2024 Amhara offensive

Last updated
2024 Amhara offensive
Part of War in Amhara
DateJuly 2024 – present
Location
Result Fano captures Metemma and parts of Gondar city as well as other strategic areas
Belligerents
Flag of Ethiopia (Blank).svg Fano

Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia


Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front.svg Oromo Liberation Army
Units involved

During July 2024, the Fano militia started an offensive in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. [1] [2] 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.

Contents

Timeline

During July 2024, Fano began a broad offensive in the Amhara region which enabled it to seize control of rural territories. [3] [2]

Fano units in Gondar started attacking the B30 Highway in September after a lull in August and launched an offensive to gain control over the C34 road, [4] 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. [5]

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. [6]

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. [7] Footage claimed to have shown the ENDF using tanks to shoot at densely populated neighbourhoods in Gondar. [8] After heavy fighting, Fano claimed to have taken control of much of Gondar. [9] [10] [11] [12] The clashes resulted in the deaths of at least nine people and injuries to more than 30 others. [11] Dozens of other people were confirmed killed during the fighting in the city at the end of September, and urban warfare in Gondar continued into October. [13]

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. [14]

On 21 September, Fano militias captured the Rema Shewa road, located approximately 200 kilometres from Addis Ababa. [15] 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. [16]

On 23 September, Fano militias claimed to have started an offensive onto North Shewa Zone. [17]

On 1 October 2024, the Ethiopian National Defence Force and Amhara regional government announced in a joint statement an intensification of security operations. [18] 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. [19] 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. [20]

For several weeks the region has seen a significant influx of ENDF reinforcements. [21] 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. [22]

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. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gondar</span> City in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amhara Region</span> Regional state in northern Ethiopia

The Amhara Region, officially the Amhara National Regional State, is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara, Awi, Xamir, Argobba, 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, Metema.Danesha, Humera and wolekait.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigray war</span> Armed conflict in Ethiopia from 2020 to 2022

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fano (militia)</span> Amhara youth militia in Ethiopia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benishangul-Gumuz conflict</span> 2019–2022 armed conflict in Ethiopia

The Benishangul-Gumuz conflict was an armed conflict mostly in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in Ethiopia that started in 2019, until peace agreement signed between the rebel groups and the government of Ethiopia in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)</span> Episode of intrastate conflicts during Abiy Ahmeds administration

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OLA insurgency</span> Armed insurgency in Ethiopia (2018–2024)

The OLA insurgency was an armed insurgency between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which split from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 2018, and the Ethiopian government, continuing in the context of the long-term Oromo conflict, typically dated to have started with the formation of the Oromo Liberation Front in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TDF–OLA joint offensive</span> 2021 military campaign into Ethiopia as part of the Tigray War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ENDF National Unity Offensive</span> 2021 offensive as part of the Tigray War in Ethiopia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Amhara</span> Armed conflict in Amhara Region, Ethiopia since 2023

The War in Amhara is an armed conflict and insurgency in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia that began in April 2023 between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian government. The conflict started after the government attempted to dissolve the Amhara Special Forces and other regional forces to "promote national unity." This move led to protests and armed resistance by local forces under Fano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Ethiopian state of emergency</span>

A six-month state of emergency was declared on 4 August 2023 by the Ethiopian government in response to severe conflict and instabilities in Amhara Region after the Amhara militia Fano and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) clashed in several locations in the region on 1 August. On 3 August, the Amhara Region government requested additional help to the federal troops. The fighting is the most serious security crisis since the Tigray War.

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.

During the War in Amhara, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) has heavily utilized drone strikes in combat operations against Fano militia and civilian population. The attacks have reportedly resulted in widespread destruction, civilian casualties and humanitarian crisis. In particular since October 2024, drone strikes have been escalating in the Amhara region, notably the South Mecha woreda of the North Gojjam Zone following the commencement of the ENDF's counteroffensive.

The War in Amhara escalated into Oromia Region and the Western Zone in Tigray Region with asymmetric involvement of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLF), the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). Some sources predicted that the war could lead into a civil war. After the bloody Tigray War, both TPLF and the Ethiopian government signed peace agreement in Pretoria on 2 November 2022. After the Nairobi agreement, Tigrayan forces ordered to disarm, and the full sovereignty of the region restored which allowed humanitarian access. In January 2023, Tigrayan officials reported that Amhara and Eritrean troops yet not leaving the Western Tigray. The Amhara officials claim the area after the restoration of its people and consequent referendum held.

Baye Kengaw is an Ethiopian militant commander of Fano militia who leads the South Gondar Command. Since 2023, he is partaking in the War in Amhara fighting against the government force.

References

  1. "Ethiopia: Heavy Fighting in Gondar Between Amhara Militias and Government Forces" . Stratfor . 3 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-06. These operations are reportedly part of a broader Fano offensive that began in July, which has enabled Fano to establish control over certain rural areas in Amhara
  2. 1 2 Karr, Liam (26 September 2024). "Africa File, September 26, 2024: Fano Offensive in Ethiopia's Amhara; Egypt Arms Somalia; Rebel Drones in Mali; Burkina Thwarts Another Coup". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 2024-10-06. Fano has launched an offensive in northern Ethiopia's Amhara region since July that has involved the militants' briefly seizing several key areas, including parts of Ethiopia's second-largest city in September.
  3. "Ethiopia: Heavy Fighting in Gondar Between Amhara Militias and Government Forces" . Stratfor . 3 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-06. These operations are reportedly part of a broader Fano offensive that began in July, which has enabled Fano to establish control over certain rural areas in Amhara
  4. Karr, Liam (26 September 2024). "Africa File, September 26, 2024: Fano Offensive in Ethiopia's Amhara; Egypt Arms Somalia; Rebel Drones in Mali; Burkina Thwarts Another Coup". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  5. Karr, Liam (26 September 2024). "Africa File, September 26, 2024: Fano Offensive in Ethiopia's Amhara; Egypt Arms Somalia; Rebel Drones in Mali; Burkina Thwarts Another Coup". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  6. "Sudan closes Ethiopia border after Fano militia seizes town". Sudan Tribune . September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  7. "Gonder City authorities implicate security forces' involvement in surging crimes of kidnapping for ransom, murder; pledge to crack down". Addis Standard . 4 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  8. Amhara News (September 17, 2024). "Update 🚨: Footage showing ENDF tanks shooting at densely populated neighborhoods in Gondar as they lose control of the city". X.
  9. Account (17 September 2024). "Most part of Gondar reportedly under Fano control after heavy fighting". Borkena Ethiopian News. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  10. Observer, Ethiopia (17 September 2024). "Intense fighting erupts in Gondar and surrounding areas". Ethiopia Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Nine dead in renewed fighting in Ethiopia's Amhara region". Voice of America. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  12. "በጎንደር እና በአካባቢው ግጭቶች ሲካሄዱ መሰንበታቸውን ነዋሪዎች ተናገሩ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). 17 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  13. "Heavy weapons assault in Amhara's Central Gondar Zone claims 20 lives; fighting continues in South Gondar". Addis Standard . 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  14. "Fano/Amhara forces have captured strategic town of Debat Gondar".
  15. https://x.com/Amhara_News/status/1837535677975564473.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  17. https://x.com/Amhara_News/status/1838323215820816584.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. "ENDF, Amhara admin vow to 'intensify operations' against armed groups and figures embedded within gov't". Addis Standard . 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  19. "Amhara Fano Militias to Block all Roads in Amhara Today". News Addis. 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  20. "Heavy weapons assault in Amhara's Central Gondar Zone claims 20 lives; fighting continues in South Gondar". Addis Standard . 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  21. "Ethiopia forces deploy against Amhara rebels".
  22. https://newsaddis.com/ethiopian-air-force-intensifies-air-campaign-against-fano-militias/
  23. Karr, Liam (26 September 2024). "Africa File, September 26, 2024: Fano Offensive in Ethiopia's Amhara; Egypt Arms Somalia; Rebel Drones in Mali; Burkina Thwarts Another Coup". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 2024-10-06.