The bodies of three young women, aged 17, 18, and 19, were discovered shot to death in a remote area known as “Tija goter megenteya” in the Debre Elias district of the eastern Gojjam zone. The discovery followed a period of intense captivity in an area currently under the control of the Amhara Fano National Force. According to district peace and security head Dems Alemu and state communications official Mulat Munye, the women were found after local residents alerted authorities to the killings. The victims have been identified by local officials and family members as simple day laborers who had been working in the sesame harvest and as waitresses. One of the victims was reportedly deaf, a fact that has drawn significant attention to the impossibility of the accusations leveled against her by her captors.
The Amhara Fano National Force, through its Central Command member Asres Mare Damte, has openly admitted to the executions, claiming the women were engaged in a long-term espionage mission for the enemy. The militants used social media platforms to distribute videos of the women “confessing” to tracking military movements in Kebeles such as Demba, Neck, and Jantekel. However, these confessions are being widely dismissed by those who knew the victims. Family members and local officials argue that the women were kidnapped and held for over six weeks, during which they were subjected to relentless beatings and torture to force them into making false statements on camera. Relatives specifically mentioned that the victims were not politicians or soldiers but vulnerable young women who were suffered through a month and a half of imprisonment before they were killed.
The justification provided by the Fano leadership for these murders is particularly alarming and shows a total disregard for legal norms. Asres Mare Damte stated that the group follows its own internal constitution, which mandates the death penalty for anyone they accuse of espionage. He further claimed that international laws regarding the treatment of prisoners of war do not apply in this case because the women were not captured during a “shootout,” but were instead detainees. This logic is a transparent attempt to bypass the universal prohibition against extrajudicial killings. Under international law, the summary execution of detainees—especially a minor and a person with a disability—is a war crime. By claiming their own militant rules supersede established human rights, the group is essentially admitting to operating a lawless system of violence where they act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Furthermore, there are disturbing allegations regarding the treatment of the women prior to their deaths. While Fano leadership denies any sexual assault took place, district security officials reported that the women were victims of multiple acts of violence. The contrast between the militants’ claims of a “free interview” and the families’ reports of severe physical suffering suggests a brutal attempt to sanitize what was an act of extreme cruelty. Executing three unarmed teenagers under the guise of military intelligence is not a legitimate act of defense; it is a calculated atrocity. The targeting of civilians who are unable to defend themselves, coupled with the open dismissal of international humanitarian standards, highlights a terrifying trend of unchecked militant violence in the Amhara region.
Would you like me to look into whether any international human rights organizations have officially documented this specific incident or called for an independent investigation?
