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.
