NAIROBI
\nEthiopian troops appeared to be pushing back militia fighters in two cities in the conflict-hit Amhara region, residents said Wednesday, after local authorities reported that \u201crelative peace\u201d was being restored.
\nThere has been no official casualty toll from the Amhara violence, but two hospital doctors told AFP that a number of civilians have died and many injured.
\nPrime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s government last week declared a six-month state of emergency in the region after clashes erupted between local fighters and federal troops.
\nThe fresh unrest in Africa\u2019s second most populous country comes just nine months after the end of a devastating two-year war in the neighboring Tigray region that also drew in Amhara fighters.
\nTensions have been boiling since April, when the federal government announced it was dismantling regional forces across Ethiopia, triggering protests by Amhara nationalists who said the move would weaken their region.
\nThe United States has expressed concern about the fighting, and several Western nations have advised their citizens against traveling to Amhara.
\nAmhara\u2019s regional administration said late Tuesday calm was being restored, although some residents reported continuing gunfire Wednesday.
\n\u201cThe violence that happened recently in some areas of our region, which was aided by extremist and predatory power-hungry groups, is returning to relative peace and stability in all areas of the region,\u201d the Amhara government said.
\nEthiopian Airlines also announced it was resuming flights to the region\u2019s capital Bahir Dar and the city of Gondar from Thursday after suspending operations on Tuesday.
\nLocal residents contacted by AFP on Wednesday said federal troops appeared to be pushing back militia fighters in Gondar and Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its ancient rock-hewn churches.
\nAccess to Amhara is restricted for journalists and it is not possible to independently verify the situation on the ground.
\n\u201cThings seem to be changing today,\u201d said Simachew, a Gondar rickshaw driver.
\nThe Ethiopian army, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, \u201cis taking control of most parts of the city after heavy fighting for the past couple of days.\u201d
\nHe said Fano militants were \u201cnow restricted\u201d to one area of Gondar and that fighting was ongoing there.
\n\u201cSince Thursday evening, I had been hearing consistent daily sounds of gunfire… but since yesterday evening I have stopped hearing sounds of gunfire,\u201d said another resident who did not want to give his name.
\nA Lalibela resident who gave his name only as Ayalew said Ethiopian troops were now based on the airport road.
\n\u201cFano has left the city and are in the forest,\u201d he said, but added that he could still hear heavy artillery being fired.
\nA doctor at Gondar University Hospital told AFP there had been many casualties.
\n\u201cAbout 20 died after reaching the hospital and more than 190 people were injured and were brought to the hospital, most of them were civilians,\u201d the doctor said on condition of anonymity.
\n\u201cWe also running out of food and medicine,\u201d the doctor added. \u201cIn this facility patients are dying due to a lack of oxygen and blood.\u201d
\nIn Bahir Dar, a doctor at Felege Hiwot hospital said they had received 130 injured civilians and that 10 people had died.
\n\u201cPeople are coming here by foot with their families carrying them on their shoulders taking their own risks on the roads,\u201d the doctor said, also on condition of anonymity.
\n\u201cAmbulances have stopped due to the heavy risk in the city,\u201d the medic said, adding that the situation in Bahir Dar appeared calm with Ethiopian troops patrolling the city.
\nThe World Health Organization said Sunday the violence was affecting humanitarian operations in Amhara, which was caught up in the war between government-backed forces and Tigray rebels.
\nUK charity Save the Children also warned Wednesday about the risk to civilian lives in Amhara.
\n\u201cWe call upon warring parties to prioritize the safety of civilians and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need including 580,000 people in the region already displaced by previous conflict,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nThe November deal that silenced the guns in Tigray was not welcomed by many in the Amhara community, the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, and once its economic and political elite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI Ethiopian troops appeared to be pushing back militia fighters in two cities in the conflict-hit Amhara region, residents said Wednesday, after local authorities reported that \u201crelative peace\u201d was being restored. There has been no official casualty toll from the Amhara violence, but two hospital doctors told AFP that a number of civilians have died […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-348264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n