Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has ordered federal forces to conduct drone strikes on at least two districts in the Amhara region — Quara in Gondar and Jawi in Gojjam — today, according to Ethio News and Mereja News sources in the region.
The strikes were a response to “Operation Unity,” a coordinated campaign launched by Amhara Fano forces 22 days ago aimed at consolidating their resistance against the Abiy Ahmed’s federal government.
The attacks, carried out using Turkish-supplied Bayraktar drones, have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.
Mereja News sources reported that the drone strikes in Quara and Jawi were indiscriminate, hitting residential areas and causing an unspecified number of civilian deaths and injuries. Quara, located near the volatile Ethio-Sudan border in Gondar, and Jawi, a strategically significant district in Gojjam, have both been flashpoints in the ongoing conflict between federal government and the Fano forces.
The backdrop to today’s strikes is “Operation Unity,” an initiative by the unified Amhara Fano forces in Gojjam, Gondar, Shewa and Wollo to unify into a single, cohesive movement.
Launched on March 19, 2025, the operation has seen Fano fighters intensify their activities across multiple zones of the Amhara region. Sources indicate that clashes continued today in several areas, including Sinan and the outskirts of Debre Markos in Gojjam; Mehal Saynt, Key Washa, and Kebero Meda in Wollo; Gaynt in Gondar; and Minjar in Shewa.
In a message to Fano forces this week, Zemene Kassie, leader of the Fano forces in Gojjam, said the the ultimate goal of Operation Unity is to bring to justice Abiy Ahmed and his officials to justice for what he called a systematic campaign of violence against the Amhara people.
Recent efforts by Fano leaders in Gojjam, Gondar, Wollo and Shewa to consolidate their forces, including a planned merger into a single Amhara Fano movement, have heightened the stakes, prompting a fierce response from Abiy Ahmed’s government.
