Heavy combat begins in northern Ethiopia

According to several reports, fano rebels have taken control of a major airport in the Amhara region.

Clashes between Ethiopia’s military and the local Fano militia erupted in many sections of the conflict-torn Amhara region on Wednesday, according to local media. Authorities have expressed fear about “significant human casualties.”

According to Reuters, more than a dozen people were injured when Fano fighters, also known as the Amhara militia, clashed with Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) forces in the town of Debre Tabor on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing a doctor at a nearby hospital and a police official.

According to the unnamed doctor, the hospital has accepted three patients with critical injuries and 10 others with minor wounds from bullets and heavy weapons.

The Addis Standard stated that fighters had blocked all highways in Gondar and elsewhere in Amhara where Fano rebels are attacking ENDF forces.

On Tuesday, the militia reportedly took control of a major airport in the town of Lalibela, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, forcing flights to be cancelled.

Yilkal Kefale, Amhara’s president, told the media on Wednesday that the region’s economic activity is still suffering as a result of violent clashes between state forces and militias, as well as civilian casualties.

According to an unnamed diplomatic source, the battle began when the ENDF initiated an operation to force the paramilitary group out of Kobo and other towns.

Amhara has been coping with major skirmishes and huge protests since April, when the government ordered regional troops, including Fano fighters, to incorporate into the federal military or police.

According to a report by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Amhara militia fought alongside federal soldiers and Eritrean armies in a two-year civil war in the neighbouring Tigray region, which resulted in an estimated 100,200 battle-related deaths.

PRIO dubbed the Tigray war, which ended with a peace agreement in November of last year, the world’s deadliest conflict in 2022, with the largest number of battle-related fatalities in state-based conflicts since 1994.

On Tuesday, ENDF spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane warned that action would be taken against armed organisations “disturbing the country’s peace in the name of Fano.”

However, Kefale has asked the fighters to lay down their arms and resolve the concerns through conversation.