The Ethiopian military announced on Friday that it had killed over 300 Fano militants during two days of clashes in the northern Amhara region. The violence has raised concerns of a wider regional conflict. Fano, a loosely organized group, had previously fought alongside Ethiopian forces and Eritrean troops during the two-year war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the Tigray region. However, relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia have deteriorated since Eritrea was excluded from the peace talks that ended the war in November 2022.
Recent developments have fueled fears of renewed conflict. Eritrea reportedly initiated a nationwide military mobilization, while Ethiopia deployed additional troops along their shared border. Clashes between Ethiopian forces and Fano began in July 2023, driven by frustration among many Amharas over the perceived betrayal in the 2022 peace deal. On Friday, the Ethiopian army stated, “The extremist group calling itself Fano… carried out attacks in various zones of the Amhara region under the name of Operation Unity and has been destroyed.” The army reported 317 Fano militants killed and 125 wounded.
Fano leaders, however, disputed these figures. Abebe Fantahun, a spokesperson for Amhara Fano in Wollo Bete-Amhara, refuted the military’s claims, asserting that fewer than 30 Fano fighters had been killed. Meanwhile, Yohannes Nigusu, a Fano spokesperson in Gondar, provided a different version. He claimed that 602 federal soldiers were killed, 430 wounded, and 98 captured. He also said that weapons had been seized by Fano forces. Abebe further denied the army’s allegation that Brigadier General Migbey Haile, a senior officer linked to a faction of the TPLF, had supported Fano’s Operation Unity, calling the claim “false.”
Independent verification of these figures remains unavailable. Ethiopian military spokesperson Getnet Adane and federal government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not respond to requests for comment. Similarly, Amanuel Assefa, a senior official in TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael’s faction, did not reply to inquiries about Migbey’s alleged involvement.
As clashes persist in the Amhara region and diplomatic tensions rise, analysts warn that the situation could escalate, potentially destabilizing the region further.