Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
The Hijacked Victory: How Tigray’s Youth Won the War but Lost the Peace
By Gebre Tatios
Four years ago, the streets of Mekelle erupted in celebration. Tigray’s youth armed with nothing but courage, worn boots, and a burning sense of justice had done the unthinkable. Operation Alula, a bold and brilliant counteroffensive by the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), had broken the back of the federal military offensive and forced Ethiopian and Eritrean troops into retreat.
Named after the legendary 19th-century general Alula Aba Nega, the operation began on June 18, 2021, and by the end of the month, the city of Mekelle had been liberated. What followed was a moment of collective euphoria a generation who had seen their homes burned, families killed, and dignity stolen had reclaimed it through defiance and sacrifice.
Today, however, many of those same fighters feel betrayed.
“We fought for freedom, not for the return of corrupt cadres,” says Mulugeta, 27, a former TDF unit leader now unemployed in Adigrat. “They used our blood to negotiate their power.”
A Victory Turned Political Bargaining Chip
Operation Alula remains one of the most remarkable military turnarounds in African history. Facing a heavily armed federal force backed by Eritrean troops and regional militias, the TDF largely composed of young volunteers reversed the occupation in a matter of days.
But instead of translating military success into political transformation, TPLF elites reclaimed power not to reform, but to resurrect their old order. The young fighters who risked everything found themselves sidelined.
Positions of influence went to familiar faces: corrupt bureaucrats, ex-cadres, and loyalists who had fled during the height of the war. Veterans were given praise, but not purpose. Wounded fighters remain without support. Families of martyrs still await compensation. Many live in IDP camps or exile.
“We were pawns for a leadership that never planned beyond the battlefield,” says a civil society organizer in Shire.
From Operation Alula to Political Paralysis
The months following the liberation offered a rare window for Tigray to reshape itself rebuild democratic institutions, empower civil society, and honor the sacrifices of its youth. Instead, the interim government, led by figures like General Tadesse Werede, quickly fell into paralysis and patronage.
The reappointment of controversial figures like Alem Gebrewahid widely seen as emblematic of TPLF’s most oppressive years confirmed the worst fears of returning fighters and reformists: that the victory of 2021 had been hijacked.
In the words of one Mekelle University lecturer:
“The military triumph was real. But the political betrayal is deeper. The youth brought us victory; the old guard took it for themselves.”
A Generation Still Waiting for Its Moment
As Tigray marks the fourth anniversary of Operation Alula, the memory is bittersweet. Celebrations are muted. Posters honor the martyrs, but the silence around veteran welfare, reconstruction, and political renewal is deafening.
The same youth who toppled tanks with rifles now face unemployment, exile, or political repression especially those who dare to speak against the status quo.
There is growing fear of a return to internal conflict, not because the youth want it, but because their voices continue to be silenced in a region that once called them heroes.
A Final Word: Victory Is Not Enough
The story of Operation Alula is not over. It is a story of military genius, but also of a stolen revolution. Tigray’s youth the ones who climbed the mountains barefoot, who buried their comrades with tears and resolve deserve more than parades. They deserve power. They deserve a future.
If the region’s leaders continue to ignore this, history may repeat itself not as liberation, but as renewed rebellion.
Because “A people who forget the price of freedom will be forced to pay it again.”
