Category: HaqCheck

A Facebook page with over 5,000 followers shared a video on August 28, 2023, claiming the Cheif of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), Field Marshal Birhanu Jula said that Fano militants seized ENDF weapons including tanks and artilleries. The Facebook post went viral, with over 90  thousand views and close to 1.3 thousand 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 decided to dissolve regional special forces and merge them with other security institutions. This caused protests and unrest in the Amhara region, leading to ongoing clashes between government forces and Fano militia groups.

The security crisis worsened when the federal government ordered the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) to take action against “extremist” groups after the head of the Amhara Prosperity Party, Girma Yeshitla, was killed by unidentified armed individuals in late April.

In August 2023, the armed conflict in the Amhara region escalated as Fano militants gained control of several cities and towns in the region. In response, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency and deployed armed forces to reverse the situation. While the government managed to retake major cities and towns from armed insurgents, armed confrontations and fighting have continued in the region.

HaqCheck observed social media claims alleging that Fano militants were capturing weapons and routing ENDF troops. However, some of these posts were accompanied by false and old images.

Against this backdrop, a Facebook page shared a short video clip in which Fiel Marshal Birhanu Jula is heard saying “They took countless weapons of ours including our tanks and artilleries”, with a claim that the chief of staff had recently said that Fano militants seized weapons from the ENDF during the ongoing conflict. The short video clip was used to prove a narrative that ‘even the chief of staff confirmed that Fano militias were capturing ENDF weapons’.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the video clip does not support the claim. The clip was taken from a video published on YouTube in October 2021 by the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT). The video is an interview with the chief of staff about the armed conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government at the time. In the video, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula says that the TPLF forces took countless tanks and weapons from the ENDF.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Facebook post as False.

A TikTok page with more than 12 thousand followers shared a video on Aug 9, 2023, claiming that it shows Christian Tadelle, a member of the House of People Representatives who had been detained, being released from detention.

The post had been shared 3439 times by the time this article was published. 

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

On April 6, 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced plans to disarm regional special police forces. The government started to disband the regional paramilitary forces and gave the troops three choices to join: the military, regional police forces, or the federal police force.

The decision of the federal government to dissolve regional special police forces was met with widespread protests and resistance in the Amhara region.

Public protests erupted in opposition to this decision, leading to armed confrontations and clashes in the region. The Fano militants gained control of many areas, including major cities. In response, the Amhara regional government requested assistance from the federal government, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency by the Ethiopian parliament.

As the state of emergency was declared, the government arrested people, including politicians and opposition party leaders. Christian Tadelle, a former executive of the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) and member of the House of People’s Representatives, was among those arrested.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, recently confirmed that Christian Tadelle was detained in Awash Arba.

Against this backdrop, a TikTok video came out claiming that Christian Tadelle was recently released from detention.

However, HaqCheck investigated the claim and confirmed that the video doesn’t support the claim. The original video was found to have been previously published on March 9, 2020, on the YouTube channel of Asrat Media. The video clip shows Christian Tadelle making a speech during a public discussion event.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as False.

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.

A Facebook page with more than 300 thousand followers shared an image with a claim that the picture shows an Ethiopian army soldier recently surrendered to Fano militants in the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region.

The Facebook post was viral on the platform and was shared close to 200 times and gained over 1,700 reactions by the time this article was published.

However, HaqCheck inspected the post and found that the image was old and doesn’t support the claim. Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the claim False.

On Apr 6, 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced that it had decided that regional special police forces should be dissolved and integrated into the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, the Federal Police, or the regional police.

Upon the announcement of the dissolution of regional paramilitary forces, tensions arose in the Amhara regional state. There were armed clashes and public protests in the region opposing the federal government’s decision to disestablish regional special police forces.

Reports and social media posts have indicated that the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region killed many people.

The VOA Amharic recently reported that fighting between the Ethiopian military soldiers and Fano insurgents continued in many parts of the Amara region, Bahir Dar, the regional capital.

The Ethiopian government also stated that Fano militants captured many areas including major cities in the Amhara regional state.

Social media posts claimed that Fano milia groups captured Ethiopian army troops and various weapons during the ongoing conflict. 

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Against this backdrop, a viral Facebook post emerged sharing an image with a claim that many Ethiopian army soldiers surrendered to Fano militant groups.

To verify the claim, HaqCheck used a Google reverse image search. As a result, the image was found previously posted on X (Twitter) on Jan 7, 2022. The picture was shared on X with a caption that reads, “Our heroes are falling for our freedom, peace, and safety, as well as for the sovereignty of our motherland Ethiopia, and wish them a happy holiday. Ethiopia Shall prevail.”

The original post on X was retweeted close to 300 times.

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

A Facebook page with over 90 thousand followers shared a post on July 27, 2023, claiming that Ethiopian army troops entered Shewa Yifat, an area in the Amhara regional state, to disarm Fano militia groups and were defeated and retreated abandoning weapons.

This image was also published along with similar claims (here, and here).

At the time this article was published, the post had more than a hundred reactions.

However, HaqCheck inspected the image and found it to be old. Thus, the claim was rendered False. 

Upon the announcement of the dissolution of regional special police forces, tensions arose in the Amhara regional state.

Armed confrontations, clashes, and public protests have occurred in the Amhara region protesting the federal government’s decision to disband regional special police forces.

Media reports indicate widespread instability in the region including armed clashes and killing in many areas.

Recent social media reports claim that a conflict broke out in Gondar and several people died as a result. 

Following the incident, other social media posts claimed that the federal government of Ethiopia was deploying troops to places in the Gondar zones.

The claim that Ethiopian army troops entered Shewa Yifat to disarm Fano militia groups and were defeated and retreated abandoning weapons emerged in this context.

To verify the image, HaqCheck used a Google reverse image search and found it previously shared on a website and on Twitter on Jan 1, 2023. 

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The image was shared on Twitter with a caption, “Once again, without spending a single penny, the Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC/M23) acquires brand new equipment abandoned by the diabolical coalition [of] FARDC, FDLR, APCLS, NYATURA, PARECO, CODECO, [and] NDC-RENOVÉ.”

The picture used in the claim was cropped out of an image previously published on other platforms.

Granted that there has been an ongoing conflict and instability in the Amhara regional state of Ethiopia, the image used in the Facebook post doesn’t support the claim that Fano militants captured weapons from Ethiopian army troops. Therefore, HaqCheck rated the claim as False.