The Tigray people in northeastern Ethiopia are not fighting alone. In the early morning of the 19th, the Fano, a local armed group in the Amhara Region of northwestern Ethiopia, launched a large - scale military operation. Different from previous local guerrilla wars, the Fano launched operations simultaneously in four major areas of the Amhara Region: Gondar, Gojjam, Shewa, and Wollo. The Ethiopian government forces were defeated in the operations on that day. More than 35 military camps were attacked almost at the same time, and hundreds of Ethiopian government soldiers died. The Fano currently controls several important towns and has seized a large amount of military equipment. The flames of civil war in northern Ethiopia are burning more and more fiercely.
In the Gondar region of the Amhara Region, the Fano has taken control of five towns and an important supply route for the government forces.
According to local media reports, 355 national defense soldiers were killed, 155 were injured, and 35 were captured in Gondar. The Fano armed group seized 212 AK47s, 6 light machine guns, 1 sniper rifle, and 81 grenades and other weapons. Judging from the data, the number of personnel and weapons of the government forces in the local area is rather limited. In the Gojjam region, the Fano has taken control of more than 13 towns. Local people witnessed the defeat and large - scale retreat of the government forces.
Ethiopia is a multi - ethnic country. Different ethnic groups each have a large number of military forces that can confront the Ethiopian government forces. The Fano in the northwestern Amhara region was formed in 2010. They advocate the interests of the Amhara people in Ethiopia and claim that Amhara is a single secular country with unique ethnic and cultural characteristics. The Ethiopian government had previously declared a state of emergency in this area. Local farmers who live in simple earthen houses and plow fields with oxen have also been affected by the continuous conflicts. In order to stop the rebellion, the Ethiopian government often blocks the Internet in the Amhara region, which is also an important reason for the lack of real - time news from the west. The Amhara region is the second - most populous region in Ethiopia.
The Amhara Region is adjacent to the Tigray Region in the northeast. In the Tigray Region, there is the Tigray Defense Force (TDF), a local armed group that advocates the interests of the local Tigray people. Both the Fano and the TDF fought against the Ethiopian government forces several years ago. At that time, Ethiopia formed an alliance with Eritrea, a country in the north. After nearly 600,000 people died, Ethiopia and the Tigray reached a peace agreement to end the war, and they jointly established a provisional government in Tigray.
The Ethiopian government appointed Getachew Reda, the vice - chair of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, as the leader of the Tigray provisional government. This made Debretsion Gebremichael, the chair of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, very dissatisfied. Although Getachew had the support of the Ethiopian Federal Government, he was criticized by Debretsion and his allies. They accused Getachew of conspiring to destroy the Tigray People's Liberation Front and committing "treason" against the Tigray people. In the past half - month, the Tigray People's Liberation Front has started to seize local power from the provisional government. Some top officials of important cities appointed by the Ethiopian government have fled back to the capital.
Since the establishment of the interim government more than two years ago, some root problems have not been resolved. Over one million displaced people are still unable to return to their homes. Among the several hundred thousand troops in the TDF, only a few thousand have been symbolically disarmed. More importantly, the Tigrayans believe that their rights have not been reflected, and the Tigrayans were once the ruling ethnic group in Ethiopia.
At the same time, the Eritrean troops that fought side by side with Ethiopia are still stationed in Tigray and Amhara. Eritrea was originally part of Ethiopia, just like Tigray or Amhara. However, after decades of warfare, it gained independence in 1991. Eritrea was Ethiopia's only seaport, and its independence turned Ethiopia into a landlocked country. Ethiopia is a country that highly depends on agricultural product exports for revenue. Currently, it conducts international trade through Djibouti, a country to its east. Recently, it also reached an agreement with Somalia, and Somalia agreed that Ethiopia could lease land to build docks. But obviously, these are not Ethiopian assets. As early as 2023, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the port was Ethiopia's lifeline, which strained relations with Eritrea and increased the possibility of Ethiopia attacking Eritrea. Eritrea has demanded that the international community put pressure on Ethiopia. Eritrea, the Amhara region, and the anti - Ethiopian armed forces in Tigray have the preconditions for uniting, which is also the reason for the changes in the Fano and Tigray regions. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia deny preparing for war, yet they are both mobilizing troops to the border.
Perhaps to avoid fighting on two fronts simultaneously, the Ethiopian government is currently remaining silent about what is happening in both places and has only denied that it will wage war against Eritrea. Yesterday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the parliament that despite the increased tensions caused by the maritime passage issue and the unrest in Tigray, Ethiopia will not invade Eritrea. However, there are reports that Ethiopia has obtained Russia's consent and is planning to restructure the Ethiopian Navy. Ethiopian society faces more factors of insecurity. Two weeks ago, a convoy of 15 trucks transporting sesame was attacked on the way to Djibouti. The trucks were burned and one driver was killed. At noon on March 17, the driver and passengers on a bus near Addis Ababa, the capital, were abducted by armed men.
