Following days of skirmishes between the military and local Fano militiamen, Ethiopia’s government on Friday proclaimed a state of emergency in Amhara, its second-largest region. Since the two-year civil war in the nearby Tigray area came to an end last November, fighting that first broke out earlier this week has quickly turned into Ethiopia’s most significant security problem.
“It was found necessary to declare a state of emergency as it had become difficult to control this outrageous activity based on the regular legal system,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office released in a official statement.
The declaration provides the government the authority to impose curfews, prohibit public meetings, and make arrests without warrants. During the Tigray war, the Fano, a part-time militia that recruits volunteers from the local populace, was a crucial ally of the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF).
Gondar, the second-largest city in Amhara, was the scene of fierce fighting, according to two residents who reported it on Friday.
“ENDF first controlled the university, but they were pushed back by Fano. They were trying to advance to the center of the city, but they couldn’t,” averred a local.
Under the same condition of secrecy, a Fano member claimed that the militiamen were attempting to encircle Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara people. He said that they had taken Merawi, a town located 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Bahir Dar.
Canadian and American citizens in Amhara were warned to take cover. According to locals, mobile internet service was still unavailable in the area. According to a representative for the company, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled flights to three of the four Amhara airports it serves.
The decree, according to protesters, was intended to weaken Amhara. The federal administration rejected this and stated that maintaining national unity was the goal.
