July 25, 2026
military
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A diaspora advocacy group, the Amhara International Alliance, has issued a statement accusing Ethiopia’s federal government of intensifying military operations across the Amhara Region at the same time it is presenting a newly launched National Dialogue Forum to the international community as evidence of progress toward peace and political reconciliation.
A Dialogue Launched Amid Ongoing Conflict
Ethiopia’s National Dialogue Conference formally opened in mid-July 2026, drawing thousands of participants along with senior international figures, and was framed domestically as a chance to replace confrontation with consultation on the country’s most divisive political questions. The gathering brought together officials, regional representatives, and international observers, and organized discussions around major themes such as governance, federalism, human rights, and peacebuilding as the government continues to face active conflicts in the Tigray, Oromia, and Amhara regions.
However, the process has drawn scrutiny from analysts and regional observers over its scope and credibility. Politicians have pointed out that some of the armed groups most directly involved in the country’s active conflicts, including the Oromo Liberation Army, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and the Amhara Fano movement, have not been brought into the dialogue, raising questions about whether an agreement reached without them can meaningfully reduce violence on the ground. It is against this backdrop that the Amhara International Alliance issued its statement, arguing that the dialogue’s international reception does not match the situation facing communities in the Amhara Region.
Group Calls Dialogue Process a Distraction
In its statement, the Washington, D.C.-based organization argued that the dialogue effort led by the ruling Prosperity Party is designed mainly to create a favorable impression abroad rather than to address the underlying political grievances driving conflict in the region. The group contends that a credible peace initiative cannot move forward while a military campaign is simultaneously being carried out against the same population the dialogue claims to represent. It described the conference as a form of political theater intended to obscure, rather than resolve, the demands of Amhara communities affected by years of fighting.
Reports of Fighting in West Gojam
According to the Alliance, local sources have described a buildup of military activity in several zonal areas of the Amhara Region, with particularly intense fighting reported recently in the Dega Damot area of the West Gojam Zone. The statement claims that the ongoing operations have resulted in civilian casualties, including women, children, and older residents, and that the fighting has involved heavy weapons and drone strikes.
The Alliance further alleges that strikes have damaged religious sites of historical and cultural significance to the Amhara community, and that homes and civilian infrastructure have also sustained damage, worsening what it describes as a deepening humanitarian situation in the region. The group frames this destruction as part of a broader pattern that has affected the Amhara Region since fighting between federal forces and the Fano militia intensified in previous years, displacing residents and disrupting access to basic services in multiple zones.
Calls for International Action
The organization said the gap between the government’s diplomatic messaging and the situation on the ground amounts to a violation of international humanitarian and human rights standards, and it urged three main forms of international response:
- That foreign governments and international bodies look beyond the Addis Ababa dialogue process and recognize the military campaign as an attempt to suppress political opposition.
- Human rights and humanitarian organizations send independent investigators to verify and document events in Dega Damot and other affected parts of the Amhara Region.
- That pressure was placed on Addis Ababa to halt military action against civilians, lift restrictions on communications in the region, and allow humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to affected communities.
The Alliance said it remains committed to civilian protection, the preservation of regional cultural heritage, and support for a transparent and inclusive resolution to the conflict, adding that lasting peace cannot be achieved while the population it is meant to protect continues to bear the cost of ongoing military action.
Source: Amhara International Alliance press statement, published via Freedom of Conscience, July 23, 2026.
Editor’s Note: Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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