Ethiopia’s Amhara Fano National Front (AFNF) issued a statement Thursday claiming a “resounding triumph for humanity, truth and freedom” in a recent 17-day offensive against forces aligned with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party regime. The AFNF’s East Amhara Zone – Menelik Command announced the completion of “Operation Arbegna Adem Ali (Aba Nadew),” which it said took place between September 24 and October 10, 2025.
The operation, named after “freedom fighter Arbegna Adem ‘Aba Nadew’ Ali,” was attributed to the AFNF’s armed forces and allies across the Amhara heartland. The command described it as a “historic tactical victory” ushering in a new chapter for their armed resistance.
During the offensive, the Amhara Fano National Front claimed its forces “neutralized more than three thousand enemy combatants and captured close to seven hundred combatants,” leading to the “dissolving over five enemy military divisions and effectively dismantling the enemy’s military capacity in the region.” The statement also reported the capture of “a vast quantity of weapons, munitions, vehicles, supplies and equipment,” which it said bolstered the Amhara Fano National Front arsenal. The operation purportedly resulted in the “removal of occupying enemy forces in vast territories of eastern Amhara,” leading to the “liberation of these numerous administrative units and restoration of peace and security for the public.”
Amhara Fano says “Operation Aba Nadew” latest victory in its “resistance to genocide
The AFNF characterized “Operation Aba Nadew” as the latest victory in its “resistance to genocide, oppression and injustice” since the conflict began over two years ago. The group stated its representatives conducted “free and open public discussions in more than 40 towns and district localities,” aimed at broadening “free and democratic public administrations.” This follows the establishment of the Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habtewold Political Training Center, an institution set up to train future political leaders and “deradicalize the public from the regime’s extremist and hateful rhetoric.”
The Amhara Fano National Front also asserted its armed forces demonstrated “adherence to international laws, particularly in the treatment of prisoners of war,” reaffirming a resistance “centered on human dignity.” This claim contrasts with the group’s accusations that “the enemy has operated with impunity utilizing all weapons at their disposal – from heavy artillery to drones and jets – to inflict maximal suffering on civilian populations.” The statement further alleged “a recent sequence of mutilations perpetrated against female freedom fighters,” which it called a “symbol of the enemy’s disdain for humanity.”
The Amhara Fano National Front expressed hope that the international community would condemn “acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Abiy Ahmed regime’s forces,” and support their “just quest for peace, justice and freedom in Ethiopia.” The group also appealed to international partners for “humanitarian relief in free administrative territories to help communities who have suffered from severe and deliberate neglect.”
Fano Abebe Fentaw, Head of Public Relations for the AFNF Menelik Command, concluded the statement, asserting: “The Amhara people’s resistance to genocide will continue onward to victory and freedom!”
