The Ethiopian Ministry of Defense has today denied the Amhara Fano in Gojjam Command’s claims of shooting down a helicopter at the Belay Zeleke International Airport in Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region.
“There is no helicopter that was either crashed or damaged,” the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense said on its official Facebook page.
The ministry underlined that passenger flights were canceled yesterday for a short period due to an Ethiopian Air Force training mission at the Airport.
“In some social media, there is a spread of fake news about the alleged crash of a helicopter,” stressed the ministry.
Asres Mare Damte, head of the political division of the Amhara Fano in Gojjam Command, announced yesterday that a helicopter was shot down at midday by the first core of the command “before a present, vestment (Kaba) being taken off from Berhanu Jula’s shoulder,” which was shared widely on social media.
Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), FM Berhanu Jula, headed to Bahir Dar on Friday for a “work visit” and received a traditional honor vestment, known as ‘Kaba’ in Amharic, shield and spear from the hands of the regional officials, a local government media reported.
A renewed fighting between the regime forces and Fano militiamen started at the beginning of last month, following the ENDF’s announcement of a “decisive offensive” against Fano militias on October 1, 2024.
Both warring parties claimed victory over one another following fierce fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
Fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (END) and Amhara Fano militiamen erupted in July 2023, although tensions intensified 3 months earlier in April 2023.
