Photo of purported Amhara refugees (provided by Endrias Negussa)

SNA (Glasgow) — Activists supporting the Amhara people of Ethiopia are warning that their ethnic group is facing a “hidden genocide” due to the historical and territorial grievances of rival political factions.

The Amharas are Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group with a population of almost 27 million people, more than a quarter of the nation. In earlier years they formed the ruling group of Ethiopia in spite of their minority status.

Although Amharas include both urban and rural populations with diverse characteristics, they are bound by their Semitic Amharic language and have gradually become a more united political force in the decades since they were toppled from their traditional dominance.

Indeed, it is partly their former elite status which puts Amharas at risk today due to lingering memories of oppression cultivated by rival ethnic groups within the country.

Endrias Negussa, media coordinator for the Amhara Task Force (ATF) United Kingdom, an advocacy group, argues that the main goals of the Amhara political bloc are to ensure their control over their home region and to protect the lives and property of Amharas who live in other parts of Ethiopia.

The Oromo people, who replaced the Amharas at the top of the Ethiopian political system, are seen as a major threat. There are over 34 million Oromos, making up over a third of the national population.

However, Negussa sees another minority group, the Tigrayans, who make up only about 6% of the national population, as a special territorial threat to the Amhara home region.

The Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), which is the undisputed political representative of this ethnic group, recently concluded a peace agreement with the federal government after several years of engaging in a brutal but ultimately unsuccessful independence bid.

For Amharas, a small northern region called Welkait is a major concern. This territory was historically a land controlled by the Amharas, but in the 1990s authority over it was transferred to the Tigrayan regional administration. This was possible because the TPLF held the reins of power within Ethiopia’s central government at that time.

In 2020, a local Amhara militia called the Fano seized back the Welkait, and since then the region has lain in legal limbo. The federal government has yet to propose a territorial settlement.

During the period of Tigrayan ascendancy in the disputed territory, there were many reports of ethnic cleansing policies carried out against the Amhara population. These measures included forced displacement of Amhara civilians, random arrests, attacks on community leaders, and official restrictions on the Amharic language and culture.

On the other hand, recent UN investigations have found that under Fano rule has produced abuses running in the other direction. For example, the international organization reports that, through “harassment, ethnic profiling, and direct threats,” around 47,000 Tigrayans have been displaced by the Amhara militia.

For his part, Negussa vehemently denies such reports, claiming that “all ethnicities have the right to live” under the new Amhara regional administration.

As regards a future settlement, Negussa believes that Amharas will “never surrender” the territory back to the TPLF.

The bilateral Amhara-Tigray conflict is also faces complications from the federal government, now led by the Oromia Prosperity Party.

Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced plans to centralize Ethiopia’s various regional security forces. This move, which the government claims that it is in the process of successfully implementing, includes the integration of militia groups like the Fano into the official Ethiopian armed forces, taking them out of the hands of the Amhara regional administration.

This federal government initiative has not gone down well with many Amharas. The announcement sparked skirmishes between Amhara and Oromo troops, and produced protests across the Amhara region in which some people have been killed and injured.

Despite this violent reaction, Prime Minister Ahmed has remained steadfast in his determination to enforce his new policy even if “a price has to be paid.”

Negussa sees these centralization polices as part of an Oromo power grab. In an official ATF statement sent to governments and international organizations, it is asserted that this move intentionally makes the Amhara “vulnerable to full-scale genocide,” especially in the disputed territory of Welkait.

While some observers reject the “genocide” description, it is incontestable that human rights abuses against the Amharas have been growing in recent years.

Most infamously, hundreds of Amhara civilians were massacred in the village of Mai Kandra, Tigray, in 2020. Following an independent investigation by several international bodies, the brutal attack was attributed to Tigrayan youths, local police, and militias acting on behalf of the TPLF.

Further investigations were blocked on the grounds that they supposedly “belittled the government.”

Ethiopia “doesn’t need a babysitter” commented Redwan Hussein, the country’s national security adviser.

Last July, a similarly brutal attack was carried out in the village of Tole Kebele, killing more the four hundred Amharas. This attack occurred within the Oromia region, home to the Oromo ethnic group, and it was carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army, a militant wing of the prime minister’s party.

According to Amnesty International, local government troops were alerted but did not intervene during the five hour massacre. Amnesty’s Senior Director of Regional Human Rights Impact Deprose Muchena blamed  a “pervasive culture of impunity driving cycles of violence.”

In Negussa’s words, it was a “slaughter in broad daylight,” which he fears is a sign of things to come.

Other forms of oppression targeting Amharas have also been documented by both national and international organizations.

Negussa provided Shingetsu News Agency with harrowing individual testimonies, including graphic photos and videos, of a host of alleged atrocities committed against the Amhara. We are unable to verify their authenticity at this juncture.

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