| 2024 Amhara offensive | |||||||
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| Part of War in Amhara | |||||||
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 Fano |  Oromo Liberation Army | ||||||
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In September 2024, the Fano militia started an offensive in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The offensive resulted in the capture of several key cities and strategic areas, including the city of Debark and the Ethiopian-Sudanese border town of Metemma. The offensive is part of the ongoing War in Amhara, a conflict that began in April 2023 between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian government.
Fano units in Gondar started attacking the B30 Highway in September [1] after a lull in August and launched an offensive to gain control over the C34 road, which links Amhara to neighboring Sudan. Fano carried out another eight attacks along the B30, this time claiming to briefly seize four villages, including two villages that were previously reportedly under Fano control. [1]
On 1 September 2024, Fano seized the strategic Ethiopia-Sudan border town of Metemma, cutting off crucial supply lines for fuel and food from Sudan. After intense fighting, ENDF troops were forced to retreat into Sudan and were disarmed by Sudanese authorities. [2]
On 17 September, Fano launched a large-scale offensive against Gondar, one of the largest cities in the Amhara region. The attack followed a rise in violent crimes, including robbery and kidnapping, which had been plaguing the city. [3] Footage claimed to have shown the ENDF using tanks to shoot at densely populated neighbourhoods in Gondar. [4] After heavy fighting, Fano claimed to have taken control of much of Gondar. [5] [6] [7] [8] The clashes resulted in the deaths of at least nine people and injuries to more than 30 others. [7] Dozens were confirmed killed during the fighting for the city at the end of September, and urban warfare in Gondar continued into October. [9]
Fano's forces also captured key portions of the B30 Highway, which connects Gondar to other strategic areas.
In the days following the capture of Gondar, Fano expanded its operations to nearby towns, including Azezo and Debark. By 21 September, Fano forces claimed to have captured Debark after fierce fighting with government-aligned forces. [10]
On 21 September, Fano militias captured the Rema Shewa road, located approximately 200 kilometres from Addis Ababa. [11] Militants also expanded attacks to the neighboring B31 road, the other major road linking Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, carrying out 12 attacks along the B31. [1]
On 23 September, Fano militias claimed to have started an offensive onto North Shewa Zone. [12]
On 1 October 2024, the Ethiopian National Defence Force and Amhara regional government announced in a joint statement an intensification of security operations. [13] On 3 October, Fano commenced a travel ban on all major roads in the Amhara region. In a joint statement, the Fano groups from Gondar, Gojjam, Shewa, and Wollo urged the public to follow the vehicle movement ban, and has warned that those who violate the directive will face consequences. [14] As of 3 October 2024, heavy fighting is ongoing between Fano and government forces in multiple localities of the South Gondar Zone. Residents have reported airstrikes being employed in several districts of the zone, reportedly in both rural mountainous and urban civilian areas. Central Gondar Zone is also the scene of ongoing fighting. [15]
For several weeks the region has seen a significant influx of ENDF reinforcements. [16] The offensive has also seen the intensification of the air campaign against Fano insurgents by the Ethiopian Air Force. Air and drone strikes have been conducted on the Gondar and Gojjam zones of the Amhara region since the start of October, with helicopter gunships also being present in the operation. [17]
The Ethiopian government has so far been unable to defeat Fano militarily, though Fano has been unable to capitalize on this politically due to its highly decentralized nature. [18]
Gondar, also spelled Gonder, is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains. As of 2021, Gondar has an estimated population of 443,156.
The Amhara Region, officially the Amhara National Regional State, is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara, Awi, Xamir, Argoba, and Qemant people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Regional Government of Amhara. Amhara is the site of the largest inland body of water in Ethiopia, Lake Tana, and Semien Mountains National Park. Amhara is bordered by Sudan to the west and northwest and by other the regions of Ethiopia: Tigray to the north, Afar to the east, Benishangul-Gumuz to the west and southwest, and Oromia to the south. Towns and cities in Amhara include: Bahir Dar, Dessie, Gonder, Debre Birhan, Debre Tabor, Kombolcha, Weldiya, Debre Markos, Seqota, Kobo, and Metema.
Metemma, also known as Metemma Yohannes, is a town in northwestern Ethiopia, on the border with Sudan. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Metemma has a latitude and longitude of 12°58′N36°12′E with an elevation of 685 meters above sea level. Across the border is the corresponding Sudanese village of Gallabat. According to the British diplomat Hormuzd Rassam, who travelled through Metemma in November 1865 on his diplomatic mission to Emperor Tewodros II, "Metemma" comes from the Arabic word for "the place of cutting, or termination – indicating the end of the Muslim provinces", although at the time the settlement was better known as Suk ul-Gallabat.
Debre Tabor is a town and woreda in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, about 100 kilometers southeast of Gondar and 50 kilometers east of Lake Tana, this historic town has a latitude and longitude of 11°51′N38°1′E with an elevation of 2,706 metres (8,878 ft) above sea level. The presence of at least 48 springs in the area contributed to the development of Debre Tabor.
Shewa Robit also known as Robi, Shah Robit, Shoa Robit or Robit is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of 10°00′N39°54′E with an elevation of 1280 meters above sea level. Shewa Robit holds its market on Tuesdays. Ethiopia's largest prison is in this town.
The Tigray war was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. It was a civil war that was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between forces allied to the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.
This timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
Fano is an ethno-nationalist Amhara militia and former protest movement. It has engaged in violent clashes throughout Ethiopia in the name of neutralizing perceived threats to the Amhara people. Fano has absorbed many units and personnel of the Amhara Regional Special Forces that did not integrate into the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). Fano militias have been involved in armed conflicts with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), and the ENDF. They have also clashed with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the border of Ethiopia and Sudan.
The Al-Fashaga conflict was a conflict between Sudan and Amhara militants from Ethiopia in the disputed border region of al-Fashaga. Since 2008, Ethiopia has dropped all claims to the al-Fashaga as long as Sudan allowed Ethiopian farmers and militants to stay in the area undisturbed. With the outbreak of the Tigray War, Sudanese forces were able to move into the region due to an agreement with Ethiopia just three days before. When Amhara militants left to assist the federal government in the war, Sudanese forces started to drive out Ethiopian farmers, effectively breaking the 2008 compromise. Ethiopia has also accused Sudan of killing Amhara farmers. The Government of Sudan claims the involvement of ENDF and Eritrean troops in the border dispute while the Ethiopian government denies this and regards the conflict as skirmishes between Sudanese forces and ethnic militias from the Amhara region. External media coverage has tended to conflate the Amhara militias with federal soldiers from the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF). There is some evidence to suggest that the ENDF has been involved in the conflict, although the capacity in which they are doing so is unclear. It is likely that they have had a peripheral role in the actual fighting.
The ongoing Ethiopian civil conflict began with the 2018 dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (ERPDF), an ethnic federalist, dominant party political coalition. After the 20-year border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a decade of internal tensions, two years of protests, and a state of emergency, Hailemariam Desalegn resigned on 15 February 2018 as prime minister and EPRDF chairman, and there were hopes of peace under his successor Abiy Ahmed. However, war broke out in the Tigray Region, with resurgent regional and ethnic factional attacks throughout Ethiopia. The civil wars caused substantial human rights violations, war crimes, and extrajudicial killings.
The Humera massacre was an ethnic mass murder event carried out in November 2020 in the town of Humera in the Tigray Region of northwestern Ethiopia, next to the Sudanese border. The massacre took place during an armed conflict between the regional government of Tigray and the federal government of Ethiopia. Refugees attributed the massacre to Amhara militias, including Fano, and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).
The TDF–OLA joint offensive was a rebel offensive in the Tigray War and the OLA insurgency starting in late October 2021 launched by a joint rebel coalition of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and government. The TDF and OLA took control of several towns south of the Amhara Region in the direction of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in late October and early November. Claims of war crimes included that of the TDF extrajudicially executing 100 youths in Kombolcha, according to deral authorities.
This Timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
This Timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
The ENDF National Unity Offensive was a military offensive in the Tigray War launched by the Ethiopian military (ENDF) and pro-government forces to recapture territory in the Amhara and Afar regions being occupied by the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). Gendarmerie regional forces and local militias from Afar and Amhara had mobilized thousands of fighters and joined the offensive. The ENDF and its allies were able to push TDF forces back from Debre Sina, Amhara to Alamata, Tigray (≈400 km). The Ethiopian government announced the campaign for national unity was a success and had been completed on 23 December 2021.
The War in Amhara is an armed conflict and insurgency in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia that began in April 2023 between Fano militia and the Ethiopian government. The conflict began after the Ethiopian military raided the Amhara Region to disarm the Amhara Special Forces and other regional allies, which resulted in resistance of local armed forces and a series of protests in Gondar, Bahir Dar,Kobo, Sekota, Weldiya and other cities on 9 April.
The Welkait question involves a controversial territorial dispute surrounding the Ethiopian area Welkait, which is situated in the present-day Tigray Region. Welkait had been an independent area but was incorporated within Begemder province, but after the Fall of the Derg in 1991, the area was given by the Tigray People's Liberation Front to Tigray's Western Zone.
The 2022 North Shewaclashes were a series of clashes that broke out between ethnic Amhara Fano militiamen, the Oromo Liberation Army, and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces in the North Shewa zone in the Oromia region and the Oromia Zone in the Amhara region, which resulted in dozens of people killed and thousands displaced.
The following is a list of events predicted and scheduled to take place in the year 2024 in Ethiopia.
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