Photos show firearms seized by Ethiopian police, not rebel group in Amhara region
- Published on February 29, 2024 at 13:17
- 3 min read
- By Tolera FIKRU GEMTA, AFP Ethiopia
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
The armed conflict between the Ethiopian army and rebels in the country’s northern Amhara region continues, with the government recently accused of massacring civilians in the region. A post shared on Facebook claims to show photos of munitions that were captured from the country’s security forces by rebels in Amhara. However, this is false: the photos were originally published on Facebook by the Amhara Region Police Commission after they confiscated weapons and ammunition being transported illegally from the Tigray region to Amhara.
The X post, shared in Amharic by an account called “Central Command of Amhara Fano- official page” on February 26, 2024, presents what it claims is “breaking news”.
“We carried out a surprise attack that shocked Abiy and his Oromuma Generals in Shewa Menz and Jiru,” it reads.
Menz and Jiru are towns in the northern Shewa zone in the Amhara region.
“Abiy” is Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who belongs to the Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. The post accuses his government of promoting “Oromo supremacy”.
Shared more than 190 times, the post also lists various firearms said to have been seized by the rebels. “We captured 1 Zu 23, 2 mortars, 9 Dashka, 12 Bren and 12 snipers along with many soldiers (sic).”
“Victory to Fano,” it concludes.
The page responsible for the post regularly shares content about Fano, a militia group that has been fighting against the Ethiopian army in Amhara.
The post contains three photos: two show large and small ammunition; the third shows people in military uniforms walking side by side.
A similar post was also published on Facebook on the same day here.
Killings in Amhara
In Amhara, Ethiopia's second most populous region, a deadly armed conflict between the federal army and the Fano has been raging since July 2023, with civilians also reportedly being attacked (archived here). The fighting began after the federal government decided to disband all regional security forces, which the Fano refused to do.
On February 14, 2024, AFP reported on findings released by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission that said at least 45 civilians were killed in their homes and on the streets of Merawi, a town in Amhara, by government soldiers who suspected them of being rebel sympathisers (archived here).
However, the photos do not show firearms captured by the Fano rebel force in Amhara.
Seized firearms
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and established that the images show weapons and ammunition seized by police — and not Fano.
Search results revealed the images were published on the Amhara Region Police Commission's official Facebook page on February 7, 2024 (archived here).
“Illegal firearms were seized in Woldia city, originating from Messebo Cement Factory in Mekelle,” the post reads.
“A vehicle travelling from Messebo Cement Factory in Mekelle to Bahir Dar was apprehended at a checkpoint called Gondar Ber in Woldia City,” it continues.
Mekelle and Bahir Dar are the capitals of Tigray and Amhara regions in northern Ethiopia, respectively.
The post also describes the contraband seized, including bullets and munitions for mortars, Kalashnikov rifles and Bren machine guns.
The third image in the false post is a screenshot from a Facebook Reel shared by pro-rebel activist Mulugeta Anberber back in September 2023 (archived here).
The video's caption reads: “Captured Birhanu Jula’s soldiers.” Birhanu Jula is the Ethiopian army’s chief of staff.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
