Contradicting Accounts: Residents Claim Gunfire in Ethiopian Holy City, Government Insists on Peaceful Situation

Fighting Erupts in Ethiopia’s Historic City of Lalibela, Residents Report

ADDIS ABABA / NAIROBI – According to four residents, fighting broke out on Wednesday between the Ethiopian army and a regional militia in the ancient city of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, the government has denied these reports, stating that the area remains peaceful.

The militia group, known as Fano, operates in the northern Amhara region without a formal command structure. Since late July, they have been engaged in battles with the army. In August, Fano temporarily captured Lalibela, renowned for its rock-hewn churches, as well as Gondar, the second-largest city in Amhara, before being pushed back.

This ongoing conflict, which has resulted in hundreds of casualties, poses a significant security challenge for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since the conclusion of the Tigray war last year.

One resident, who spoke by telephone with the sound of gunfire in the background, reported, “Fighting broke out (in Lalibela) an hour ago, and I am now hiding in my home.” A deacon from one of Lalibela’s 11 ancient churches, which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, confirmed that the fighting began around 8 a.m. and had spread across the entire city. He noted that stray gunfire had struck a metal shelter built to protect one of the churches.

Despite these accounts, government spokesperson Legesse Tulu dismissed the reports, asserting that the city and its surroundings remain peaceful.

Fano fighters had initially supported Ethiopian troops during the two-year civil war in Tigray. However, tensions arose over disputed land in western and southern Tigray, and further escalated when the government announced plans to integrate regional forces into the police and federal army.

Lalibela, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, is famous for its cave churches carved from monolithic blocks, symbolizing a “New Jerusalem” after Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land were impeded by Muslim conquests.

At the time of reporting, the federal army and the regional administration of Amhara had not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.