Ethiopia (Tigray)

Two weeks after irregular militia fighters called the Fano seized several towns and cities in Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-biggest region, the barricades have been cleared from the streets and an uneasy calm has been restored by the federal military. The fighting was the fiercest to grip Ethiopia since a November ceasefire ended the two-year conflict in the next-door region of Tigray.

An international human rights body focused on Ethiopia has voiced deep concerns over the worsening security situation in the northwest of the country, particularly in the Amhara region.

The military’s success in Gondar, Amahara’s second biggest city, is the first significant breakthrough for federal forces, who were overrun by Fano militiamen there and in some other towns when fighting broke out in early August.

Ethiopia's Federal Government on Friday declared a "state of emergency" as violent clashes escalate between the national army and local fighters from the northern region of Amhara.

Ethiopia's military has clashed with fighters from a militia in the Amhara region, residents said on Wednesday, in an escalation of a simmering feud between the two former allies … .

Ten of thousands of fighters who took part in the civil war in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray have been demobilised - in line with a peace agreement reached last November. A senior figure in Tigray’s interim administration said more than 55,000 former fighters had been sent home to their communities.

Rebel fighters in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray Region began demobilizing on Friday, marking a new stage in the implementation of a peace deal signed by the federal government and regional authorities, according to media outlets close to both sides.

The U.N. World Food Programme has paused food distribution in Ethiopia's war-ravaged Tigray region in response to reports that significant amounts of aid were being diverted, the agency said.

[…] The announcement comes just a day after parliament removed the TPLF from an official list of terrorist organisations, a move it said would help bolster the November 2022 agreement between the rebels and the federal government.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Ethiopia to "deepen the peace" in its war-torn north, as he announced a $331-million aid package to the country during a visit aimed at repairing relations shaken by the two-year conflict.