Ethiopia’s government on Friday declared a state of emergency in its second-largest region, Amhara, following days of clashes between the military and local Fano militiamen.
Fighting that broke out earlier this week has quickly become Ethiopia’s most serious security crisis since a two-year civil war in neighboring Tigray region ended last November.
Amhara’s regional government on Thursday requested additional help from federal authorities to reimpose order.
The declaration gives the government the power to ban public gatherings, make arrests without warrants, and to impose curfews.
Fano, a part-time militia that draws volunteers from the local population, was a key ally of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) during the Tigray war.
But the relationship has soured, in part over recent efforts by federal authorities to weaken regional paramilitary groups. Some activists say this has left Amhara vulnerable to attack by neighbouring regions.
Two residents of Amhara’s second-biggest city, Gondar, said on Friday that intense fighting took place the previous day near the university.
“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,” said one resident.
The other, a local official, said the military had pulled back from the university but did not say why. Both asked not to be named for security reasons.
A Fano member, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militiamen were trying to encircle Amhara’s capital Bahir Dar.
He said they had captured Merawi, a town 30 km (18 miles) south of Bahir Dar.
Mobile internet remained down in the region while Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to three of the four airports it flies to in Amhara
Violent protests erupted across Amhara in April after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered that security forces from Ethiopia’s 11 regions be integrated into the police or national army.
Protesters said the order was meant to weaken Amhara.
The federal government denied this and said the objective was ensuring national unity.
(Editor: Oloyede Oworu)
