Zemene Kassie, leader of Amhara Fano in Gojjam, publicly called on Fano groups to unite under a single Amhara Fano front earlier this week and explicitly signalled willingness to coordinate with the Amhara People’s Fano Organization led by Eskinder Nega. Days after that appeal, channels linked to the Amhara Fano National Force (AFNF) announced the start of a martyrs campaign, the first of its kind since the end of “Operation Unity” earlier this year which saw both of the Fano organizations participate heavily. Marshet Tsehaye — identified by AFNF as head of public communications for the Gojjam faction, one of the four groups that formed the AFNF earlier this year — told local outlets the coalition had recorded “massive gains” during the operation.
According to the AFNF communique circulated on local media and social channels, the engagement began in the evening and lasted into the night. The statement describes a tactical action that, the group says, resulted in the capture of personnel and significant amounts of materiel as well as heavy losses to opposing forces. The AFNF’s account lists the following as captured or seized: three machine guns, one sniper, eighteen AK-47 rifles, 8,700 rounds of AK-47 ammunition together with additional ammunition and money, 108 items of military equipment, and four belts of machine-gun ammunition. The communique also reports 70 fatalities and more than 30 wounded among the opposing forces. Figures are presented here exactly as reported by AFNF spokespeople and are completely rejected by pro-government outlets.
The statement credits coordinated leadership and a concentrated assault for the outcome described by AFNF. Marshet Tsehaye framed the operation as part of a broader campaign the coalition calls a martyr’s campaign and said the action demonstrates increased operational coordination among the factions that formed AFNF earlier this year. Observers monitoring the movement of Fano-aligned groups have noted repeated public calls for unity among commanders.
Independent verification of the specific casualty and materiel figures cited in the AFNF release is not yet available. Government spokespeople and independent monitoring groups have in prior clashes offered differing accounts of battlefield outcomes.
