11-year-old Asmara holds her 1-year-old brother Barakat at the doorway to their living space at Tsehaye primary school in the town of Shire, which has been turned into a temporary shelter. Four months after the Ethiopian government declared victory over the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), tens of thousands of Tigrayans are again being forced to flee their homes.

Displaced Tigrayans queue for food at the temporary shelter. These people weren't driven from their homes by fighting between the Ethiopian government and the rebels. According to witnesses and members of Tigray's new administration, regional forces and militiamen from neighboring Amhara are now violently trying to settle a decades-old land dispute in the Tigray region.

The town of Adigrat in Tigray, which is also considered a strategically important gateway to Eritrea. Amhara officials say about a quarter of Tigrayan land was taken from them during the almost 30 years that the TPLF dominated power in the region. However, Tigrayan officials say the area is home to both ethnic groups and the borders are set by the constitution.

Ethiopian soldiers on the back of a truck near Adigrat. Fighters from Amhara first entered Tigray in support of federal Ethiopian forces during the TPLF conflict. They have remained in the region since the fighting subsided, with local officials accusing them of driving out Tigrayans.

A man carries mattresses into the Tsehaye primary school in Shire. The latest territorial dispute threatens to worsen an already precarious humanitarian situation. According to Tewodros Aregai, the interim head of Shire’s northwestern zone, the town was already hosting 270,000 people before the latest influx of refugees and is running out of food and shelter.

A bus carrying displaced Tigrayans arrives in Shire. It is difficult to verify the exact number of people who have fled in recent weeks, as some have been displaced several times. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says some 1,000 arrive in Shire every day, while the Norwegian Refugee Council says between 140,000-185,000 arrived over a two-week period in March.

Displaced Tigrayans try to make themselves at home at the Shire campus of Aksum University, which has also been turned into a temporary shelter. The four centers set up in the town to house new refugees are almost full. Some families squeeze into classrooms, halls and half-finished buildings, while others make do camping under tarpaulins or on open ground.

A woman holds an infant inside a temporary refugee shelter at the Adiha secondary school in Tigray's capital, Mekelle. Many of the Tigrayans who have fled their homes have described attacks, looting and threats by Amhara gunmen, with some bearing scars from their ordeal.

A burned-out tank near the town of Adwa stands as a stark reminder of the simmering conflict in the Tigray region. The United Nations has already warned of possible war crimes taking place in Tigray, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said ethnic cleansing is taking place and called on Amhara forces to withdraw from Tigray.

The war in Ethiopia's Tigray region has been going on since November 2020. This referral hospital in Tigray’s capital Mekele has received hundreds of patients with bullet or blast injuries. Doctors are working tirelessly but with limited means. There are frequent power cuts, and many hospitals lack medication and other supplies.

Thousands of civilians have been wounded and killed. This man was attacked by Eritrean soldiers on his way back from church on St Micheal’s day. He said 30 priests were massacred at once. He survived after being left for dead in front of his house.

Dozens of children have also been brought here as a result of the conflict. Many have missing limbs, and some are orphaned.

On the streets of Mekele, life is almost back to normal from an outsider’s perspective. But every individual has a story to tell. The interim administration, presided over by Dr. Mulu Nega, has been put in place, but most residents don’t feel represented by this new regional government.

Tigray's capital Mekele was largely spared the violence compared to other places. However, some areas were also hit, such as this road. The central government cut off telephone and internet connections for weeks. Some journalists were allowed into the region, but it remains difficult to get news from the ground, as many areas remain inaccessible because of insecurity.

Tens of thousands of people came to Mekele after fleeing insecurity throughout the region. They are being sheltered in schools or live in the community. But the real number in Tigray is much higher — over half a million people were forced to flee their homes.

Conditions in the camps are challenging. There is a shortage of food, medication, mattresses, and other supplies. Sometimes, three to four people share one mattress. There is no proper garbage disposal, and illnesses are frequent.

This priest said he walked for one month with his children to reach Mekele after Eritrean soldiers attacked his town. His niece was killed on the street, and a church was damaged. "Eritrean soldiers are against religious belief. They consciously target churches", he said.

Some residents of Mekele are working tirelessly to distribute food and other items. Mahlet has been supporting displaced communities since the beginning when NGOs were not allowed into Tigray. The government is not doing enough, Mahlet says. "It’s not my job. I am just helping my people. This is the government’s job", she said. "I am mortified by what is going on in my country."

Mahlet identified children in need and is trying to do her part to prevent looming malnutrition. These displaced children are waiting in line with their parents for macaroni distribution. Thousand of families have been displaced since the war started in November. According to the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, 70,000 children in Tigray are at risk of severe malnutrition.

Several massacres have already been reported throughout Tigray. In the village of Dengolat, more than 150 people were murdered by Eritrean soldiers following the St. Mary celebrations at the end of November. Some of the survivors were hiding in the Mariam Dengolat Church, where hundreds of people had gathered for the yearly celebration.

The Mariam Denglat Church, where the St Mary’s celebrations were held before the massacre. Victims were buried in several mass graves after being left outside for more than a day. In other parts of Tigray, relatives who wanted to bury their relatives were reportedly shot while collecting the bodies.

The Al-Nejashi mosque is the oldest in Ethiopia. Some locals assure it is the oldest mosque in Africa. It was hit during heavy fighting between the TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. According to witnesses, the kitchen and other facilities of the mosque were also looted. The government has promised to repair the mosque.

Hundreds of women have been raped by soldiers since the beginning of the conflict. Mekele’s referral hospital admitted 120 women with rape injuries or for pregnancy termination. More than 25 rape survivors from the war are sheltered in this safe house and receive psychological support.

Many women were gang-raped or assaulted with extreme violence. Such cases are common all over the Tigray region. In Adigrat, a doctor said one woman had to undergo surgery after being raped by 23 Eritrean soldiers. The UN has received reports of people being forced by military officers to abuse their own relatives sexually.