John Donson
In mid-2023, the federal Ethiopian government launched what has become a full-scale war in the Amhara region. The trigger was the decision by Addis Ababa to dissolve regional special forces — among them many Amhara officers — and subsume them under federal military or police command. Many refused, instead joining Fano, a network of loosely organized local militias. What began as protests soon escalated into open conflict.
Once regarded as former allies in the fight against the Tigrayan rebels, Fano fighters and the federal army turned on each other. From July 2023 onward, towns across Amhara fell into the crossfire. The government declared a state of emergency, communications were cut, and Amhara towns increasingly faced shelling, drone strikes, and martial law.
But the war has not just targeted combatants. Anyone perceived — often arbitrarily — as supportive of Fano has become a potential target. The region has rapidly become a site of mass suffering, displacement, and systematic human rights abuses.
Civilian casualties, terror tactics, and collapse of normal life
Drone and air strikes: a lethal sky
Since 2023, air power — including drones — has been a central instrument of the government’s campaign in Amhara. These strikes have repeatedly hit civilian neighbourhoods, homes, and public infrastructure.
One stark example: in early August 2023, a drone strike on Finote Selam killed about 30 people and wounded more than 55. Local authorities recorded dozens more casualties, including women and children.
Rights groups warn that many of these attacks amount to “collective punishment” rather than legitimate military operations — a pattern that cannot be reconciled with international humanitarian law.
Street-by-street terror: extrajudicial killings and massacres
Ground forces have also committed egregious abuses. In the town of Merawi in late January 2024, soldiers carried out house-to-house raids and mass executions of civilians, allegedly in retaliation for a Fano attack earlier that day. Witnesses described gunfire in the streets, entire families killed, and property looted.
Independent investigators counted 50–100 dead, including women and minors — victims indiscriminately labeled as combatants.
Such incidents have recurred, illustrating a pattern of summary executions, revenge killings, and state-sponsored terror.
Collapse of health, education and public services
The war hasn’t spared hospitals, clinics, or medical workers. Security forces have attacked and looted health facilities, harassed or detained medical staff, and disrupted care. Pregnant women, the sick, children — all have lost access to essential services.
Schools, too, have closed, and thousands of children remain out of education. Towns lie in ruin, infrastructure is destroyed, and displacement is rampant. Food insecurity and reliance on humanitarian aid are now pervasive among millions.
In many parts of Amhara, normal life has collapsed — replaced by fear, deprivation, and daily risk of death.
Does it amount to genocide?
Whether what’s happening in Amhara legally constitutes “genocide” remains contested — among scholars, human rights bodies, and governments. International organizations hesitate to use the term without incontrovertible proof of intent to destroy an ethnic group in whole or in part.
Nevertheless, the risk and indicators are real. Already in 2023, the UN’s top genocide-prevention official warned that the patterns of killings, displacement, and group-targeting in Amhara, Tigray, Afar, and Oromia meet many of the risk factors for “atrocity crimes.”
Several independent analyses assert that the scale and systematic nature of abuses — including extrajudicial killings, drone strikes on civilians, destruction of civilian property, mass displacement, and disruption of essential services — are consistent with crimes against humanity and possibly genocide.
At the minimum, what’s unfolding is a humanitarian disaster — a brutal, large-scale assault on civilians, communities, and the very fabric of the Amhara region.
The human cost: civilians, families, and a people under siege
Behind every statistic is a shattered life — children without parents, survivors living with trauma, families buried under rubble, entire villages emptied.
In Merawi, one woman described soldiers dragging her husband into the street, demanding their baby, then killing him in front of his newborn.
Thousands of others now struggle to access food, shelter, medical care, or education. Health centres lie in ruins, roads are blocked, and many towns are cut off from aid.
Displaced families wander uncertain paths; many have lost their livelihoods, their homes, and any hope of returning soon.
The psychological toll — grief, fear, despair — is incalculable.
Impunity, silence and the world’s complicity
One of the most troubling aspects of this tragedy is the near-total impunity for perpetrators. Despite repeated calls from human rights organizations for investigations and accountability, few meaningful steps have been taken.
Access to the region is heavily restricted — internet blackouts, media bans, and security controls prevent independent reporting.
Meanwhile, the international community has not acted decisively. Warnings of genocide-risk and atrocity crimes by UN envoys remain largely unheeded.
For the victims in Amhara, that silence — from capitals, from human rights bodies, from global media — may be as deadly as bullets or drones.
Why this matters — and why we must care
The war in Amhara is not — or no longer — just a “local conflict.” It is a humanitarian crisis of a magnitude that challenges global norms. It raises fundamental questions about ethnic identity, citizenship, state power, and the protection owed to civilians in conflict.
If unchecked, history shows such violence tends to spiral — hatred deepens, divisions harden, displacement becomes permanent.
But worse: it risks becoming normalized. The world could soon treat bombing of civilians, recruitment of militias, terror by drones, and mass killings as “just another African war.”
We cannot — must not — let that become acceptable. Every innocent life lost is a failure of humanity. Every destroyed town, a failure of the global community.
What needs to happen now
Full, independent international investigation. The allegations of extrajudicial killings, drone strikes on civilians, sexual violence, mass displacement, and the destruction of infrastructure require thorough documentation. Bodies such as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN-HRC), the International Criminal Court (ICC), or a special tribunal should be empowered to investigate.
Humanitarian access and protection of civilians. Aid must reach those displaced and trapped by conflict. Medical workers, hospitals, schools, and civilians must be protected under international law.
International pressure and accountability. States, regional bodies, and global institutions must impose consequences — sanctions, arms embargoes, diplomatic pressure — on actors who violate human rights with impunity.
Support for survivors. Physical and psychological rehabilitation, rebuilding of communities, and safe return must become a priority.
Above all: we must not forget. Because to forget is to enable more killing — and betrayal of common humanity.
The war on Amhara is not over. But the story of their suffering, their loss, and their resilience deserves to be told — fully, honestly, and with global solidarity.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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A John Donson ‘Amara Activist’? Wait, is he one of ‘our black/white/etc. brothers-in-law’ married to Gojjamée/Gondèrée/etc.? Or, did Egypt & Co. run out of Ethiopian names for posting on Ethiopia-related sites posing as Ethiopians? Eritreans do just that very often!
As to Amaras, the Amaras in the Amara Zone went to the polls & elected their Amara leaders. Moreover, as requested by ≥ 100 Opposition Parties, the last election was held under on-site scrutiny by AU/UN/EU/US/etc. Abiy’s party won & elected Abiy as PM.
Σ: Insurrection against any Elected Government on Earth is Domestic Terrorism [DT]. DT must be dealt Mortal Blow to uphold democracy & get the people’s choice respected. It’s a no-brainer that Aiding & Abetting DT is DT. So, Domestic Terrorists & Abettors are Legitimate Targets of Ethiopian Law Enforcement & Ethiopian Defense Forces. No Mercy!!!
As you know free and fair elections were held under the EPRDF and then the country had a democratic government and stability- Your pay master Abiy Ahmed has destroyed the free institutions in the country and is realizing his dream of being a monarch as per his mother`s prophecy.
አንቺ ወያኔ – ቀልዱን ተይና – በታማኝ ወያኔነትሽ ከተሸለምሽው ወርቅ፣ ዶላር፣ ዩሮ፣ ምናምን – አንዳንድ ጆንያ ወደ NBE መልሺ! አሁን አንቺም – እንደ ክርስትያን – መሰቀል ትሳለምያለሽ? ድንቄም ክርስትና!
እየውልሽ:- If I need money, I have better options than Abiy. Do you remember the TPLF-Tigre Banker who cloned Ethiopia’s banks for TPLF and made TPLF leaders overnight Unemployed Illiterate Millionaires? I am talking about the same TPLF-Tigre who launched 4 or 5 banks and made the shareholders overnight millionaires, too.
Well, he was living in the adjacent apartment in Addis. We used to play funny tricks against each other. He wouldn’t hesitate to deposit at least a million in my account [if he ever finds me in any financial trouble]. Trust me on this! [He doesn’t even know where I am all these years! ]
ሁሉ ሰው እንዳንቺ – ከትግራይ ጫካ እና ከተንቤን በረሃ ዋሻ – የመጣ ይመስልሻል – አይደል? በይ በዚሁ ባበቃ ይሻላል! አንቺ ክፉ ልታናግሪኝ ነው! ዶማ ወያኔ!