The family home of Amhara Fano Gojam Commander Fano zemene kassie was reportedly destroyed in a midnight drone strike by the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), according to eyewitnesses who spoke to DNE Africa.
“These incidents are not separated,” the eyewitnesses said, stating that previously, more than 100 of the family of zemene kassie cattle were stolen and taken to an ENDF camp.
They also referenced a similar incident last week in Gondar where the house of Fano Baye Kenahu’s family was allegedly doused with fuel and set on fire by ENDF forces.
According to the eyewitnesses, “ENDF is burning down Fano’s family’s house when group attacks.”
They also stated that several families of group’s commanders are imprisoned, with authorities allegedly blaming them for their children’s involvement with Fano.
In a separate incident, eyewitnesses told DNE Africa that on 17 January, in Wolo Zone, Lasta District, Dabko Kebele, Ethiopian soldiers allegedly poured fuel on the house of an elderly man named Augchew Muche and set it ablaze.
“As the old man said, ‘I had a religious holiday and I threw a party. They said the food that was going to eat for Fano, so they destroyed the food and set my house on fire,’ ” the eyewitnesses recounted.
The Fano militia, described as a “self-defence” force, took up arms against the state after authorities attempted to disarm them. The group’s emergence has been attributed to longstanding grievances among the Amhara people, who have experienced what they describe as decades of systemic marginalisation, mass killings, and displacement in various parts of the country.
It represents an armed manifestation of these grievances, with a stated aim of establishing a new social order characterised by equality among all groups, respect for individual rights, the rule of law, and democracy. The group’s members feel that the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been unwilling or unable to address their marginalization.
