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Currently, the country remains in a state of alarm due to the rapid expansion of the guerrilla's military actions. The rebel group is known as the Fano militia, which was constituted as an armed force, after refusing to join the government army.
A group of 18 Spanish tourists and their guide who were trapped in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, were evacuated to the Bahir Dar military base, which is located very close to where they were held.
The transfer was carried out in an Ethiopian Armed Forces helicopter, in order to give greater protection to the tourists while awaiting arrangements for their full evacuation from Ethiopia. The transfer, which was initially planned to be carried out in a caravan of vehicles, was discarded due to the risk of being attacked by the guerrillas.
The Spanish citizens are expected to be back in their country next Monday, according to Jonas Baños, director of the travel agency Kananga. Tomorrow they will travel to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Adeba, from where the flight that will take them to Spain will depart.
It is also news that this Thursday, two other Spaniards who had been trapped in the African country for more than a week, were also successfully evacuated. These two evacuees are not related to the group transferred today to the Bahir Dar military base.
Fighting between the Federal Army of Ethiopia and FANO militia continues. Several people have been killed. And many transportation routes have been cut off, making life even more difficult for residents of the region. pic.twitter.com/D3R7YOgGsI
— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) August 9, 2023
The delay and the slowness with which these evacuations have been carried out are mainly due to the insecurity that has prevailed on the road leading to Addis Ababa. The securing of this access road in the last few days and the reopening of the airport have made it possible to speed up these operations.
This issue of stranded tourists in Ethiopia was caused by the sudden onset of clashes between the Ethiopian armed forces and anti-government guerrillas.
The confrontation between the government army and the guerrillas began on August 1, Lalibela, a tourist city visited by many Europeans. The conflict quickly became widespread in the region, reaching the Amhara region, making it difficult for Spanish tourists to leave due to the closure of the Gondar and Lalibela airports, and preventing safe transit by road to the capital Addis Abbaba.
Currently, the country remains in a state of alarm due to the rapid expansion of the guerrilla's military actions. The rebel group is known as the Fano militia, which was constituted as an armed force, after refusing to join the government army, with which it had collaborated militarily.
The insurrection of the military group has shocked the population, which has been caught in the middle of the crossfire, especially in regions with a high influx of foreign tourists and Ethiopian visitors, and pilgrimage corridors to the sacred sites that abound in the city of La Libel.
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