ADDIS ABABA, May 23 – Ethiopian authorities have arrested more than 4,000 people in the northern Amhara region, local state media said on Monday, as part of a broader crackdown on militia fighters, critics and the press.
Gizachew Muluneh, Amhara regional government spokesman and federal government spokesman Legesse Tulu, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrests.
More than 200 of the suspects are accused of murder, Amhara’s state security officer Desalegne Tasew told Amhara Media Corporation, accusing them of conducting “illegal activities” on behalf of paramilitary group Fano. It was not clear why the others were detained.
A general view shows a street in Dessie town, Amhara region, Ethiopia October 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Tasew produced no evidence to support the murder allegations. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Amhara is the second most populous region in Ethiopia and a key constituency for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Amhara troops and the Fano militia supported Abiy’s federal forces against rebel forces in northern Tigray when fighting erupted there in 2020, but relations between some senior Amhara officials and the central government have since deteriorated.
Reporting from Nairobi Newsroom Editor by James Macharia Chege