Official Communication from the Amhara Fano National Force in Response to the Statement Issued by the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa
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Official Communication from the Amhara Fano National Force in Response to the Statement Issued by the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa
We, the leadership of the Amhara Fano National Force (AFNF), welcome the 23 May 2025 statement issued by the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa and extends its appreciation to Ambassador Ervin Massinga for his continued engagement on the grave situation unfolding in Ethiopia. The AFNF representing the vast majority of the Amhara Fano self-defense force affirm our steadfast commitment to stopping the Abiy Ahmed led Prosperity Party regime’s genocidal war on the Amhara people of Ethiopia.
First and foremost, we, the AFNF, commend the Embassy’s reaffirmation of the need for lasting solutions to the war on Amhara that prioritize the safety, dignity, and well-being of all Ethiopian citizens. We appreciate the Embassy’s emphasis on responding to the country’s pressing humanitarian crisis including restoring access to education and healthcare. These are concerns that AFNF shares deeply, as they reflect the lived reality of countless civilians, particularly in the Amhara Region. We wish, in this regard, to emphasize the urgent need for cessation of aerial attacks and other forms of violence that place civilian lives at risk. Drone and air strikes carried out by the Abiy regime have been used indiscriminately, killing thousands of civilians across the Amhara Region and surrounding areas. These attacks have struck schools, health centers, marketplaces, religious sites, and residential areas, inflicting widespread trauma and destruction on the populace. We therefore welcome the Ambassador calling for urgent accountability while stressing the necessity of putting pressure on the regime to halt such indiscriminate and genocidal operations and ensure accountability for their devastating consequences.
The AFNF aligns itself with the core humanitarian concerns articulated in the statement and shares the Embassy’s alarm over the deteriorating human rights conditions across the country. The Ethiopian people, particularly Amharas, have borne the brunt of systematic genocide, ethnic cleansing, displacement, weaponized sexual violence, profiling and arrests, torture, man-made famine, and various other forms of violence and repression. We respectfully observe, however, that the statement might have gone further in addressing the specific character and severity of the atrocities being perpetrated against the Amhara population. We take this opportunity to convey our considered view that the actions of the Abiy regime in the Amhara Region and elsewhere constitute not only war crimes and crimes against humanity but also form part of a longstanding pattern of genocide. This pattern, manifested through targeted attacks, forced displacements, and systemic neglect, is an extension of genocidal violence dating back decades, particularly in Welkait Tegede Setit Humera (Gonder), Raya (Wollo), Dera (Shewa), Metekel (Gojjam), various districts in the “Oromia” Region and elsewhere in the country.
The AFNF entered into armed resistance only after decades of peaceful struggle to no avail. These years of nonviolent efforts, amid the ongoing genocide against the Amhara people, proved unsuccessful and were ultimately perceived as a sign of weakness and a license to continue the genocide. As evidence of this when millions across more than 30 cities and towns in Amhara Region demonstrated for an end to the Amhara Genocide in April 2023 the Abiy regime responded by shooting and killing unarmed protesters and by the end of the month announced his military operation against the Amhara people. Within this context, we are deeply concerned by the suggestion, however implicit and unintended, that Fano lacks clear or realistic objectives. Honorable Ambassador, with utmost respect: what objective could be more legitimate or more realistic than the survival of a people under threat of extermination? We wish to restate that our objective is the preservation of life in the face of an existential threat. Fano comprises citizens from all sectors of society: farmers, teachers, medical professionals, university lecturers, and journalists, individuals who have taken up the burden of resistance not by choice, but out of necessity. They are compelled by the moral obligation to shield their communities from genocidal violence, which, in our view, the state has not only failed to prevent but is the primary perpetrator.
Notwithstanding these concerns, we take this opportunity to reaffirm the AFNF’s commitment to peace. We firmly believe that sustainable peace in Ethiopia requires a transitional political framework and the initiation of a credible, inclusive national dialogue. Such a process must be transparent and genuinely representative of Ethiopia’s diverse peoples and voices. We respectfully call upon the United States, as a valued partner of the Ethiopian people and a global proponent of democratic values, to support this objective. In this regard, we urge the U.S. government to deploy all appropriate diplomatic instruments, including targeted sanctions, to end the violence and facilitate a transition toward inclusive governance and justice.
Taking the above into consideration, while reiterating our desire for genuine peace we emphasize the Abiy regime’s lack of credibility and proclivity for violence, conspiracy and deceit as major obstacles to a credible peace process. For these reasons, the AFNF raises the following preconditions which would promote trust and create a stronger foundation in pursuit of a peace settlement in Amhara Region. These preconditions include but are not limited to the following:
Immediate cessation of military hostilities and withdrawal of federal allied forces including the national defense force from the Amhara Region and dissolution of all Prosperity Party offices, dismissal of political and security officials in Amhara Region coupled with a peaceful transfer of power to a transitional administration wholly mediated by Fano;
Unhindered access for international human rights organizations—including a United Nations-mandated investigative team—to conduct thorough, impartial investigations into atrocities committed in the region. These investigations must be followed by concrete accountability measures to bring perpetrators to justice;
Immediate and unconditional release of all Amhara political prisoners detained for their identity and/or political beliefs, as well as family members of Fano members taken hostage by the regime;
Resumption of telecommunications, internet, electricity, water, banking and services in all areas of Amhara Region;
Removal of any and all transportation restrictions within Amhara Region and passageways to neighboring regions including the federal capital of Addis Ababa city;
Resumption and unhindered passage of humanitarian relief including adequate nutrition, shelter, medicine and other provisions to communities in need across Amhara Region including internally displaced persons (genocide survivors);
Formal recognition of the decades-long Amhara Genocide including atrocities constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated during the current war throughout Ethiopia;
Formal recognition of formerly contested identity and border demarcations in Amhara-majority districts annexed to neighboring regions including but not limited to Welkait Tegede Setit Humera (Gonder), Raya (Wollo), Metekel (Gojjam), and Dera (Shewa) along with the repatriation of displaced communities;
Protection and respect of basic human and legal rights for Amhara communities and their properties throughout Ethiopia.
Lastly, we, the AFNF, reaffirm our unwavering adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law. Since the onset of the war on Amhara our forces have operated with utmost discipline and restraint to minimize collateral casualties and damages including in our treatment of prisoners of war. Our struggle for the safety and dignity of the Amhara people is rooted in fundamental legal and moral principles, and we remain open to constructive engagement with the United States government and other international partners. We welcome opportunities for continued dialogue, including discussions of our policy commitments and vision for a peaceful and democratic Ethiopia beyond the current crisis.
Respectfully,
Amhara Fano National Force (AFNF)
