Ethiopia declares state of emergency in Amhara region

 

members of Fano militia

Following days of fighting between the military and neighborhood armed militants in the Amhara region, Ethiopia's central government on Friday proclaimed a state of emergency.

 

"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 office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement.

 

It was not specified if the prohibition solely applied to Amhara or to the entire nation.

 

Fighting between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) earlier this week in Ethiopia's second-most populous province quickly escalated into a security crisis.

 

Fano, a part-time militia with no formal command structure, backed federal troops in a two-year civil war in the neighbouring Tigray region that ended with a trucelast November.

 

But the relationship has soured over what some in the region say is a disregard by the national government for Amhara’s security.

A doctor at a hospital in the town and a police officer told Reuters news agency that on Tuesday and Wednesday, Fano fighters and ENDF soldiers engaged in combat near Debre Tabor. Both requested anonymity for security reasons.

 

Amhara's leadership asked the federal government for further assistance on Thursday in order to restore order.

 

The regional authorities requested that the government take "appropriate measures" because the unrest is "causing serious economic, social, and humanitarian damage" in a letter to Ethiopia's prime minister.

 

The declaration of a state of emergency permits, among other things, the installation of roadblocks, the suspension of transportation services, the imposition of curfews, and the military's takeover of some districts.