National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) has called on all parties to end the violence in Ethiopia’s second largest region as clashes continue to be reported since last week.
Since August the region has been a hotbed of violence with regional armed groups battling government forces. A state of emergency has since been declared and internet services are cut off.
Last week, violence was reported in the town of Woldia in the region’s North Wolo zone where a large number of prisoners reportedly escaped after an attack by armed groups.
Drone strikes have repeatedly been reported in the past few months. The UN has earlier said it was alarmed by civilian casualties in these attacks. While the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported widespread sexual abuses accompanying the attacks.
The region had also been one of the three in northern Ethiopia affecting by a deadly conflict for two years until late last year. The region was still reeling from the impacts of the war when the latest round of violence broke out, NaMA’s statement said.
The party which has one ministerial position has called on both the government and armed groups operating in the region to address issues through dialogue.
While Ethiopia has managed to silence the guns through a peace agreement in the northernmost Tigray region, it hasn’t been able to replicate that success in Oromia where recent peace negotiations ended without a result.
