The Ethiopian regime is accused of resorting to forced conscription, including children as young as 11, amid ongoing conflict in the Amhara region.
The Amhara resistance alleges that the government is forcibly recruiting and training young boys, even rounding up school children, to fight in a conflict they characterise as a “senseless act of aggression against the peaceful Amhara people.” They draw parallels with the final days of the Dergue regime, claiming that ordinary civilians are no longer safe to carry out their daily routines.
The resistance accuses the Ethiopian regime of gross human rights violations, including atrocities, killings, forced displacement, mass arrests, and torture against the Amhara people. They claim these actions have fuelled an armed resistance that has left the Abiy Ahmed regime “standing on its last leg.” They assert that the Fano resistance movement is gaining momentum due to both the fight against perceived injustice and the government’s alleged human rights abuses against Amhara civilians throughout the country.
Ethiopian Regime Aggression on Amhara Region Leaves a Trail of Blood
According to the Amhara resistance, the conflict’s casualty count and the suffering of the Amhara population dwarf the Tigray conflict, which resulted in over 600,000 deaths and over 10 million internally displaced civilians. The resistance argues that the Ethiopian regime, lacking voluntary conscripts, has turned to forced recruitment. They state the public views the conflict as an attack against the Amhara people.
Amhara politicians, reporters, journalists, and human rights organisations have all spoken out against the alleged injustices and violence occurring in the Amhara region.
The resistance states that peaceful protests and expressions of concern by Amhara representatives were met with a declaration to crush the Amharas within two weeks using brute force. They quote the Ethiopian army chief as saying, “not just their arms but we will take their trousers off” when the army moved into the Amhara region.
These statements, they claim, were followed by a state of emergency that placed the Amhara region under military blockade, restricting the movement of people, goods, and capital. The state of emergency, initially implemented for six months, was extended and, according to the resistance, has never officially been lifted.
The Amhara resistance maintains that Ethiopian regime military campaign against the Fano resistance fighters has yielded only chaos, bloodshed, and economic destruction.
They accuse the Ethiopian regime of having no respect for international law and of showing no willingness to end the military campaign, withdraw troops from the Amhara region, and pursue a political solution. They argue that there was never any justification for suppressing the Amhara people, whom they describe as “the guardians of Ethiopia” who have never risen up against any government to protect their interests. The Amhara resistance concludes that the alleged forced conscriptions are a sign that Abiy Ahmed’s regime’s “days are numbered.”
