The War in Amhara is an armed conflict in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia that began in April 2023 between the Amhara regional forces along with the 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, Kobo, Sekota, Weldiya and other cities on 9 April.
On 27 April, the head of Prosperity Party in the Amhara Region Girma Yeshitila was assassinated in Menz, North Shewa. The Ethiopian government accused the Fano militia's eastern faction for the assassination and plotting the overthrow of the government. The Ethiopian security forces said on 30 April that 47 suspects were arrested by the Ethiopian government in connection with an alleged assassination plot. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) stated on 4 May 2023 that militarized situations were present in four towns of the North Gondar, North Wollo and North Shewa zones.
Further escalation erupted on 1 August between Fano and ENDF troops in Gondar, Debre Tabor and Debre Markos. Following the seizure of Lalibela on 2 August by Fano fighters, the Amhara regional government under Yilkal Kefale requesed help from the federal government, resulting in a six-month state of emergency on 4 August. The ENDF retook Gondar and Lalibela on 8 August. Just after controlling much parts of the region, ENDF carried out a drone strike in Finote Selam on 13 August, killing 26 people according to the hospital source.[9] The Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) reported that the ENDF conducted door-to-door searches and began extrajudicial killing against residents, mostly young men. At least 70 civilians were killed by the execution.[10]
The war exploited massive human rights violations and property damages carried out by Ethiopian authority according to numerous human rights groups including the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Amnesty International.[11] EHRC said that 45 civilians were killed in Amhara region by security forces for allegedly supporting Fano in late January 2024.[12] Amnesty International verified the extrajudicial killings of ENDF troops between 10 and 11 October 2023 against health workers, including threatening them with gunpoint.[13]
Despite perceived popular support, the absence of unified leadership within the Fano groups has raised questions regarding the insurgency's long-term sustainability.[14]
The November 2022 peace agreement which was signed between the Tigrayan and Ethiopian government counterparts opened the door for the OLA insurgency to intensify amidst security and provisional reform in Tigray. As a result, OLA had participated in massacres of ethnic Amharas in the Oromia region.[17] In May 2022, Abiy Ahmed government arrested 4,000 people in Amhara to undermine Fano militia rebellion who were critical to his power.[18]
Initial Fano objectives as of March 2020 was for Benishangul-Gumuz Region's Metekel Zone, the northern districts of Welkait and Raya in Tigray, as well as the southern district of Dera to be placed under the control of the Amhara Region.[19] The military stalemate that preceded the November 2022 peace agreement precluded any land swap in the region, as Ethiopian leaders no longer were interested in supporting Fano's territorial goals. This, coupled with the OLA insurgency in the area, rapidly led to a worsening of relations between Fano and the federal government, which had been ironclad allies just a few years before.
On 11 September 2022, senior Fano leader Zemene Kase was arrested by the order of Bahir Dar court following an allegation of murder of a police officer. Before his arrest, Zemene had been hiding from the authorities after the government crackdown against Fano factions in May 2022. After thorough investigation, he was released on 3 June 2023.[20]
Outbreak and emergency
In early April 2023, federal forces stormed into the Amhara region to disarm regional and paramilitary forces. The local civilians moved to remote areas, as the resistant fighters joined a protest with police forces. On 9 April, large-scale protests were flared up in Gondar, Kobo, Seqota, Weldiya and other cities, including road obstruction and setting tires ablaze to block the incoming Ethiopian Army.[21][22] The Ethiopian government started to repress opposition media in the region, as well as the killing aid workers by unknown assailants which led the World Food Programme and other NGOs to stop aid operation in that area.[23] Two Catholic Relief Services (CRS) were killed near town Kobo region.[24] According to the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, one of their ambulance was shot by unknown militants in Central Gondar Zone, injuring a midwife and driver.[25]
On 4 May, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported a series of militarized situations in the area of North Gondar, North Wollo and North Shewa zones in the town of Shewa Robit, Armania, Antsokiyana Gemza and Majete. The Amhara regional government accused the Fano militia's eastern faction for the assassination of the head of Amhara Prosperity Party Girma Yeshitila on 27 April.[26] Subsequently, the Ethiopian security forces arrested 47 suspects allegedly connected to the assassination plot, accusing them for plotting to overthrow the authorities. The public broadcaster EBC stated that the suspect caught in variety weapons and utilities including weapons, bombs and satellite communications equipment.[27]
Fano–ENDF clashes
On 1 August 2023, heavy fighting erupted between the Fano militia and the ENDF in Debre Tabor and Kobo while ENDF troops attempted to push back Fano from these cities. Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen stated in a rare occasion that security problems in different areas of Amhara region were becoming "concerning."[28] On 2 August, Fano captured the Lalibela Airport. Through the public broadcaster EBC, ENDF spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane threatened to bring the military campaign against Fano if they continued "disturbing the country's peace". The Spanish embassy in Ethiopia urged tourists not to leave the city. Heavy clashes were reported around Gondar that same day.[29][28][30] On 3 August, Amhara regional governor Yilkal Kefale requested help from the ENDF to quell the clashes.[31]
On 4 August, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency after the Amhara regional government requested federal troops for help. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the declaration was necessary as it had become "difficult to control this outrageous activity based on the regular legal system." A curfew and warrantless arrests were introduced and public gatherings were banned.[32] Later it was reported that Gondar, Lalibela and Dessie had fallen under Fano control.[33][34] On 5 August, Fano militiamen claimed to have captured Merawi and were aiming to encircle Bahir Dar.[35] On the same day, the Ethiopian security forces announced that they arrested ten people connected to "the security crisis in Amhara".[36]
The Director-General of the Information Network Security Agency Temesgen Tiruneh stated on 6 August that irregular Amhara forces captured towns, released prisoners and seized government institutions. On 7 August, the Ethiopian government acknowledged they lost control in some towns and districts in the region.[37] They were able to push back Fano and control Gondar and Lalibela in the following day. A Fano militiaman told to the Reuters that the ENDF was accompanied by anti-riot police and pro-government militiamen.[38][39] The military advanced their control into six towns and flight resumed.[40][41]
According to a statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), in Debre Birhan city, due to heavy fighting in four densely populated kebeles on 6 and 7 August 2023, civilians including in a hospital, church, and school as well as residents in their neighborhoods and workers in their workplaces were apparently killed due to fragments from heavy artillery or in crossfire. IDPs in Debre Birhan were also at risk of being caught in the crossfire, particularly those in what is commonly known as the "China IDPs" site near Kebele 8, which hosts close to 13,000 people.[42]
The EHRC stated that it received credible reports that in many areas of Bahir Dar civilians were killed on the streets or outside their houses while some youths were specifically targeted for searches and subjected to beatings and killings. There are credible reports of many civilian casualties and damages to property in various parts of Gondar and extra-judicial killings in Shewa Robit by the security forces, the details of which were yet to be fully investigated and verified as of 14August2023[update].[42]
On 3 September, the ENDF captured the town of Majete from Fano. The EEPA reported that the ENDF conducted door-to-door searches in the town and had committed extrajudicial killings against the residents, including the execution of young men. At least 70 civilians were killed in these executions.[10]
On 24 September, Fano re-entered the city of Gondar and clashed with the ENDF. The ENDF sustained multiple casualties during this engagement.[44]
On 8 November, Fano briefly recaptured Lalibela by pushing back the ENDF base to rural areas, before the ENDF were able to seize the town in the following day. The government spokesperson, Legesse Tulu, criticize some reports that detail the violence during fighting.[45] The UN estimated on 17 November that nearly 50 civilians have died in the clashes over the past months. Seif Magango, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, said in a statement that "It is imperative that all parties refrain from unlawful attacks and take all necessary measures to protect civilians."[46]
On 3 January 2024, Fano clashed with ENDF in the city of Debre Birhan.[47]
On 8 January, Fano re-entered Gondar city for the third time and clashed with the ENDF. ENDF artillery use in the city reportedly resulted in up to 14 civilian deaths.[48]
On 24 February, the Ethiopian federal government had decided to close the road leading from Shewa Robit to Dessie due to heavy fighting in certain areas between the two cities.[49]
On 29 February, Fano begun offensive operations against the ENDF in Bahir Dar. Multiple flights from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar have been reportedly canceled.[50]
On 3 March, Fano clashed with the ENDF in the city of Shewa Robit.[51]
On 20 March, Oromo militias attacked Ataye and clashed against local Amhara militias.[52]
On 22 March, Ethiopian Media Services reported that Brigadier General Gaddissa Diro was killed by Fano forces in Dega Damot woreda of Gojjam. It is reported General Diro was killed in Fano's offensive operation named Operation Wubante after Wubante Abate, a Fano commander in South Gondar who was killed in action earlier that week. Fano claims to have captured hundreds of ENDF prisoners of war in Gojjam over the three days since the operation had began.[53]
2024 Addis Ababa shootout
On 12 April, a shootout took place between federal police forces and Fano members near the Millennium Hall in Bole district, Addis Ababa resulted in deaths of two Fano militants and a civilian who was allegedly by the militants according to the Addis Ababa Federal Police Commission statement upon "forced him to give them a ride". The Police claimed they identified the militants named Nahusenai Andarge Tarekun, Abenezer Gashaw Abate, and Habtamu Andarge Tesema who were intercepted by the security force before attempting an attack.[54]
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said that many human rights violations have occurred throughout Amhara Region. The EHRC said that the Ethiopian Air Force's airstrikes and drone strikes on the cities of Debre Birhan, Finote Selam, and Bure has caused civilian casualties as well as damage to residential and public areas. Reuters reported that a drone strike on the town of Finote Selam left 26 civilians dead and 55 people injured.[55] Civilians in Bahir Dar were reportedly dragged out of their homes and "killed on the streets or outside their houses while some youths were specifically targeted for searches and subjected to beatings and killings." People of Amhara origin in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa were reportedly subjected to widespread arrests by security forces.[56]
The EHRC also said it had received "credible reports" that extrajudicial killings by security forces had taken place in Shewa Robit and that civilian casualties and property damage had occurred in Gondar.[56] On 7 December, EHRC estimated the death toll of civilians up to 50 since the last November attacks. In other instance, EHRC also accounted OLA attacks in which they killed 17 people and burnt village in Benishangul-Gumuz Region, especially between 23 and 29 November after the failed peace talks between the OLA and the government in Tanzania.[57]
Drone strikes in late 2023 mostly killed civilians, according to media reports. BBC News reported 30 to 40 people killed in a strike in Sayint district on 10 December. Al Jazeera English obtained footage of a 30 November drone strike that killed five civilians, including hospital staff, near Delanta Primary Hospital in Wegel Tena. The footage showed "an ambulance ablaze with its roof caved in, consistent with a direct aerial hit.[58]
On 19 February, near Sela Dingay, Mojana Wedera district an ENDF drone struck a truck of full of civilians returning from a baptism resulting in at least 30 civilian deaths.[61]
Reactions
The United States was "deeply concerned" about the violence, while Spain and the United Kingdom warned their citizens against travelling to parts of Amhara.[36]WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom stated on 7 August that "humanitarian access is difficult due to blockage of roads; communication is difficult due to internet suspension, conflicts have an immediate impact on people's health and can have grave, long-lasting consequences on health systems. We call for uninterrupted access and protection of health care in Amhara, so [that] WHO and partners can continue our work. Above all, we call for peace."[62]
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.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a national human rights institution (NHRI) established by the Ethiopian government. The EHRC is charged with promoting human rights and investigating human rights abuses in Ethiopia. The EHRC states organizational independence as one of its values. In October 2021, the EHRC's rating by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions for operation in accordance with the UN Paris Principles was upgraded from grade B to grade A.
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 are 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 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.
Following the 2018 dissolution of the ethnic federalist, dominant party political coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, there was an increase in tensions within the country, with newly resurgent regional and ethnically based factions carrying out armed attacks on military and civilians in multiple conflicts throughout Ethiopia.
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).
On 21 March 2021, 12 ethnic Oromo militants were killed while in an ambulance riding through the town of Shewa Robit. Fano militia has been suspected as a perpetrator of an attack.
The 2021 Ataye clashes were two episodes of large-scale ethnic violence killing hundreds in and around the Ethiopian town of Ataye, leading to nearly a quarter of the town being destroyed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
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.
On 26 November 2021, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and its allies had begun an offensive to recapture territory in the Amhara and Afar regions being occupied by the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). Afar and Amhara militias had mobilized thousands of fighters and joined the new 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.
Since the 1990s, the Amhara people of Ethiopia have been subject to ethnic violence, including massacres by Tigrayan, Oromo and Gumuz ethnic groups among others, which some have characterized as a genocide. Large-scale killings and grave human rights violations followed the implementation of the ethnic-federalist system in the country. In most of the cases, the mass murders were silent with perpetrators from various ethno-militant groups—from TPLF/TDF, OLF–OLA, and Gumuz armed groups.
Events in the year 2023 in Ethiopia.
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 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 Begmeder province, but after the fall of the Derg in 1991, the area was given by the TPLF government to Tigray's Western Zone. During Abiy Ahmed administration, the Tigray and Welkait Committee counterparts held peaceful talks in Gondar on 19 April 2018. Abiy pleaded the Welkait question should be addressed in peaceful resolution.
On 13 August 2023, the Ethiopian National Defense Force launched a drone strike on the town of Finote Selam, in the West Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region in Ethiopia which killed 30 people while injuring more than 55 people who underwent emergency treatment. The strike was occurred after the ENDF recaptured several towns in the Amhara Region during its clashes with Fano militia in early August.
Arega Kebede is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as President of Amhara Region since 2023. On 25 August 2023, he succeeded Yilkal Kefale amidst security crisis in Amhara Region following clashes between Fano militia and ENDF in early August and six-month state of emergency. He was appointed by Amhara Regional Council in Bahir Dar.
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.
The Merawi massacre was the extrajudicial killing and massacre of 50 to 100 residents in the town of Merawi in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), between 29–30 January 2024. The massacre occurred after an attack on an Ethiopian military garrison by the Fano militia. Four survivors attributed the motivation for the massacre as revenge for the Fano attack. An investigation was launched by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
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Regional Fano factions [5] 
Abiy Ahmed 
Yilkal Kefale 
