Attempts by Ethiopian federal forces to retake a strategic corridor along the Ethiopia-Sudan border have failed, eyewitnesses told APA Monday.
Fano forces, an ethno-nationalist Amhara militias, successfully repelled government’s forces after heavy fighting witnesses said.
They said there have been intense fighting in and around Quara—the hometown of the 19th-century Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II—for several days.
Fano seized the strategic Ethiopia–Sudan border town of Metemma on the first day of September, aiming to cut off supplies of fuel and food coming across the border.
Metema is one of the access points through which the Amhara region gets supplies including fuel.
Lieutenant General Shuma Abedeta, head of the Commando Forces of the Ethiopian defense force, said the government troops inflicted heavy damage on Fano forces.
“The extremist force is no longer in a position to stand its ground and fight,” he stated.
In the latest string of announcements, Addis Ababa once again declared a “final campaign” to neutralise Fano forces from the Amhara region and the latest was mid December.
It does not appear to be feasible given reported development in the region that Fano forces are gaining more ground and mobilising increasing number of young people to the war front.
MG/as/APA