The situation in Ethiopia, particularly in the Amhara region, is dire and marked by widespread human rights abuses, including mass detentions, extrajudicial killings, and ethnic profiling of ethnic Amhara people. The federal government's actions have led to a cycle of violence and retaliation, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict. The international community has expressed concern over the targeting of civilians and called for independent investigations into the atrocities. The escalating violence and loss of innocent lives underscore the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ethiopia to prevent further bloodshed and suffering.

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“I asked my sister to dress in black to express our
grief but she came with a machine gun to defend.”
The federal government, ruled by the prosperity party, is conducting unprecedented mass de-
tentions and ethnic profiling of ethnic Amhara people. For over months now, hundreds of
thousands of Amharas are in concentration camps across Ethiopia.
According to an Al Jazeera report on February 13, 2024, Ethiopia’s federal security forces killed
at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara state in late January. The independent state-affiliat-
ed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) stated on February 06, 2024, that it had con-
firmed the identity of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government secu-
rity forces for allegedly supporting the ethnic Amhara armed group Fano. The report estimated
that the number of victims is even higher. The killings in the Amhara town of Merawi follow
months of clashes last year between Ethiopia’s military and Fano, a self-defense organization
with no publicly known command structure that draws volunteers from the local population.
The fighting prompted the federal government to impose a state of emergency in August, which
politicians extended by four months in February 2024. There has also been a rise in deadly
drone activity in the region. Government conducted airstrikes and shelling in various areas
resulting in civilian casualties and damage to residential areas and public spaces that were doc-
umented by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. For instance, in Bahir Dar, the regional
state capital, civilians have been killed on the streets or outside their homes, and some individ-
uals have been specifically targeted for searches, beatings, and killings. Similarly, drone strikes
by government forces have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians in different parts of
Amhara regional state towns, villages, and cities.
In mid-February 2024, different countries expressed their concern about targeting civilians.
The United States said it was deeply concerned by reports of targeted civilian killings in Merawi
and called for an independent investigation. Since the coming of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, being Am-
hara means a ‘death sentence’ everywhere, especially in Oromia regional states where millions
have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) and thousands of Amharas have been saluted
and massacred.

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After civilians were attacked by government forces, many children, women, elders, and youth
died, creating a sense of self-defense and victimization. According to some informants who lost
two family members, “I asked my sister to dress in black to express our grief but she came with
a machine gun to defend.” Targeting civilians has aggravated civilians to join Amhara Fano
militant groups.
In conclusion, the situation in Ethiopia, particularly in the Amhara region, is dire and marked
by widespread human rights abuses, including mass detentions, extrajudicial killings, and eth-
nic profiling of ethnic Amhara people. The federal government’s actions have led to a cycle
of violence and retaliation, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict. The international
community has expressed concern over the targeting of civilians and called for independent
investigations into the atrocities. The escalating violence and loss of innocent lives underscore
the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ethiopia to prevent further bloodshed
and suffering.

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“I asked my sister to dress in black to express our
grief but she came with a machine gun to defend.”