Armed conflict between Ethiopian federal government forces and Fano, a fragmented insurgency of militia groups claiming to fight for the interests of the Amhara people, erupted in April 2023 following years of deteriorating relations between regional militias and the central government. The insurgency has since escalated into one of Ethiopia's most serious armed conflicts, with no signs of resolution as of 2026.
The origins of the conflict lie in the aftermath of the Tigray war. Between 2020 and 2022, various Fano militia groups fought alongside the Ethiopian federal government during that conflict. However, the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement that ended the Tigray war included provisions requiring the dismantling and integration of regional special forces into national police and army structures. For Amhara's militia groups, this meant surrendering autonomous regional operations to central government control.
The implementation of these integration requirements proved deeply unpopular in the Amhara region. The process sidelined Amhara militia groups and strained their relationship with the federal government, sparking widespread protests beginning in April 2023 that soon escalated into armed clashes.
The situation deteriorated significantly beginning in August 2023. On August 1 that year, Fano militia and the Ethiopian National Defense Force clashed in multiple locations across Amhara. The government declared a six-month state of emergency on August 4, 2023, later renewed for an additional four months when it expired in November 2023. By August 2023, Fano forces had also launched a full-scale, coordinated effort to seize control of major cities throughout the region.
As of 2026, the conflict has shown no signs of subsiding. Federal forces have continued aerial strikes on towns in the North Shewa, North Gondar, and parts of the Wollo areas of Amhara region, while Fano militia formations have expanded the geographic scope of their operations. The conflict has displaced more than 100,000 people and forced 4.7 million children out of school.
