Amhara Fano, a major rebel group in Ethiopia’s Amhara region has accused the government of waging a “genocidal war” against the Amhara people, in a response to the U.S. State Department’s latest human rights report on the country.
In a statement, the Amhara Fano National Force (AFNF) said that while it appreciated the 2024 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, it did not reflect the “sheer scale” or “severity” of abuses, which it claimed were perpetrated exclusively by the government and its allies.
“Over the past 27 months, the Abiy Ahmed led Prosperity Party regime has waged a genocidal war on the Amhara people of Ethiopia,” the Amhara Fano National Force statement read.
The group said that beyond the extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions mentioned in the U.S. report, the government and its allies have engaged in mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, weaponised sexual violence, and collective punishment by depriving people of essential services.
“These actions meet internationally recognized definitions of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide,” the statement said.
Amhara Fano: We took arms to ensure safety of our people
The AFNF, a unified organisation of Amhara Fano armed groups formed in May 2025, said it took up arms as a self-defence force to ensure the safety of its people. “We emphasize that our forces operate under strict codes of discipline and in adherence to international humanitarian law,” it stated.
The rebel group urged international human rights experts, governments, and institutions to “avoid false equivalencies” and ensure that reporting reflects what it called the “disproportionate nature of atrocities in this conflict.”
“Our organization unequivocally condemns any and all violations of human rights, and we are prepared to cooperate with international partners in conducting independent investigations into abuses committed in the scope of the war on Amhara and beyond,” the statement said.
It added that its struggle would continue until the current government is removed and the “Amhara Genocide is halted.”
