10-month long state of emergency (SoE) expired in Ethiopia today. The State of Emergency was imposed last year in August to control the law and order situation in the Amhara region.
At the time of imposition of the SoE, Amhara Fano militias had taken control of major cities like Gondar, Lalibela, Debre Markos, Shewa Robit etc in the Amhara region. Gondar and Lalibela airports had become non operational due to attacks by Fano fighters. Imposition of 6-month long State of Emergency coupled with military operation in the Amhara region helped Ethiopian government in restoring government control in parts of the Amhara region.
In February this year, Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives extended the State of Emergency in Ethiopia for four months. Military continued operation against Amhara Fano militias. This week, the four-month SoE ended. So far the government has not made any move to extend it.
In recent months, Ethiopian military officers including Field Marshal Berhanu Jula have been claiming that Fano groups in Amhara and Oromo Liberation Army in Oromia had been significantly weakened. However Fano groups in the Amhara region have got bigger in the last 10 month or so. Fighting is still ongoing between Amhara Fano militias and Ethiopian federal and regional security forces in several parts of the Amhara region.
Fano groups are trying to create internal unity to establish a central command. In Gojjam and Wollo, they have managed to create zonal command centers. They are working to create zonal command centers in Gondar and Shewa too. They refuse to negotiate with federal government maintaining their position that talks will only be held after the removal of Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed.
International community and Human Rights organizations have been urging the Ethiopian government to lift the State of Emergency and release those arrested under the SoE proclamation. Hundreds of political workers, journalists, activists, civilians suspected of having links with Fano were arrested in the last 10 months. The government released around 20 Amhara political prisoners this week.