According to Yilkal Kefale, his job was challenging because of the complexity of the area’s political conflict, local media said.
Yilkal Kefale, the president of Ethiopia’s Amhara region in the north, announced his resignation on Friday, citing social, health, and family concerns as the causes of his choice.
According to the Ethiopian Reporter, Yilkal submitted his resignation at a regional council emergency meeting organised in the capital, Bahir Dar, to address the recent violent battles between local militias and the army.
The source quotes him as adding, “I know the pain of coming into power during a crisis and letting go of responsibility during a crisis, but I have given everything I can.”
In reaction to the violent clash that broke out earlier this month between the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and local Fano militia fighters, the Ethiopian government proclaimed a six-month state of emergency in the Amhara region.
The federal government’s order to merge provincial security forces into the federal police or army, which demonstrators claim will leave Amhara open to invasion from other areas, is thought to be the cause of the disturbance.
According to reports, Yilkal is in charge of carrying out a peace motion adopted by the council to solve the region’s escalating security situation.
In contrast, he informed the council in his resignation address that the “efforts to achieve peace failed,” adding that “within just a few days, the conflict was out of control.”
According to the Addis Standard, he asserted that his duty as the region’s leader was challenging due to the intricacy of the political conflict among the locals, the absence of a clear objective and effective approach, and other factors.
Yilkal served as the region’s president for over two years.
Arega Kebede, a former leader of the Amhara regional militia bureau, a formal security organisation that works under the direction of the regional administration, has been chosen by the council to serve as the new president.
