APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The prominent founder of the rebel Guna Brigade of Fano forces was killed in a shootout with federal forces.
Sources tell APA that Major Wubante Abate was killed in Dera district, Gelawdewos area following a day-long battle against government forces deployed in the area.
Major Abate once served in the Ethiopian federal police force but later left and became a businessman who was leading a successful life according to those close to him.
Abate eventually abandoned his business and left his family to join the movement to reverse the existential threat to the Amhara people, as Fano forces describe it.
After suffering recurring military losses on the battlefield, the government resorted to a strategy of divide and conquer which prompted him to form a well-paid ethnic Amhara militia forces.
The war in the Amhara region began eight months ago after as federal troops attempted to disarm Fano fighters.
There has been resistance in the region to disarm while the TPLF force still has more than 270,000 armed forces.
The Fano rebel command in Gondar released a statement on Wednesday to confirm the death of Wubeante, as reported by Ethiopian Media Services.
The statement hailed his ‘heroic exploits’ in battles he led and his pivotal role in the formation of the armed militia.
It also described him as successful in his social relations, business and family, and joined the struggle to liberate the Amhara people from ‘bondage’.
The group vowed to undertake a retaliatory military campaign to avenge his death.
MG/as/APA