When violence becomes abstract, it disappears.
In the weeks surrounding Ethiopia's June 2026 national election, the Amhara Association of America documented a pattern of violence it describes as systematic — not incidental — against Amhara communities and Ethiopian Orthodox faithful across two regions. One hundred and twelve civilians were killed, hundreds more injured or abducted, and thousands displaced, with responsibility attributed to federal forces, Oromo Liberation Army militants, and Tigray-affiliated armed groups operating in overlapping and sometimes coordinated ways. The election, rather than offering a pause, appears to have served as a threshold after which accountability receded further. The association now calls on the international community to reckon with what it argues is a crisis of impunity enabled, in part, by the continued flow of foreign military and economic support.
- Violence did not wait for election results — attacks on Amhara civilians ran through the voting period itself and intensified in the days that followed.
- In a single district, OLA militants killed dozens, displaced thousands, and destroyed homes and churches across just three days in late May and early June.
- State forces have turned family ties into a liability, abducting parents, siblings, and children as young as toddlers on suspicion of connection to the Fano resistance movement.
- Journalists, clergy, and religious freedom advocates who spoke out after the violence were themselves arrested — one journalist held for nearly two weeks after social media posts drew official attention.
- Ethiopia's government-sponsored national dialogue process has been widely dismissed as a facade, leaving international pressure — sanctions, aid suspension, formal condemnation — as the primary lever advocates believe remains.
- With a renewed electoral mandate now in place and documented impunity still unchecked, the association warns that without external intervention, the trajectory points toward deeper insecurity rather than resolution.
On July 10, 2026, the Amhara Association of America released a detailed accounting of what it describes as a systematic campaign of violence against Amhara communities and followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The organization had warned before Ethiopia's June 2026 national election that such patterns were building. What followed was not a pause — it was a continuation, and then an escalation.
In June alone, the association recorded 62 separate human rights incidents affecting 495 civilians across 43 districts: 112 killed, 134 injured, three cases of sexual violence, and thousands displaced. Perpetrators included federal and regional state forces alongside the Oromo Liberation Army in eastern Amhara and Oromia, and the Tigray Peace Force in the northeast. Between May 31 and June 3, OLA militants attacked Aseko district in East Arsi Zone, leaving dozens dead and thousands displaced, with homes and places of worship destroyed. On June 12, the Tigray Peace Force shelled Hamusit town, killing six and wounding 15. Eight aerial strikes during the month killed more than a dozen civilians and destroyed schools across five districts.
Beyond direct violence, state forces intensified the practice of abducting entire families suspected of ties to Fano, a resistance movement. In one case, five family members including two young children were taken from Bahir Dar City. In another, a mother and her two sons were seized from their home in Ankober district. OLA militants separately abducted 144 residents in Dera district over nine days, and attacked public transportation for ransom — often within sight of state forces that did not intervene. In Raya territory under TPLF-affiliated control, ethnic Amhara residents faced arbitrary detention, forced military conscription, and targeted harassment of Orthodox clergy.
When religious figures and advocates called for justice after the East Arsi attacks, they too were arrested. A journalist was detained from her Addis Ababa home following social media posts and held for nearly two weeks. Deacons, community leaders, and others were swept up in the same period.
The election itself, the association argues, was neither free nor fair — large parts of the Amhara Region did not vote at all, and where voting occurred, coercion through threats and violence shaped the outcome. Thousands of political prisoners, including parliamentarians and journalists, remain detained. A government-sponsored national dialogue process has been dismissed by civic organizations worldwide as a facade. The Amhara Association is now calling on international governments and human rights bodies to condemn the violence, suspend military aid to Ethiopia, and impose targeted sanctions — arguing that without external pressure, a renewed electoral mandate will only deepen the impunity already on display.
On July 10, 2026, the Amhara Association of America released a statement documenting what it characterizes as a systematic campaign of violence against Amhara communities and followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church across Ethiopia's Amhara and Oromia regions. The organization had warned of such patterns before the June 2026 national election. What followed, according to their accounting, was not a pause but a continuation—violence during the voting period and escalation after the results.
In June alone, the association recorded 62 separate incidents of human rights violations affecting 495 civilians. Among them: 112 killed, 134 injured, and three documented cases of sexual violence. These incidents were scattered across 43 districts and 15 zonal administrations. The perpetrators, according to the documentation, included federal and regional state forces working alongside irregular armed groups—the Oromo Liberation Army in eastern Amhara and parts of Oromia, and the Tigray Peace Force in the northeast.
The violence took specific, brutal forms. Between May 31 and June 3, OLA militants attacked residents of Aseko district in East Arsi Zone, leaving dozens dead, hundreds unaccounted for, and thousands displaced. Houses and places of worship were destroyed. On June 12, the Tigray Peace Force shelled Hamusit town in Sekota-Zuriya district, killing six and wounding 15. In Dera district of North Shewa Zone, media reports documented more than 45 civilians killed, 63 houses burned, and livestock seized across 17 kebeles in recent weeks. In Raya territory, where armed Tigrayan settlers affiliated with the Tigray People's Liberation Front have established control, the association documented routine killings, assaults, abductions, and harassment of religious figures. Eight aerial strikes during the month killed more than a dozen civilians and destroyed multiple schools across five districts.
Beyond direct violence, the association recorded a systematic campaign of detention and abduction. In June, there were 19 documented incidents involving 155 abductions and 91 detentions across 15 districts and 10 zonal administrations. State forces intensified the practice of abducting entire families on suspicion of ties to Fano, a resistance movement. On June 10, state forces took five family members—including two young children—from Bahir Dar City. On June 24, more than 11 residents were abducted from Were-Ilu town in South Wollo Zone. On June 29, at least four family members were taken from Mehal-Wonz Kebele in Ankober district, among them a mother named Woizero Yimaledu Shewan Tamire and her two sons. Between June 13 and 22 alone, OLA militants abducted 144 residents in separate incidents in Dera district. In other areas, OLA militants attacked public transportation, killing and abducting passengers and drivers for ransom, often in proximity to state forces that did not intervene.
In Raya territory under TPLF occupation, residents faced widespread arbitrary detention and abduction supported by the Tigrayan military settler administration and a religious splinter group called Menbere-Selama. Religious figures affiliated with the EOTC Raya Diocese were particular targets, though ethnic Amhara residents more broadly were subjected to forced military conscription. These detentions and abductions were recorded in Alamata City, Raya-Alamata, Raya-Bala, Korem, Ofla, and surrounding areas.
Following the violence in East Arsi Zone, state forces arrested religious figures and advocates for religious freedom who had called for justice for victims. Between June 7 and 10, numerous individuals were detained across Gondar and Addis Ababa. On June 8, journalist Salsawit Baynesagn was taken from her residence in Addis Ababa following social media posts; she was released after nearly two weeks in detention. Others arrested included Zemene Habtu, Merigetta Betremaryam Abebaw, Deacon Zelalem Taye, and Deacon Beni Ze Cherkos.
The election itself, according to the association, was neither free nor fair. Large portions of the Amhara Region did not vote at all due to insecurity and humanitarian crisis. In areas where voting did occur, residents were coerced through violence, threats of fines, threats of job loss, and other illicit pressure. This took place in an election where political opposition figures faced deadly violence, detention, and persecution—thousands of political prisoners including parliamentarians, opposition figures, civil society leaders, and independent journalists remain detained. The Ethiopian government has introduced a national dialogue process through the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, but civic organizations worldwide have dismissed it as a sham, a characterization the association says remains valid. The Amhara Association is calling on international nations, agencies, and human rights organizations to condemn the violence, to suspend military aid to the Ethiopian government, and to impose targeted sanctions in hopes of encouraging respect for human rights and stability.
Citas Notables
The previously described patterns of abuses continued throughout the month of June 2026 in parallel to the national election and continued unabated after the election period.— Amhara Association of America statement
The renewed electoral mandate is expected to worsen not improve the worsening state of insecurity and impunity observed throughout Ethiopia.— Amhara Association of America statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What made you decide to document these incidents so specifically—the names, the dates, the exact number of people abducted?
When violence becomes abstract, it disappears. A number like 495 victims means nothing until you know that on June 10, a mother and her two sons were taken from their home. The specificity is the only thing that makes it real to someone reading from far away.
You mention state forces working alongside OLA militants and Tigray-affiliated groups. Are these separate conflicts, or is this one larger conflict with multiple actors?
That's the question, isn't it. On paper they're different groups with different stated goals. But when they're attacking the same communities in the same regions, often in proximity to each other, the distinction starts to blur. What matters to the person being abducted is not which group took them.
The election happened in June. Why would violence continue or escalate after the voting was over?
Because the election wasn't really about voting. It was about control. Once the results were secured, the need to suppress opposition and enforce compliance didn't end—it just changed form. The violence shifted from preventing people from voting to punishing those who might resist the outcome.
You mention the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission. If the government is offering dialogue, why is the association calling for sanctions instead of engagement?
Because dialogue requires good faith. When thousands of political prisoners are still in detention, when journalists are arrested for social media posts, when families are abducted on suspicion alone—that's not dialogue. That's the appearance of dialogue while the machinery of control keeps running.
What do you think happens next if the international community doesn't respond?
The association says the renewed electoral mandate is expected to worsen the insecurity. Without external pressure, there's no cost to continuing. The violence becomes normalized, the abductions become routine, and the people being targeted have nowhere left to turn.