Ethiopia’s military announced on Friday that it had eliminated more than 300 fighters from the Fano militia during two days of intense battles in the northern Amhara region, reigniting concerns of a broader regional conflict.

The Fano militia, a loosely structured armed group, previously fought alongside Ethiopian and Eritrean forces in the two-year civil war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the northern Tigray region. However, relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have soured since then, particularly after Eritrea was excluded from the peace negotiations that ended the war in November 2022.

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks amid reports that Eritrea has initiated a nationwide military mobilization, while Ethiopia has reinforced troops along the border.

Fighting between Ethiopia’s military and Fano erupted in July 2023, fueled by growing resentment among Amharas who felt betrayed by the terms of the 2022 peace agreement.

In a statement on Friday, the Ethiopian military declared: “The extremist group calling itself Fano… launched attacks in multiple zones of the Amhara region under the banner of Operation Unity and has been neutralized.” The statement claimed that 317 Fano fighters were killed, and 125 others were wounded.

However, Fano representatives rejected the army’s figures. Abebe Fantahun, a spokesperson for the Amhara Fano in Wollo Bete-Amhara, told Reuters that the military’s claim was exaggerated, insisting that fewer than 30 Fano fighters had been killed.

Meanwhile, Yohannes Nigusu, a Fano spokesperson from Gondar in the Amhara region, countered with drastically different casualty numbers. He claimed that Fano forces had inflicted heavy losses on the Ethiopian army, stating that 602 federal troops were killed, 430 were wounded, and 98 soldiers were captured, along with a stockpile of seized weapons.

Abebe also dismissed as “false” the army’s assertion that Brigadier General Migbey Haile—a military figure linked to a faction within the TPLF—had backed Fano’s Operation Unity. He insisted that Haile had no affiliation with the militia.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the conflicting death tolls. Ethiopian army spokesperson Getnet Adane and federal government representative Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the casualty figures provided by Fano.

Similarly, Amanuel Assefa, a senior official within the TPLF faction associated with Brigadier General Migbey Haile, remained unavailable for comment.

With tensions continuing to mount, fears of a wider regional war loom large.                                

(Source) Reuters