Author: Soyome Getachew

An X (Twitter) account with more than 50,000 followers shared an image on August 26, 2023, claiming that it shows Ethiopian military personnel being transported by helicopter to the Amhara region amid the ongoing conflict. The tweet has since been shared nearly 61 times and has received over 88 reactions.

However, HaqCheck inspected the post and found that the image was old and does not support the claim. As a result, the claim was rated False.

On April 6, 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced that it would disarm regional special police forces.

The announcement sparked unrest in the Amhara regional state, where people protested against the decision to dismantle the regional special police forces. The Amhara region has since seen violent clashes and confrontations.

The Fano militants took control of many areas, including important cities in the region. The government quickly declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region in an attempt to address the situation.

The federal government regained control of large parts of the Amhara region, but fighting and armed clashes between the Ethiopian military and Fano militia groups continued.

Against this backdrop, an X (Twitter) post appeared that shared an image allegedly showing Ethiopian military soldiers being transported by helicopter to the Amhara region amid the ongoing conflict.

HaqCheck investigated the claim and found that the image does not support the claim. The original image appeared in a video clip that was shared on Facebook on August 2, 2021. The video clip described Ethiopian Airlines as being involved in ethnic cleansing, transporting soldiers, logistics, and weapons to the war in Tigray.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Twitter post as False since it had used an incorrect image.

A Facebook page with over 46,000 followers shared a video on August 28, 2023, claiming that it showed an Ethiopian military helicopter being shot down in Debre Markos by Fano militants.

The Facebook post went viral, with over seven thousand views and close to 300 reactions by the time this article was published. 

However, HaqCheck investigated the post and found that the video was old and did not support the claim. Therefore, HaqCheck rated the claim as False.

In April 2023, the Ethiopian government announced plans to integrate regional special forces into other security institutions. This announcement unleashed widespread protests and unrest in the Amhara region.

Since then, there have been frequent clashes between state forces and Fano and Amharic ethnic militias, and the situation remains volatile.

The crisis escalated when the federal government ordered the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) to take action against “extremist” elements after unidentified armed entities killed the head of the Amhara Prosperity Party Girma Yeshitla at the end of April.

The armed conflict in the Amhara region escalated in August 2023, when Fano militants took control of several cities and towns. The Ethiopian government responded by deploying the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) to retake the cities.  The ENDF recaptured most of the major cities, but the conflict continues in some areas

In this context, a Facebook page shared a video claiming that an Ethiopian military helicopter was shot down in Debre Markos by Fano militants.

HaqCheck investigated the claim and found that the video does not support it. The original video was posted on Facebook on April 26, 2019, and the caption stated that the helicopter, owned by Trans Nation Airways (MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group), had crashed due to engine failure.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Facebook post as False because it used an old, inaccurate video.

On August 7, 2023, a Facebook account shared an image claiming to depict an Ethiopian military helicopter brought down by Fano militia groups during the ongoing armed conflict in the Amhara region state.

The post also alleged that the helicopter had attacked and crashed in the Amhara region. This Facebook post gained traction on the platform, with 21 shares by the time this article was published.

Haqcheck inspected the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t support the claim. As a result, the claim was rated False.

On April 6, 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced that it had decided to disarm regional special police forces.

After the decision of the government, instability stormed the Amhara regional state opposing to dissolution of regional special police forces. Then Armed confrontations and clashes have taken place in the Amhara region.

The Fano militants took control of many areas including major cities in the region. The government soon after declared a state of emergency in the region to reverse the situation.

Despite the federal government reclaiming major areas of the Amhara region, fighting and armed confrontations between Ethiopian armed forces and Fano militia groups persisted.

In this context, a Facebook post came sharing an image with a claim that Fano militants downed an Ethiopian military helicopter in a recent confrontation.

HaqCheck investigated the claim and found that the image doesn’t support the claim. The original image had been previously published on a website on March 3, 2022, with a caption describing the crash of a Romanian helicopter searching for a fighter jet in the Black Sea.

Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the Facebook post False due to its usage of an inaccurate image.

A Facebook page with more than 46 thousand followers shared an image on Aug 9, 2023, claiming that the picture shows an Ethiopian military tank destroyed by Fano militia groups in the ongoing armed conflict in the Amhara regional state.

The post added that Ethiopian troops and their tanks were routed in Motta, East Gojjam zone of the Amhara region.

The Facebook post was viral on the platform and was shared 29 times by the time this article was published.

Haqcheck inspected the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t support the claim. As a result, the claim was rated False.

On April 6, 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced that it had decided to disarm regional special police forces. The government started to disband the regional paramilitary forces and has given the troops three choices to join: the military, regional police forces, or the federal police force.

Soon after this decision, instability stormed the Amhara regional state. There were widespread public protests opposing the decision of the federal government to dissolve regional special police forces.

Armed confrontations and clashes have taken place in the Amhara region. Armed conflict loomed the regional state.

The Fano militants took control of many areas including major cities in the region.

The federal government declared a state of emergency after the Amhara regional government asked for help from the government.

Reports indicate that many people have been killed in the conflict in the Amhara region.

A recent news report shows that 26 people were killed in a drone attack in the town of Finote Selam, in the West Gojam Zone of the region.

In this context, a Facebook post came out sharing an image with a claim that Fano militia groups destroyed Ethiopian army troops including tanks.

However, HaqCheck investigated the claim and found that the image doesn’t support the claim. The original image was found previously published on X (Twitter) on Aug 8, 2022, with a caption that the Russian army destroyed Ukrainian artillery vehicles in a recent battle.

Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the Facebook post False due to its usage of an inaccurate image.