After days of fighting that prompted the government to proclaim a state of emergency, a senior Ethiopian official said that militants in the Amhara region were attempting to topple both the regional and federal governments.
Over the weekend, fighting between Fano militiamen and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) persisted. Residents of Gondar, the second-largest city in Amhara, reported hearing heavy weapon fire that started on Sunday and continued into Monday morning.
Since a two-year civil war in the Tigray area, which borders Amhara, concluded in November, the situation has quickly grown into Ethiopia’s most critical security dilemma.
The national intelligence service of Ethiopia’s Temesgen Tiruneh, who was chosen to oversee the imposition of the state of emergency, stated that militia members had seized various cities and regions.
“This robbery force is operating with the goal and intention of overthrowing the regional government by force and then advancing to the federal system,” Temesgen said in comments broadcast late on Sunday by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting.
The declaration of a state of emergency gives the security services the authority to impose curfews, limit movement, forbid the carrying of firearms and dangerous objects, forbid the gathering of large crowds, and to make arrests and search without a warrant.
Legesse Tulu, a representative of the government, stated on Saturday that arrests of those responsible for the violence had already begun.
Fano is a part-time militia that recruits members from the neighbourhood and supports the ENDF in the Tigray conflict.
Later, their alliance soured, in part due to recent efforts by the federal government to weaken local paramilitary organisations. According to some activists, this has made Amhara more open to invasion from neighbouring districts.
After Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered that security forces from Ethiopia’s 11 regions be abolished and incorporated into the police or national army, violent protests broke out in Amhara in April.