Ethiopia

Amhara: Ethiopian Troops Accused of Killing Civilians

SEP 8 2023·Updated FEB 8 2024

Story

Image credit: AMISON/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]

The Facts

Multiple witnesses have claimed that Ethiopian soldiers killed over 70 civilians and looted properties in Majete, a rural town in the northeastern Amhara region, since occupying it on Sept. 3.
guardian
The alleged atrocities occurred during house-to-house searches after the regional Fano militia reportedly attacked a position of the federal forces, prompting hours-long fighting between both sides.
Reuters
This comes as the UN reported last month that at least 183 people have been killed in violent clashes in Amhara since July.
Africanews
Fighting between the military and Fano has intensified in recent months, pushing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government to declare a state of emergency and block the internet.
nytimes
The weeks-long conflict has reportedly caused a shortage of essential goods and reduced healthcare services in several towns across the region.
VOA
Meanwhile, Amhara's newly-appointed Pres. Arega Kebede claims that the security situation is returning to normalcy, adding Fano is no longer in a position to allegedly pose a danger to "the security of the region."
Borkena Ethiopian News

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The Amhara people have long been treated as foreigners and national enemies. Still, the Abiy government has escalated this decades-long rhetoric to the next level by sanctioning widespread violence against them. If the international community fails to intervene, a Rwanda-style genocide may soon happen in Ethiopia.

The Conversation

Narrative B

While it's a matter of fact that innocent lives have been lost and properties destroyed and looted in clashes to liberate areas under the control of the non-state regional Fano militia and restore peace and order in Amhara, only an investigation per the constitutional system can determine who committed these atrocities.

Addis Standard