State Of Emergency Declared in Ethiopia Following Militia Clashes
The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency in Amhara region following days of clashes between the military and local Fano militiamen.
The fight in Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-largest region, started earlier this week and has now quickly become the country’s most serious security crisis.
Things took a bad turn when Amhara’s regional government requested additional help from federal authorities to reimpose order on Thursday.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed released a statement saying the state of emergency was declared because things were out of control.
“It was found necessary to declare a state of emergency as it had become difficult to control this outrageous activity based on the regular legal system,” read the statement.
Following the state of emergency declaration, there will be no public gatherings. The government will also impose curfews.
Violent protests erupted across Amhara in April after the Prime Minister ordered that security forces from Ethiopia’s 11 regions be integrated into the police or national army.
This decision was met with vehement opposition as protesters too to the streets saying the order was meant to weaken Amhara
Since coming to power in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tried to centralise power in a country with 11 regions that each enjoy a measure of autonomy.
The United States and Canada have already advised their citizens in Amhara to take shelter.
