July 13, 2024
borkena
Toronto – Nearly one year now since it started following Abiy Ahmed’s government declaration of state of emergency, the war in the Amhara region does appear to be getting worse, with the loss of civilian lives – among other damages.
Credible Local Ethiopian News outlets are reporting that there have been what they described as intense fighting between Fano forces on the one hand and joint government forces composed of the Defense Force and militia group.
Fighting is reported at about 55 kilometers away from the capital Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Media Service, a media based in the U.S. with links to the Amhara region of Ethiopia, on Saturday reported that Fano forces and government forces fought in Kormash town of Minjar area, on Friday.
Nigatu Yitaferu, Deputy Public Relation Head of Amhara Fano Shewa Command, told EMS that they engaged government joint forces but the latter started shelling the town indiscriminately. “We had to withdraw to avoid civilian causality,” he said. He added that they are now outside of the town in a combat ready form.
In the same Minjar district, Fano attempted to capture heads of administrations in Shola Gebeya town but the officials reportedly escaped from the town.
In the Gondar city area, there has been intense fighting for several days and there was even a report that Fano forces were close to controlling the airport in the city. A fano spokesperson told Anchor media on Friday : ” we had information that Abiy Ahmed was coming for a festival event.” The event was canceled.
There were also reported fighting in other parts of the Gondar area of the Amhara region. The guerrilla warfare strategy of the Fano forces in the region has caused noticeable damage on government forces. The loss on the part of Fano was reported to be one death and two minor injuries.
The Federal government attempted to use local militia and anti-riot forces in the region. But that strategy did not work for long as more and more anti-riot and militia forces were defecting to Fano. Last week, General Tefera Mamo, former commander of the special forces in the region, announced that he had joined Fano forces and called upon the anti-riot forces to join Fano. His move is said to have a positive impact on the Fano movement.
In the Woldia area of Wollo, government forces reportedly launched an extensive offensive but it did not achieve the intended result. According to sources, Fano forces inflicted severe damage on government forces.
The Defense Force, on the other hand, has been claiming victory against “extremist forces” in the Amhara region. In some cases, it claimed that it” annihilated the extremist group.”
Political leadership in the Amhara region is reportedly changing position that the war can not be fought beyond this point. The federal government response to it is unclear. Millions of students are out of school in the Amhara region and health facilities are severely impacted – not to mention economic damages and the loss of civilian lives.
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