Is Ethiopia in war again? Check out the rebellion in one of its most powerful regions

Before he became a rebel, Asres Mare Damte was a lawyer. Today he fights for Fano, a loose group that takes over Ethiopian troops in one of the most populous and most powerful regions.

The conflict in Amhara is largely invisible, limited by authorities and insecurity. However, a rare interview with ASRES, representatives of an influential Fano faction and others on the ground make an impact.

The Ethiopian federal government has long been challenged to bring together a strong combination of race and interests. Sometimes, as recently as in the Tigray region, it broke out into war.

Amhara, the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, once dominated national politics. Many of these rebels hope to see them in power again. But they also claimed that Amhara was attacked on the grounds of racial violence in parts of Ethiopia.

The extent of the Amhara battle has been difficult to measure since the 2016 anti-government protests.

The Ethiopian alliance may be shifting. Fano fought with Ethiopian troops during the Tigray conflict. After that, the rebels were once again angry at some of the conditions of the peace agreement and once again confronted the federal government.

Asres said before raising his hand that he coordinated the peaceful demonstrations in protest of the killing of Amharas. He was arrested twice and his third arrest warrant was issued in 2022.

These days, he and the fighters live in drone strikes that worry about Ethiopian forces. He made bullish, unverified claims.

He told the Associated Press in the Gojjam Area of ​​Amhara that it was some of the most intense battles. He claimed Fano controlled more than 80% of Amhara, a mountainous area of ​​more than 22 million people and occupied “many enemy forces.”

Amhara’s deputy director said in a statement last month that the government has released 2,225 of Amhara’s 4,174 divisions. It is not clear how much is still under Fano’s control.

The battle has been escalating since mid-March, with Fano launching an offensive in Amhara. The military claims it “overwhelmed” the offensive and killed 300 fans of fighters, but reports continue.

Amhara’s population has long been putting pressure on expanding, while ethnic groups claim to be the western part of Tigray. During the Tigray conflict, Fano and Amhara regional forces occupied the target, but they were excluded from peace negotiations. They were angry and learned that the fate of Tiglet in the West might be left to a referendum that had not been held yet.

Asrez said it was not real peace. ”

After months of small-scale clashes, Amhara saw an open rebellion in July 2023, when the Fano group launched a coordinated offensive and briefly seized control of several towns.

They retreated to the countryside, and since then a guerrilla campaign was launched, checkpoints were established on key roads and frequently entered major urban areas.

“One week you were ruled by one week, one week you were ruled by another,” said the mother of three in the southern town of Debre Markos, referring to the rebels and Ethiopian troops. She spoke on anonymously due to fear of revenge.

The monitoring team conducted 270 battles between Fano and government forces between October 27 and January 31 last year, as well as more than a dozen attacks on medical institutions and doctors since April last year.

Residents and observers say some local officials fled their posts because of fear of assassination, while police struggled to maintain control.

More than 3,600 schools in Amhara have been closed, and many have been plundered or damaged, depriving 4.5 million children of education, the District Education Bureau said. The government said 2.3 million people are required to provide food aid in difficult-to-reach areas by 2024.

“You can’t safely go from city to city. Work has stopped,” said Tadesse Gete, a barber in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, but from North Gondar, one of the hot spots of the battle. He said his family fled for safety.

Rights groups accuse Ethiopian military of abuse, including extrajudicial killings, drone strikes targeting civilians and the disappearance of accused sympathizers. Last year’s Human Rights Watch observed said it has recorded at least 13 attacks by Ethiopian soldiers and Allied militias in the town of Amhara since August 2023.

According to Human Rights Watch and Amannesty Internationals, the most famous plot is in Merawi, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the capital of the Amhara region in February 2024, when Ethiopian troops rounded up and executed civilians after a craziest attack. At least 45 civilians were killed, the state-appointed human rights commission said.

“The Ethiopian authorities did not take any meaningful steps to be responsible for the perpetrators,” said Haimanot Bejiga, an Amnesty International researcher.

A government spokesman denied the allegations at the time, saying: “Not only will civilians never be targeted, but even surrendered combatants will not be killed.”

On March 31, two witnesses surrounded and killed civilians in Brackett town after clashes with local forces, and two witnesses told the Associated Press that they would not be named for fear of revenge.

One person described seeing soldiers killing four women. “They ordered them to kneel and shoot from behind,” he said. “After the soldiers left the area, I counted 28 bodies.”

The government has limited access to Brakat and has not commented yet.

The government did not answer the Associated Press questions. It accused Fano of “terrorizing the people.” But that also formed the Regional Peace Commission, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last year that his government had held talks with the Fano group for “a period of time”.

They did not make significant progress. Abiy said the rebels’ diffuse structure and lack of coherent leadership made negotiations difficult.

Fanno continued to attract new recruits from the disillusioned Amhara youth and soldiers who abandoned their army. Among them is Andrag Challe, 25, who believes joining the rebellion is the only way to protect Amhara and bring political change to Ethiopia.

He said the military “serves the interests of the ruling party” and is not the people.