TIG Post

Tag: Ethiopia's Amhara

  • Ten people killed in Ethiopia’s latest Amhara conflict

    Ten people killed in Ethiopia’s latest Amhara conflict

    Following a period of peace, conflict has once again erupted in specific areas of Ethiopia’s Amhara region. At least 10 civilians have been killed.

    People in Debre Tabor, a city in Amhara, said that there was a fight between local armed groups and the government army starting on the weekend and lasting until Monday morning.

    Witnesses say the main hospital in the city got damaged because it was hit with big guns. A hospital doctor told the BBC that five people who were visiting patients and over 20 civilians who were nearby got hurt.

    The BBC has been unsuccessful in getting responses from regional authorities and a command post set up to oversee a six-month state of emergency.

    Fighting has also happened in and near Debre Markos and Fenote Selam towns, as well as other small towns and villages in the area.

    Unrest in Amhara started in April when a decision to disband a local paramilitary force caused disagreement and conflict.

    Since the beginning of August, there has been a lot of fighting in a big part of Ethiopia’s second biggest region.

    Last week, the regional council of Amhara chose a new president because the previous one, Yilkal Kefale, who had been in charge for almost two years, stepped down.

  • Doctors report numerous civilian deaths in Ethiopian conflicts

    Doctors report numerous civilian deaths in Ethiopian conflicts

    Doctors in Bahir Dar, the capital of Ethiopia’s Amhara region, have told the BBC that recent violence between local militias and government forces has resulted in the deaths of a significant number of people.

    A five-month-old newborn and elderly adults were among the casualties, according to a doctor at the city’s primary hospital.

    Locals claimed that a militia had taken over a prison and freed the prisoners.

    Since the government declared in April that it was eliminating regional forces throughout Ethiopia, Amhara nationalists have been protesting the action, claiming it would weaken their area.

    In a statement on Tuesday, the government noted that while steps were being done to rid the two largest cities, Bahir Dar and Gondar, of militias, there was generally peace in several areas of the region.

    Ethiopian Airlines has declared a three-day flight suspension to four airports in the area, including Bahirdar and Gondar.