The Ethiopian army is stepping up operations in the Amhara region

The Ethiopian army said it has launched a major operation against the Fano rebel groups in the Amhara region. as the conflict continues despite calls from rights groups and international partners for a peaceful resolution.

Army spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane said on Tuesday that the Ethiopian National Defense Force, or ENDF, in coordination with the region’s security forces, has launched a military operation. He claimed that the continued calls for peace were “falling on deaf ears.”

“The only language they (armed rebel groups) understand is violence. From now on we will talk to them in that language,” Getnet said.

“For peace to prevail, they must be fought with force. They have to be aimed, to be hit.”

He indicated that the operation started last weekend.

Federal and regional officials said action is also being taken against suspected supporters of the rebel group, including members of the business community.

The announcement of the operation came on the day that human rights organization Amnesty International accused the Ethiopian military of carrying out “mass arbitrary detentions” in the Amhara region.

Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, claimed that hundreds of people, including members of the academic community, have been detained in major cities in the Amhara region since September 28.

“The ongoing campaign of arbitrary mass detentions by the Ethiopian military and police in the Amhara region is further evidence of the government’s total disregard for the rule of law,” the director said in a statement.

“Eyewitnesses have stated that authorities came up with a ‘list’ and failed to obtain arrest and search warrants before detaining hundreds of civilians in the region. The detainees have largely not been brought before a court within 48 hours, as required by the country’s domestic laws and constitution.”

Amnesty urged authorities to “immediately end these arbitrary arrests, report those imprisoned for internationally recognized crimes and follow due process, or release them without further delay.”

It is time for authorities to stop using arbitrary detention as a tool of repression, the statement said.

Fighting in the Amhara region began over a year ago with a dispute over the disarmament of regional paramilitary forces. New fighting was reported last week.

VOA’s Horn of Africa service attempted to reach a spokesperson for the Amhara region, the federal government of Ethiopia’s Communications Minister and ENDF spokesperson and Fano rebels. None of them could be reached for comment on Amnesty International’s statement.

Kidnappings

Meanwhile, police in Ethiopia have reported that kidnappings are increasing in two conflict zones where armed groups are battling government forces.

A spokesman for the Amhara regional police, Mesafint Eshete, said the commission registered 287 kidnapping cases in the Ethiopian fiscal year 2016, which ended three weeks ago. The Ethiopian calendar is several years behind the calendar in most other countries.

Speaking to the Horn of Africa Service, Mesafint hinted that this figure could be higher as most victims do not report incidents to police.

In a report released last week, the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EVHRC) linked the kidnapping cases to the political and security crisis in the country.

According to the report, kidnappings have become a recurring phenomenon, especially in Oromia and Amhara areas.

The EHRC also said that kidnapping cases in these areas involve various actors with different objectives and modus operandi.

While financial gain drives most of them, others seek to advance a political agenda, the report said.

According to the EHRC report, armed groups operating in the regions, criminal gangs and some members of the security forces are involved in the kidnapping cases.

The World Food Program said last week that the conflict in the Amhara region has become the biggest challenge facing humanitarian operations.

“Increasing insecurity, especially in the Amhara region, is hampering our deliveries. Our operations face serious security risks,” WFP Ethiopia representative and country director Zlatan Milisic told reporters in Addis Ababa.

He said eight humanitarian workers have lost their lives and more than 20 people have been kidnapped this year.

Six of the killings took place in the Amhara region, while one took place in Tigray and the other in the Gambela region.

Despite the security challenges, Milisic said WFP has not stopped its activities in the region and has reached 90% of targeted aid beneficiaries in Ethiopia this year.

“We want to be there and we plan to continue supporting those in need,” Milisic said.

Speaking about the funding shortfalls, Milisic indicated that 4.6 million people needed assistance in the past three months, but only 1.3 million people received humanitarian support.

He called for $341 million for WFP humanitarian operations through February 2025.

This story comes from VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.