Ethiopia’s Amhara people are being portrayed as the enemy: the dangerous history of ethnic politics
The ConversationSep 06, 2023
Amhara: Ethiopian Troops Accused of Killing Civilians
Image copyright: AMISON/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
Multiple witnesses have claimed that Ethiopian soldiers killed over 70 civilians and looted properties in Majete, a rural town in the northeastern Amhara region, since occupying it on Sept. 3.
The alleged atrocities occurred during house-to-house searches after the regional Fano militia reportedly attacked a position of the federal forces, prompting hours-long fighting between both sides.
The Spin
Narrative A
The Amhara people have long been treated as foreigners and national enemies. Still, the Abiy government has escalated this decades-long rhetoric to the next level by sanctioning widespread violence against them. If the international community fails to intervene, a Rwanda-style genocide may soon happen in Ethiopia.
Narrative B
While it's a matter of fact that innocent lives have been lost and properties destroyed and looted in clashes to liberate areas under the control of the non-state regional Fano militia and restore peace and order in Amhara, only an investigation per the constitutional system can determine who committed these atrocities.
Nerd narrative
There's a 35% chance that Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed will experience a significant leadership disruption before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.