Clashes between Fano and the Government & more –10th Aug 2023

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 10th of August twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

We kick off this edition with a story that has dominated headlines. Militants in the Amhara region collectively known as Fano are facing off with the national armed forces. The situation has gotten out of control.

Fano and the federal government were on good terms and fought side by side during the northern war. A few months after the war ended, the federal government introduced plans to dismantle all regional special forces including Amhara’s, which did not sit well with Fano and the region’s residents. The federal government nevertheless went ahead with the plan which coincided with the deep-seated discontent of Amharas with the ruling Prosperity Party.

On Thursday the 3rd clashes broke out between Fano and government forces in various areas of the Amhara region. That same day, Amhara’s regional government requested the federal government to get the situation under control. The region’s president communicated this to Prime Minister Abiy via a letter.

On Friday the 4th, the Council of Ministers decided to declare a state of emergency in the region so as to control the ‘illegal armed movement’ of insurgents. Thus, no person was allowed to carry arms, support insurgents, or call peaceful demonstrations among other restrictions. And although the state of emergency was declared mainly for the Amhara region, it may be implemented anywhere else in the country and will remain in effect for the next six months.

The day the state of emergency was declared, there was fighting in various cities including in Gondar. On Saturday the 5th, even though the region’s capital Bahir Dar was relatively peaceful, clashes spread across the city. All businesses, and roads were closed and no transportation services were available. On Monday the 7th, Temesgen Tiruneh, the National Intelligence, and the command post’s head said that the Fano’s plan is to dismantle the regional government and then overthrow the federal government. He said that insurgents have broken into prisons and let loose convicted criminals serving their sentences. He added that the federal government believes that the conflict should be handled peacefully but will not back down from maintaining law and order.

Let’s talk about the consequences of the clashes. An unknown number of civilians and combatants have been killed including a university professor from Wolkite University who was in Gondar University to invigilate for the national university entrance exams. Professors from other universities who were dispatched to invigilate in the Amhara region are stuck, some of them without food. The Gondar University’s Hospital is also in a dire situation as resources are running out and injured civilians are arriving in numbers. Ethiopian Airlines canceled flights to various cities in the region and there’s no internet access. All the way in Addis, the transport bureau has banned the use of motorcycles indefinitely, since these vehicles are small and easy to maneuver, which makes them a good tool for committing crimes. The bureau didn’t say the reason for the motorcycle restriction. However, many presumed that the ban is related to the debacle in the Amhara region, as the government is expecting certain criminal activities from Fano sympathizers in Addis

Various countries are also reacting to the conflict - the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel has evacuated its citizens out of the Amhara region. Spain was also one of the first countries to react to the conflict because some of its citizens were in the popular tourist destination Lalibela. Spain told its citizens in Lalibela to stay put in their hotels and contact the embassy in Addis. The United Kingdom and Poland have also echoed these alerts to their citizens.

The US also had its say on the matter. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked to PM Abiy Ahmed on the phone on Friday the 4th. The Department of State issued a statement that same day saying that the two talked about the implementation of the peace deal that followed the Northern war. However, the next day, the Department altered the statement saying that the phone call also focused on the situation in the Amhara region, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and the civil war in Sudan.

On that note about politics, Christian Tadele, who is one of the leaders of the opposition party National Movement of Amhara (or NAMA), and a member of parliament, was arrested on Friday the 4th. His family told media outlets that members of the federal police force jumped through the fence of his house and forcibly detained Christian, who was also allegedly assaulted during the arrest. Just two days before the situation in the Amhara region escalated, Christian warned PM Abiy to stop invading the region and carrying out extrajudicial killings.

Speaking of the NAMA party, Melkamu Shumye announced on Wednesday the 9th that he’s stepping down as the party’s deputy chairman. He said that he arrived at this decision because of the different opinions there were in the executive committee on how the party should move forward. Melkamu said that even though he will no longer be the deputy chairman, he’ll maintain his seat as a member of the party’s central committee.

Still on NAMA, on Wednesday the 9th the party released a statement saying that an armed conflict will not sustainably ensure the interests of the Amhara people and urged belligerents to find a political solution for the predicament. But NAMA is not the only entity that called for peace. The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, and many more civil society organizations echoed calls for a peaceful resolution throughout this past week.

In news outside of the conflict, the twelfth region of the federal republic has officially been established, with the name Southern Ethiopia. On Saturday the 5th, the day of the regular assembly of the council of the Southern Nation, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, the assembly handed over power to the newly formed region. The new region consists of six zones and five special districts.

In Ethiopia, unfortunately, almost the entire population is against homosexuality and it is a crime as well. The Addis Ababa police and the city’s culture and tourism bureau recently issued a statement saying that in certain hotels, homosexual activities are being witnessed. They said that these abhorrent activities are against the culture and values of the community and, believe it or not, urged residents to supply information on such activities. It also said that it will take the information supplied seriously and will proceed to take legal measures. The police said any person with such information can head to the nearest police station or call toll-free hotlines 991 or 987. Recently, there’s also been a social media campaign where platforms were flooded with posts denouncing homosexuality.

And to wrap up this edition, The National University Entrance Exam ended on Friday the 4th, and Minister of Education Professor Berhanu Nega held a press conference outlining how the exam went. He said that cheating wasn’t witnessed and only just a little over three percent of registered examinees didn’t sit due to various reasons. Regarding the safe administration of the exam, he said that about sixteen thousand students taking their exams at Gondar University were unable to sit for the final subjects due to the conflict between Fano and the Federal forces. There were also reports of intentional food poisoning at Gambella University and brawls between students on various campuses in Addis. In spite of all this, the Minister said that this year’s examination was successfully implemented compared to previous years.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Ciao!