Ethiopia’s government has lost control of several districts and towns in the Amhara region to local militia fighters.
The informal Amhara militia known as Fano is now in control of the historic towns of Gondar and Lalibela, according to residents who spoke to Daily News Egypt.
Also, another resident told Daily News Egypt that in the region’s capital, at least 150 government soldiers have been captured, during the fighting in West Gojjam.
The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency on Friday in the Amhara region, following ongoing clashes between government forces and Fano.
The fighting, which broke out last week, has quickly become Ethiopia’s most serious security crisis since the end of a two-year civil war in the Tigray region, which borders Amhara.
Temesgen Tiruneh, the official in charge of the state of emergency in the Amhara region, and Ethiopia’s intelligence chief confirmed that local militia had taken over towns, freed prisoners from jails, and seized government buildings.
Last week, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen described the ongoing security situation in the region as “concerning” and called for a peaceful resolution of the conflicts. On Friday Ethiopia’s national air carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, announced that it has canceled flights to three destinations in the unrest-hit region.
Amhara Popular Front forms command post
Moreover, the Amhara Popular Front (APF), led by Eskinder Nega, formed a command post to take care of activities in liberated areas.
Nega, an Ethiopian journalist and leading opposition figure in the Amhara region, who has been detained under several Ethiopian governments, was released from prison in February 2023.
In a statement released on Sunday, the APF said that the command post would be coordinated by Lt. Col. Fantahun Muhaba, “a hero of the Fano resistance movement.”
The command post’s goals are to:
- Carry out a united and organized struggle to completely clear the region from the enemy.
- Ensure that liberated cities have protection and public administration so that service institutions can continue their work.
- Train, arm, and deploy forces who want to join the struggle.
- Protect the captives of the enemy in accordance with international law, and try to make them repent and apologize and join the army, or make them stand trial in the future.
The Amhara people are the second-largest ethnic group in Ethiopia’s population of over 110 million and have been frequently targeted in regions like Oromia.
