The Amhara Association of America (AAA) has strongly denounced the Ethiopian National Defense Force’s (ENDF) ongoing forced conscription of young men and minors across the Amhara Region, parts of Oromia, and Addis Ababa. In an official statement, the organization labeled these actions as war crimes and urged international governments, human rights organizations, and media outlets to intervene in stopping what it describes as a desperate attempt by the Ethiopian government to replenish its ranks following battlefield losses.
AAA’s field investigators have documented extensive military roundups of civilians, often carried out violently and indiscriminately. Young men have reportedly been abducted from public spaces such as streets, coffee shops, markets, and religious institutions. In some cases, entire neighborhoods have been cordoned off and subjected to house-by-house searches. Reports from multiple cities, including Woldia, Debre-Tabor, Ibnat, Shewa-Robit, Hayk, Bahir-Dar, Addis-Ababa, and Nazreth, suggest a highly coordinated effort by regime forces—including federal police, riot units, local administrators, and state militias—to forcibly conscript civilians into military service.
Most disturbing, AAA has verified reports from Hayk city confirming that children under the age of 18 are among those being forcibly taken. Parents who have attempted to intervene or plead for the release of their sons have reportedly been met with beatings from military commanders and state militia leaders.
AAA asserts that this conscription campaign is not intended for national security purposes but is instead a direct result of significant battlefield losses suffered by the ENDF in its ongoing conflict with Fano militias and other Amhara resistance groups. According to AAA, this forced recruitment effort reflects the regime’s dwindling military capabilities and desperation to reinforce its ranks after catastrophic defeats.
With recruitment efforts ramping up, reports indicate that young people across the Amhara Region—including South Gonder, West Gojjam, and South Wollo—are fleeing their homes or going into hiding to avoid conscription. Those without financial means to bribe their way out of recruitment are being detained in makeshift camps, where they later face forced transfer to military training centers without legal due process.
AAA has labeled this campaign a war crime, particularly in light of its deliberate targeting of minors and its use of coercion, deception, and violence. The association points to broader crimes against humanity being committed by the Ethiopian government, including drone strikes on civilians, destruction of educational infrastructure, and starvation tactics—many of which disproportionately impact the Amhara population.
AAA warns that the mass forced conscription campaign is escalating Ethiopia’s political and humanitarian crisis. The association argues that rather than stabilizing the country, the Ethiopian government is pushing it closer to disintegration and civil collapse.
AAA has also taken aim at international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, accusing them of financially enabling the Ethiopian government’s actions. Despite extensive documentation of human rights abuses, these institutions have continued providing billions of dollars in funding to the Ethiopian government, effectively allowing it to continue its forced conscription campaign and war efforts.
According to AAA, global silence in the face of these abuses is not neutrality—it is complicity. The organization argues that the continued financial support of institutions like the World Bank and IMF is prolonging Ethiopia’s humanitarian crisis and emboldening the regime to escalate its brutality.
AAA is calling for immediate international action to halt forced conscription and hold those responsible accountable. The association is urging global governments, human rights groups, and media outlets to break their silence and actively intervene.
“This is not a matter of national defense but rather an act of desperation by a regime scrambling to prolong a genocidal war,” AAA stated. The group warns that without urgent global attention, the situation in Ethiopia will continue deteriorating, leading to further suffering and instability.
