ADDIS ABABA — Armed fighters from Ethiopia’s Fano movement say they have captured more than 10 military trucks carrying ammunition, machine guns and mortar shells following clashes in the Amhara region.
Al Jazeera reported on September 26 that the claims were accompanied by video footage released by the group. The footage reportedly shows military vehicles and weapons that Fano fighters say were seized during recent fighting. The claims have not been independently verified.
The reported clashes come amid a broader escalation in northern Ethiopia following the formation of a new alliance of seven armed groups seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The alliance, known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo Liberation Army and other armed movements from different parts of Ethiopia.
Fighting has recently spread across parts of Tigray, Amhara and Afar, with federal forces and armed groups engaging in renewed clashes. Tigrayan forces have also reportedly seized several airports, disrupting air travel in the region.
The latest developments mark a significant shift in Ethiopia’s political and military landscape, bringing together groups that were previously on opposing sides during the 2020–2022 Tigray war.
The Ethiopian government has accused the new alliance of seeking to destabilize the country, while members of the coalition say they are responding to what they describe as political and security grievances under the federal government. The government and the armed groups have presented conflicting accounts of the recent fighting.
The escalation has raised concerns about a wider conflict in northern Ethiopia, particularly as the new alliance brings together armed movements with different political objectives and histories of conflict.
For now, the reported capture of the military vehicles and weapons remains a claim by Fano fighters, and independent confirmation of the battlefield developments is limited.
