Oromo regional police officers wait in a pick up car during the Oromo new year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016. Several people were killed in a stampede near the Ethiopian capital on October 2, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. Several thousand people from the Oromo community gathered at a sacred lake for a religious festival and started to cross their wrists above their heads, a symbol of Oromo anti-government protests. The event quickly degenerated, with protesters throwing stones and bottles and security forces responding with baton charges and tear gas grenades. Together, Oromos and Amharas make up 60 percent of the population and have become increasingly vocal in rejecting what they see as the disproportionate power wielded by the northern Tigrean minority in government and the security forces. / AFP PHOTO / Zacharias ABUBEKERZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/AFP/Getty Images

Ethiopia declares state of emergency in Amhara region

On Aug 4, 2023

Ethiopian Council of Ministers is declaring a state of emergency in the country’s Amhara region after authorities pleaded for help as clashes intensify between regional forces and the military.

The prime minister’s office announced the decision on Friday after the region’s leader said regular law enforcement was no longer able to contain the violence.

The declaration needs approval from Parliament.

Ethiopia’s second most populous region has been gripped by instability since April, when federal authorities moved to disarm Amhara’s security forces following the end of the divesting two-year war in the neighbouring Tigray region.

Authorities last year also tried to dismantle the informal Amhara militia known as Fano.

This week, residents have reported fighting across the Amhara region as militia members attacked army units and protesters blocked roads.

Flights to two popular tourist towns, Lalibela and Gondar, have been suspended.

Internet access has also been affected.

A state of emergency likely means restrictions on movement and increased powers of detention.

Africanews/Hauwa M.