Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) says it has suspended flights from Addis Ababa International to Gondar and Lalibela, two towns in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region, where armed clashes are increasing again between federal forces and the Fano militia, the news agencies Agence France-Presse, Belga, and Reuters reported. Representatives of the carrier said on August 3 that rotations to Lalibela were interrupted two days previously. On August 3, the government of the Amhara region appealed to the federal authorities to “take appropriate measures” following several days of skirmishes. Addis Ababa said in April that it wanted to dismantle all “special forces” - the paramilitary units that many of the country’s regional states have created over the last 15 years. Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled flights to Amhara before, for example to Gondar and Bahar Dar in November 2020 after those airports were targeted by rocket fire during clashes that contributed to triggering the Tigray War.

Source: Ethiopian News August 07, 2023 14:59 UTC