An Amhara Fano rebel command said it killed more than 150 Ethiopian soldiers and seized 230 rifles during eight days of fighting in Gojjam.
Why it matters:
The statement, issued by the Tewodros Command of the Amhara Fano National Movement (AFNM), is one side’s account of an active war that outside monitors and journalists are largely barred from accessing. Independent confirmation of casualty and capture figures from either side is rarely possible.
The big picture:
The Amhara Fano insurgency began in April 2023 after the federal government moved to dissolve the Amhara regional special forces. The AFNM was formed in January 2026 by merging the two largest Fano factions into a single command. Fano claims to control most rural areas of Amhara, while federal forces hold major towns and highways. Both sides have a documented record of releasing disputed casualty tallies.
By the numbers:
The command’s claimed haul of captured materiel :
- 1 × 82mm mortar
- 1 × DShK heavy machine gun
- 8 × Bren light machine guns
- 5 × sniper rifles
- 230 × AK-pattern rifles
- 2 × Star pistols
- 7 × ICOM radios
- 5 × mortar baseplates and accessories
- 800 rounds of DShK ammunition
- 3,250 rounds of AK ammunition
- 42 × F1 hand grenades
- Additional unspecified equipment
Casualties Amhara Fano claims:
The command claimed it killed the commander of the 76th Division, named as Colonel Abera, along with Lieutenant Colonel Alemu, more than eight frontline officers, two battalion commanders and over 150 infantry soldiers. None of these deaths has been confirmed by the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) or independent sources. However, ENDF claimed to have killed 230 Fano fighters.
What they’re saying:
The statement was issued as a written communiqué and contained no attributable direct quotes from a named spokesperson. The ENDF had not responded publicly to the specific claims at the time of writing.
What’s next for Amhara Fano:
The command said its forces were continuing to fight across Gojjam and claimed fighting had spread to Wollo, Gondar and Shewa. These are claims of ongoing operations, not confirmed scheduled events.
The bottom line:
An Amhara Fano rebel command says it inflicted heavy losses on Ethiopian forces over eight days in Gojjam, but the figures come from one party to the war and remain unverified. The claims fit a wider pattern of escalating, hard-to-confirm reporting from both sides of the Amhara conflict.
