Old photos of Ethiopian soldiers captured during Tigray war unrelated to 2023 conflict in Amhara

The Amharic post translates to: “Give up your hands! Those who surrendered their hands to Fano were being served their breakfast and got access to morning sunlight in this way. Do not sacrifice your young age to protect Abiy Ahmed’s power.”

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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on August 7, 2023

The post was published on August 6, 2023, and has been shared more than 60 times.

The caption is accompanied by two identical photos showing a group of people in military uniforms seated on the ground.

Fano, a paramilitary group in the Amhara region, is fighting against the Ethiopian army after a government decision to disarm local militias. On August 4, 2023, officials declared a six-month state of emergency in Amhara following the escalation of violence in the region (archived here).

AFP also reported on August 5, 2023, that local fighters controlled three towns in Amhara (archived here).

The post urges supporters of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government to resist joining the regional conflict.

However, the photos are unrelated to current events in Amhara.

Tigray captives

AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and established that the photos depicted Ethiopian soldiers taken as prisoners of war in 2021 during the prolonged armed conflict in the country’s Tigray region, north of Amhara.

The photos were first shared on July 20, 2021 by The Tigray Intercept — an online news source that focuses on the Tigray region (archived here).

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Screenshot of the original post, taken on August 7, 2023

The post on X (formerly known as Twitter) translates from Amharic to English as: “Abiy Ahmed forces and Oromia special forces who were captured by the heroic Tigray Defence Military.” Other photos of the same captives in the unnamed location in Tigray were included.

Oromia is another region of Ethiopia, home to the Oromo people, including Abiy.

The photos were also shared here (archived here) in July 2021 with a similar description in Afaan Oromoo.

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Screenshot of a post shared in 2021, taken on August 7, 2023

The two-year war between the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces ended with a negotiated peace deal in November 2022 (archived here).

Although the photos do show captured Ethiopian government soldiers, they were taken in 2021 and therefore have no connection to recent fighting in the Amhara region.

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked social media posts related to the Amhara unrest here and here.