A Facebook page with more than 40 thousand followers posted an image with a claim that the Ethiopian government recently carried out an aerial attack in Finote Selam and killed 270 civilians including children as young as three.
The Facebook post was viral on the platform and was shared close to 30 times and gained over 150 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.
Armed conflict between the government armed forces and Fano militia groups persisted in the Amhara region since the former ordered regional paramilitary forces to disarm and integrate into other security establishments such as the military, federal police, or regional police forces.
The Ethiopian federal government declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region after armed militia groups took control of many areas in the regional state.
On Aug 11, 2023, reports and social media posts indicated that the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region killed many people.
After a counteroffensive, the government managed to recapture major urban areas from Fano militants. However, reports indicate that armed clashes and confrontations continued in the region.
The Facebook post emerged against this backdrop sharing an image with a claim that the Ethiopian Air Force conducted an attack in the Finote Selam, West Gojjam Zone of Amhara region and killed 270 civilians.
To verify the claim, HaqCheck used a Google reverse image search. As a result, the image was found previously posted on Facebook on Jul 21, 2023.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post False due to its usage of an inaccurate image.
