By: Yitayal Andualem Ademe

Since the armed struggle broke out in the Amhara region in August 2023 following Abiy’s regime declaration of war, its forces have committed serious crimes in several areas. Thousands of civilians were killed, jailed, displaced, kidnapped, and displaced by its troops and women, elders and children were victims of it. 

At every corner of the Amhara region where Abiy’s forces were present, they committed several crimes. For example, the summary execution of civilians in Merawi, a town in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. House-to-house searching and extrajudicial killing are common practices of Abiy’s forces. 

There is strong evidence that soldiers received the command to target civilians to frustrate them not opposing the regime. But the thing is reverse, when Abiy’s troops massively killed civilians, it motivated further public anger and resistance.

Drone attacks and heavy shelling against civilians have been common practices of the regime since the war embarked on. The government collects taxpayer funds and borrows money from donors by the name of its people, but the regime buys drones and other weapons to hit the people back.

All acts that Abiy’s regime is doing are an act of state gangsters and terrorist acts on its people. The government declared war against the people of Amhara to make them weak and poor who could not be a potential danger to his power. This is the fact behind the ongoing war but the regime is trying to use various coverups.  

The regime declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region in early August 2023, which was planned in practice for six months. However, the government was forced to extend it for six months due to challenges to normalise it back by force.

The ongoing emergency state will terminate after a few days having Abiy’s forces perpetuated further gross crimes. The people of  Amhara turned their faces against the regime and supported the Fano freedom fighters. It makes the regime angry, and then killing and jailing people to silence by violence.

Dictator Abiy is now transporting regional forces from other parts of the country to the Amhara region, hoping to dismantle resistance before the ongoing emergency expires, to relieve international pressure. However, it is unlikely plan but that its troops will commit massive crimes against civilians.

The regime appears perplexed about extending the state of emergency for the third time, or symbolically lifting it while continuing to violate human rights as usual. The government is in a hurry to distract the region instead of construction.

The regime is recruiting underage people for the military against international law. The regime’s massive recruitment of people to be troops was aimed at replacing soldiers killed during the war in Tigray and the ongoing war in the Amhara region.  

The regime bans journalists from travelling to the Amhara region and has cut its internet to hide the atrocity crimes that it has been committing against civilians.  After all of this, the regime freely committed serious crimes.

Beyond the crimes committed in the Amhara region by Abiy’s forces, Ethnic Amhara particularly in Addis Ababa and Oromia are under target because of ethnicity. Abiy made public hate speeches against ethnic Amhara in his meetings held in Oromia.    

Formal and informal detention camps mainly in Addis Ababa and Oromia are choked with ethnic Amhara without any charge and court hearings for several months. Harassment and torture in detention centres are day-to-day activities of the regime.

In general, it is unlikely for the regime to be accepted as a government by the people of Amhara. Abiy’s regime entirely lost acceptance but struggled to stay in power by force. The people of Amhara are defending themselves to survive as Amhara and continue as Ethiopia. So, the Abiy regime should go if peace is needed in Ethiopia.