Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Friday after Amhara region has been marred with clashes for a number of days between local Fano militiamen and the military.
The clashes, which started earlier this week between the groups, have led to security crisis in Ethiopia’s second-largest region. The situation worsened to a level where the region’s government had to request the federal government on Thursday to bring back the order in Amhara.
However, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office did not mention whether the state of emergency is applicable only in Amhara or nationwide.
“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,” the statement said. The declaration provides the government the authority to impose curfews, prohibit public meetings, and make arrests without warrants.
Fano was a crucial partner of the military (ENDF) during a two-year civil war that concluded in the adjoining Tigray province last November, but the alliance has deteriorated due to recent moves by federal authorities to suppress local paramilitary organisations.
Gondar, the second-largest city in Amhara, was the scene of fierce fighting, according to two residents who reported it on Friday. According to a resident,”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.
One of a Fano members said that the militiamen were attempting to surrpund Amhara’s capital Bahir Dar. He said the men had seized Merawi, a town 30 km (18 miles) south of Bahir Dar.
According to locals, mobile internet service was still unavailable in the area. According to a spokeswoman for the airline, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled flights to three of the four Amhara airports it serves.
After Abiy ordered that security forces from Ethiopia’s 11 regions be incorporated into the police or national army, violent protests broke out in Amhara in April.
The directive, according to protesters, was intended to weaken Amhara and make it more open to invasions from nearby districts. The federal administration rejected this and stated that maintaining national unity was the goal.
