Wazema Daily News, March 6

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

1) Fierce fighting took place between Ethiopian government troops and the Fano militia in Feresbet town, the administrative seat of Dega Damot woreda, West Gojjam zone, Amhara region, on Tuesday, Wazema has learnt. Residents said government troops outside regional security forces, engaged in heavy clashes from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Several houses were destroyed by heavy gunfire and an unknown number of civilians were killed in their homes, the residents said. According to the residents, there were still exchanges of gunfire in the vicinity of town on Wednesday morning. Repeated armed confrontations have taken place in Feresbet town since the start of the conflict in August 2023.

2) Three international humanitarian organisations evacuated from five woredas of North Shewa zone, Oromia region, due to insecurity, Wazema has learnt. Assefa Mesfin, the head of the zonal health bureau, told Wazema that World Vision, COWASH and One Wash had recently quit Kuyu, Dera, Hidhabu Abote, Yaya Gulele and Degem for fear of risks to their staff and operations due to the activities of the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). Assefa stressed that the evacuation of the NGOs will greatly affect health and related services in the zone.

3) The World Food Programme (WFP) disclosed Wednesday that an additional $142 million was required to continue to deliver food assistance to the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia until June 2024 and respond to the drought. If the resources permit, WFP said, it would aim to provide food assistance to 40 percent of the 7.2 million people facing "high levels of acute food insecurity and needing emergency assistance". According to the agency, 51 percent of those needing food assistance were in Amhara and Tigray regions. "We are scaling up to provide critical food assistance to 3 million Ethiopians in coming weeks, including 2 million people in Tigray." Since the resumption of food assistance in early December, WFP has distributed food to 1.2 million people in Tigray, Afar, Amhara and Somali regions. 

4) Amhara regional police commission has accused the Fano militia of cutting a high-voltage electric power cable near Nefas Mewcha town, South Gondar zone, causing massive outages in several towns since Tuesday. In a statement, the police commission said the cable was cut on Bahirdar - Debre Tabor - Nefas Mewcha - Gashena - Alameta line. The extremist group cut the cables to "create grievances among the population and incite them against the government," the statement pointed out.  The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) disclosed earlier that several towns, including Tigray and Afar regional capitals Mekelle and Semera, were hit by a massive outage due to cable cuts near Nefas Mewcha and Shewa Robit. EEP announced the line from Bahir Dar to Alamata was repaired on Wednesday evening.

5) A court in Ethiopia granted bail to, Bete Urgessa, an opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) political officer, on Wednesday. Addis Ababa city First Instance Court ordered the release of Bete on 100,000 Ethiopian birr bail, rejecting the police's request for 10 more days for investigation. Government security forces arrested Bete in a hotel in Addis Ababa along with French journalist Antoine Galindo, who was released and deported last week, despite a court order to remain in detention. The police told the court that Bete was suspected of collaborating with the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and "conspiring to incite violence" in the capital. It was not immediately clear if Bete was released on Wednesday. 

6) The Amhara agriculture bureau said Wednesday that the "extremist" Fano militia had looted agricultural inputs, mainly fertiliser, worth 1.4 million Ethiopian birr, the regional media reported. The group has looted fertiliser from trucks and stores, the report quoted the bureau head, Dires Sahilu, as saying, adding that the insecurity created by the armed group has "significantly contributed to the reduction in production and productivity" in the region. The transportation of 8.5 million quintals of fertiliser to farmers in the region has been complicated by obstructions by the "extremist group," the report said, quoting Dires. According to the report, he also accused the Fano militia of "telling farmers not to purchase fertiliser from the government, claiming they would distribute it freely”. The report did not mention the places where the lootings took place. The Fano militia has been fighting government troops in several zones since August 2023.

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