As conflict rages in the restive region of Amhara, the second most populous in Ethiopia, millions find themselves stuck between the warring sides, subject to demands for allegiance, extortion, and abuse.
The conflict between militia groups, dubbed as Fano, and government security forces is entering its 20th month and showing no signs of slowing down. Fighting still rages across the Amhara region, home to more than 23 million residents, with civilians often falling victim to military drone strikes, abductions, and, increasingly, extortion.
A man who resides in Woreta, a town in the South Gondar Zone, told The Reporter that his brother has been forced to shell out thousands in the form of a “protection tax” over the past few weeks.
“First, men who claimed to be members of the Fano armed group came and demanded five thousand birr. The next morning, others who said they belonged to a militia group enforcing the rule of law ordered my brother to pay 15,000 birr for the same reason,” said the man, who spoke anonymously for fear of endangering his brother.
He described the situation facing civilians trapped in the region’s conflict, now on the verge of entering its third year, as impossible.
“Refusing to pay isn’t an option unless you’re prepared for them to raid your property and take whatever they consider valuable. People have seen this happen to their neighbors. So, they scrape the money together, often from relatives outside the region, and pay,” he told The Reporter.
Reports from international watchdogs and human rights organizations indicate that innocent civilian lives and their hard earned property amount to little more than collateral damage in the fighting, which erupted in mid-2023 with the declaration of a state of emergency in the region.
Residents report navigating a landscape marred by sudden outbreaks of fighting, drone strikes, disrupted schooling, child abductions, early marriages, and collapsed medical services. Still, despite these harrowing conditions, communities find themselves burdened with dual demands for payment for “protection” from both warring sides.
”We have spoken extensively about this issue—in public forums, in the media, and in Parliament. However, because what we say does not translate into concrete action and change, it often leaves us discouraged. It is true that various human rights violations are taking place. As is the nature of war, different kinds of suffering can arise on all sides,” parliamentarian Abebaw Desalew, a member of the opposition National Amhara Movement (NaMA) party, told The Reporter.
He argues the crises facing the people in Amhara emanate from strategies pursued by both sides in a bid to come out on top. The MP says that people who have no involvement in the conflict find themselves caught in the crossfire more and more often.
”Heavy military weaponry, including drones, is being used in the government’s efforts to eliminate Fano. As a result, civilians are becoming collateral damage. In other countries, attacks are held back if even one or two civilians are at risk. But the reports we are receiving now indicate that in order to kill one or two Fano members, entire vehicles are being burnt to the ground. Children, the elderly, and those with no involvement in the conflict are dying and impacted in many ways,” Abebaw said.
He observes that crimes amounting to enforced disappearances are being committed. Arbitrary detentions, torture, and mass arrests are also commonplace.
Officials in the regional administration, however, paint a very different picture to the grim realities depicted by the MP.
In a recent interview with the state-run Ethiopian News Agency, Arega Kebede, president of the Amhara regional administration, said the region “has been on a better path of peace and development for quite some time now.”
He maintained that the peace and security challenges faced in the past were primarily due to political instability and emphasized that members of the executive have worked hard to bring stability to the region.
On the other side, early last week, NaMA released a statement highlighting the main features, implications and repercussions of the ongoing conflict, painting a dire picture of the deteriorating political, humanitarian, and economic conditions exhibited in the region.
The strongly worded statement released following its third general assembly and the election of its new executive committee was both a condemnation of ongoing instability and a call to action for Amhara’s political and civic actors.
NaMA, in a very detailed manner, lamented what it described as “a prolonged and devastating conflict” that has gripped the region for over two years, resulting in “widespread human and material losses”.
It echoed its alarm that “external forces, historically hostile to the Amhara people, have seized this moment of crisis to insert themselves as key actors in the conflict,” further exasperating the already intense situation.
“Schools have been shut down. Teachers and students, who are not part of the political crisis, have been displaced and terrorized, and the future generation is being denied the right to education,” reads the statement.
In November 2024, officials from the Ministry of Education told Parliament that the Amhara region accounts for 98 percent of nearly 7,000 schools nationwide that have had to shut their doors due to violent conflict, disease, or natural disasters.
NaMA’s latest statement highlighted unnerving reports indicating the escalation of widespread underage marriages and child abandonment, warning of an impending social collapse.
”Not only is today’s Amhara generation under threat, but the future—one that should produce an awakened and empowered successor generation—is at risk,” it reads.
On the economic front, the opposition party reports that investors have fled the region en masse, while widespread market disruptions and development endeavors have come to a halt, leaving the general public hard pressed to afford increasingly scarce basic commodities.
“The livelihood of our people is under serious threat,” the statement reads, “the space for peaceful political struggle is shrinking by the day.”
The party also advocated for a “dual-track support system” to be implemented by all sides as a measure to protect civilians and revive peaceful political mobilization.
”Our people, who are trapped in a state of siege and hostage-like conditions, are suffering severe and multilayered harm. We strongly urge all actors to respond in a way that safeguards innocent civilians and to prioritize dialogue and peaceful solutions in resolving the crisis,” it stated.
NaMA portrays the conflict not only as a humanitarian crisis, but as an unprecedented national security issue.
Despite the expiration of the state of emergency declared by Parliament in 2023, the Amhara region remains entangled in what many observers describe as a de facto military command era.
Local accounts and reports from human rights groups reveal that administrative mechanisms from the days of the state of emergency, such as curfews, checkpoints, mass detentions, and movement restrictions, persist under the guise of national security operations and without the backing of a legal framework that pushes the federal government into the center of what goes on in the ground.
Neither has the federal government officially utilized the proclamation that lays out the legal basis for federal intervention in the regions.
Still, activities warranted only under constitutionally declared martial law persist, according to numerous reports.
Some experts characterize this blurring of legal boundaries as an indefinite exception, where the constitutional order is not just suspended but selectively applied.
The law suspends legal processes, such as obtaining court orders for arrests and ensuring detainees are brought before a court within 72 hours of detentions, under a state emergency.
”A state of emergency allows for exceptional judicial procedures. What is happening now, however, is taking place without any officially declared state of emergency. Yet it is as if one is in effect,” Abebaw told The Reporter.
The MP asserts that citizens across the Amhara region are being detained by police without court orders, and many are held for long periods without ever being brought before a court.
Abebaw argues that everyone, from the federal level down to local administrations, is accountable for the abuses.
”When state of emergency-like measures are in effect without proper legal procedures pursued to the letter of the law, it is a structural failure, and responsibility lies across all levels of authority,” he said.
Other analysts argue it is essential to acknowledge the broader efforts and context under which security operations in the Amhara region have been conducted, alongside the challenges faced in addressing the ongoing conflict.
While some reports from opposition groups and human rights organizations focus on the suffering of civilians, the regional government argues that firm security measures are necessary to safeguard the lives of the broader population.
Despite the challenges of reconciling the need for security with human rights considerations, the government insists that it has always emphasized humanitarian aid, alongside the military efforts.
Meanwhile, reports of heavy fighting have continued to surface over the past few weeks, as clashes between government security forces and Fano militia escalate in several parts of the region.
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) reported at the end of March that it had completed a heavy offensive against Fano forces in South Gondar, West Gondar, North Gojjam, East Gojjam, West Gojjam and North Wollo. A reported 576 members of the militia were neutralized during the operation.
Still, the regional President’s recent interview indicates the government is more interested in the end goals of peaceful dialogue and generating public support for its military engagements in the Amhara region than discussions about the legality of security measures.
During the interview, Arega asserted the government is focused on prioritizing peace-building initiatives and called on the people of the region to “continue their efforts” in assisting the government to secure a lasting peace.
“The government’s efforts to ensure peace will continue without interruption,” he said.
However, opposition figures like Abebaw, while insisting on the need for political solutions, argue the government has yet to make true and measurable commitments to dialogue.
”The solution is clear; dialogue is preferable. War, in any form and from any side, is destructive both in human and economic terms. Even if dialogue is necessary, what we are seeing is not a move toward genuine dialogue in the desired manner. All stakeholders are expected to pursue peaceful options. The government, which holds the largest share of responsibility, must lead this effort,” said the MP.
He argues that at the very least, the government should take steps to de-escalate the conflict, such as halting indiscriminate attacks, declaring a unilateral ceasefire and taking action to release political prisoners.
”Many Amhara politicians, activists, and even members of regional councils have been imprisoned without trial for up to two years. This is not only unjust, but it also casts doubt on the government’s sincerity and commitment in its expressed interest to bring peace through dialogue,” Abebaw told The Reporter.
”While the government claims it is seeking peaceful solutions, the reality on the ground suggests otherwise—it appears to be deception or mere propaganda. If the government does what it can on its part, then both political forces and the public can exert influence on Fano,” he said.
Analysts, politicians and the public alike observe the mediation efforts by foreign governments and international organizations that eventually brought about an end to the two-year northern war have not succeeded in ending the conflict in the Amhara region.
Nonetheless, the efforts continue. They include the establishment of the Amhara Regional State Peace Council, which is advocating for an end to the violence, and calls from politicians, parliamentarians, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and organizations like Human Rights Watch for all actors to sit for negotiations and resolve their political differences.
”The issue is not whether or not there have been enough calls. Rather, the issue now lies in the implementation, and the problem is still ongoing,” Abebaw said. “Any country that applies pressure on another country by misinterpreting its own interests might, perhaps, fail to help Ethiopia achieve the intended change on this matter. The question of what we gain from stopping this conflict is something that might be the reason holding back many powerful entities from exerting influence on all involved in the conflict. But, various bodies have been calling for dialogue.”
The divergence of perspectives on the de facto state of emergency in the Amhara region paints a stark picture of the complexities involved.
The regional administration maintains that its military actions and security measures, even without an officially declared state of emergency, are necessary to protect the public from the armed groups disrupting stability.
The regional President has insisted that peace-building remains the priority, underlining that despite the security measures in place, efforts to engage in dialogue continue.
On the other hand, opposition figures like Abebaw argue that the region is trapped in a state of exception, where constitutional rights are suspended without the legal framework to justify such actions.
Political analysts, observers and politicians alike argue that civilians continue to bear the brunt of military operations, with reports of arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and widespread suffering. Yet, the promise of genuine peace talks seems distant.
The critique focuses not only on the current government’s approach but also on its failure to live up to its own rhetoric about prioritizing dialogue and peace-building.
Experts argue that the ongoing persistent tension reveals a deeper issue: the lack of accountability and transparency surrounding the measures being taken, and whether they truly align with the constitutional obligations to safeguard citizens.
The dual perspective on the de facto state of emergency brings in a fundamental question to the center: can long-term peace and stability be achieved through continued militarization, or must Ethiopia pivot toward genuine dialogue that prioritizes the protection and rights of its citizens?
The answer remains elusive, and reports assert that the people of Amhara continue to endure the consequences of this unresolved conflict.
With human rights groups, opposition leaders, and international actors all calling for a shift toward peaceful resolution, the pressure mounts on the government to move beyond security tactics and embrace a meaningful commitment to dialogue, before the region suffers even greater losses.
