically, the two nations later became allies in the war against Tigrayan forces. However, the alliance soured. Eritrea was angered that Ethiopia pursued a peace deal for Tigray without its consultation and has accused its neighbour of planning to seize the Eritrean port of Assab.
Ethiopia, in turn, has complained that Eritrea is "actively preparing" for a new conflict. In November 2025, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos stated that "Eritrean aggression and provocation is making further restraint more and more difficult."
A Population Trapped Between Fear and Flight
The threat of renewed fighting is triggering panic and exodus. Mehari, an Eritrean in his 30s who fought in Tigray, said, "Young people are fleeing en masse to Ethiopia… and to Sudan to avoid a possible war."
Luwan, an Eritrean now living in exile in an unnamed East African country, shared a harrowing account from her family. A relative was summoned to a meeting and told to "prepare herself, her sons and daughters because she was told Abiy will start a war." Luwan added that some mothers at that meeting, who still do not know the fate of children lost in the Tigray war, are being asked to send their remaining sons to the front.
Mohamed Kheir Omer, a former independence activist and researcher in exile, captured the desperate dilemma facing many: "We are torn between Isaias who does not care about his population, and Abiy who thinks only of his own legacy." For Luwan, the feeling is one of utter hopelessness. "Only a miracle can end this nightmare," she said. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel did not respond to AFP's request for comment on these allegations and fears.
