The Fano, traditional popular “self-defense” militias of the Amhara ethnic group, second in number in Ethiopia, took up arms against the Ethiopian government in April 2023 in this region of 23 million inhabitants.
The conflict was sparked by the federal authorities’ desire to disarm Fano and Amhara regional security forces. In August 2023, the government declared a state of emergency in Amhara, which expired in June. “During the last two weeks, there has been the sending of numerous reinforcements (from the federal army, editor’s note) and many arrests of officials suspected of collusion with the Fano,” said a security source, who requested anonymity.
On Tuesday, the NGO Amnesty International deplored “mass arbitrary detentions” in the Amhara region, citing hundreds of arrests, including some members of the academic community. This information cannot be independently verified as authorities restrict access to the area.
The clashes between federal forces and the Fano are deadly. On September 17, in Debark, a town in the Amhara region located approximately 750 km north of the capital Addis Ababa, at least nine people, the majority of them civilians, were killed during clashes between federal forces and militiamen.
The Fano, largely autonomous militias without any real central command, have for more than a year increased attacks against federal forces and towns in the region, of which they have managed to briefly take control several times.
The Fano consider themselves betrayed by the peace agreement signed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in November 2022 with the dissident leaders of the neighboring Tigray region, long-time enemies of Amhara nationalists who claim “ancestral lands” administratively attached to the Tiger.
During the two years of conflict in Tigray, the Amhara forces indeed lent a hand to the federal army against the Tigrayan rebels.
