Abuja, Nigeria — Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, says it recorded an alarming 23,000 cases of severe malnutrition in Nigeria’s Bauchi state between January and June this year — a 120% increase over the same period a year before.

The group on Tuesday also said overall malnutrition in the West African nation increased by 40% nationwide and warned that without immediate intervention, the situation could become catastrophic.

Thierry Boyom, MSF’s medical coordinator, said poverty is a key driver of malnutrition but not the only reason why the numbers are surging.

“From the feedback we got, a lot of them were complaining about the significant increase in the prices of basic food items compared to last year, so they can’t afford three meals per day,” Boyom said. “[Also] the lack of access to health care and water. There are a lot of health facilities but they’re not fully functional because of lack of supply. Also we observe poor infant-feeding practices by the mothers. Vaccination coverage in Bauchi is a bit low, leading to diseases such as measles, a big driver of malnutrition.”

MSF has been responding to the malnutrition crisis in Bauchi since 2022. The group said its treatment centers and personnel are overstretched and they are trying to make room for more sick children.

Nigeria has the second highest burden of growth-stunted children in the world, according to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

UNICEF said malnutrition is the direct or underlying cause of 45% of all deaths in the country under the age of 5.

For years, Nigeria has been embroiled in a protracted war with armed gangs who often kidnap farmers and hold them for ransom.

The resulting loss of food production, along with general insecurity and rising food prices, have hampered the ability of vulnerable people to buy food. The situation is especially bad around July and August each year — the so-called peak of the lean season when food from previous harvests normally runs out.

Abubakar Saleh, Bauchi state nutrition officer, said authorities are working to bring the number of malnourished children down.

“We’re trying to scale up micro-nutrient supplementation for pregnant mothers, that is to start preventing malnutrition from the mother, for them to have healthy pregnancies,” Saleh said. “And also in the area of treatment, we have interventions support by USAID-Ukraine for the management of severe acute malnutrition. And also, we’re doing maternal, newborn and child health week — it’s a campaign and through that campaign we screen children for malnutrition.”

Last month, MSF launched a community-based intervention known as Integrated Community Case Management in eight villages and equipped local women with early testing tools to help them detect malnutrition faster.

Boyom said it is bridging the gap.

“They were trained to be able to identify malnutrition, signs of severity or medical complications. But also, they were trained to manage on the spot the cases of simple malnutrition. On top of that they’re also trained to manage malaria,” Boyom said.

But until insecurity is addressed and there’s more funding to help the vulnerable, many more children will be struggling to survive.
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While the organization of the Nigerian protests remains murky, their demands are based on real economic and governing issues.
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Abuja, Nigeria — While nationwide protests appeared to have ebbed Tuesday, the Nigerian government said it will not tolerate calls for coups after some protesters in northwest Kano and Kaduna states waved Russian flags while marching in the streets Monday.

Nigeria’s defense chiefs told journalists that hoisting the Russian flags amounts to treason.

“We will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional takeover of government or subversion or those ones that are into vandalism or destruction of lives and property,” Nigerian Defense Chief General Christopher Musa said.

Thousands in Nigeria took to the streets in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere last week to denounce President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies and government. Security officers cracked down hard on protesters, using tear gas and live ammunition. Amnesty International says at least 13 protesters were killed nationwide.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters marched in northern Kaduna and Kano states, waving Russian flags and calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to their aid. Nigeria’s national police said nearly 900 protesters were arrested, including 30 who were carrying Russian flags.

Security analyst Kabiru Adamu criticized the military’s interpretation of the protesters’ intentions.

“There [are] instances where Nigerians do wave the flags of other countries,” he said. “So, one is a bit surprised with this interpretation. We’re in a democratic setting, and the role of security and defense organizations does not go beyond law enforcement or the implementation of security policies. They do not have in any way the role of interpreting or making judicial pronouncements.”

The Russian Embassy in Abuja on Monday distanced itself from protesters using the Russian flag and pledged Moscow’s support for Nigeria’s democracy. But Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa and forming security alliances, especially in the coup-ridden Sahel states.

Adamu, managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence, said the acts of the protesters might be inspired by a growing resentment for Western influence in the region.

“The policies that are being implemented by the Bola Tinubu government have the backing of Western countries, especially the institutions of [the International Monetary Fund] and World Bank,” he said.

“So, when people in an organic manner endear themselves to Russia, it is perhaps an indication that they’re not happy with the policies that were supported by those countries and Russia perhaps may be a better partner or ally.”

Western nations, including the United States, have said Russia’s influence in Africa could set back democratic norms.

But political affairs analyst Ahmed Buhari said good governance from local authorities is all that is needed.

“These people are not oblivious of the fact that there’s a current wave across the Sahel,” he said. “They listen to the news. They can clearly see that Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso [have] presented very young leaders who are coming up with very strong policies that seemingly look like they’re going to benefit the people.

“And what I expect from the government of the day is to prove to the people that they’re better friends to the people than any foreign ally at a time like this,” he said.
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Lagos — Nigerian police said on Tuesday they had arrested more than 90 demonstrators carrying Russian flags at protests triggered by economic hardship.

Thousands of people joined protests against government policies and the high cost of living last week as Africa’s most populous country suffers its worst economic crisis in a generation.

The rallies have petered out in most parts of the country following clashes with security forces, but hundreds of protesters took to the streets in northern states on Monday including Kaduna, Katsina and Kano, as well as central Plateau state.

AFP journalists and witnesses saw some demonstrators holding Russian flags, a development the Russian embassy distanced itself from. 

Northern Nigeria shares strong cultural, religious and socioeconomic ties with neighbors in the Sahel region, which has seen a string of coups and military leaders turning away from Western allies towards Russia.

Russian flags have featured at rallies in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and their appearance in Nigeria triggered strong reactions from officials.

Asked about the protesters in Nigeria, police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said “we have more than 90 of them arrested with the Russian flags.”

Later on Tuesday, security chiefs from the armed forces and police among others gave a rare joint briefing and alleged unnamed “sponsors” were seeking to undermine the government, without providing evidence. 

“The sponsors of these protests, some of them, have a clear motive to subvert the government of the day, we are not going to allow that, we will defend our democracy,” said police chief Kayode Egbetokun.

He alleged that some sponsors were “outside the country” and said “we have to arrest those carrying flags to be able to get to the sponsors.”

On Monday, defense chief General Christopher Musa said those pushing individuals to carry Russian flags in Nigeria were “crossing the red line and we will not accept that.”

Damilare Adenola, leader of the Take It Back group organizing protests in Abuja, dismissed the allegations as “mere distraction.”

He said the authorities were using the claims as a “reason to clamp down on protesters.”

The Russian embassy in Nigeria denied involvement in a statement on its website on Monday.

“The Government of the Russian Federation as well as any Russian officials are not involved in these activities and do not coordinate them in any way,” it said.

Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces of killing at least 13 demonstrators in the first day of protests on Thursday, while police say seven people have died and denied responsibility.

In a televised address on Sunday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for the suspension of demonstrations — but protest organizers have vowed to press ahead despite lower turnout.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. abandonment this week of its $110 million drone base in Niger, once seen as a key hub for counterterrorism efforts, adds to a growing list of Western withdrawals, all steadily ceding ground to terror groups affiliated with Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Officials with U.S. Africa Command announced the final departure of troops from Air Base 201 in Agadez on Monday, completing a process that began last year when a military junta overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president and demanded U.S. forces leave.

The U.S. withdrawal follows the pullout of French forces from Niger late last year and from neighboring Mali in 2022. A five-country alliance to fight terror groups across the Sahel, likewise, collapsed in recent years.

And intelligence gathered by United Nations member states suggests the terror groups those Western forces were hoping to curtail have made the most of their growing absence.

The al-Qaida-linked Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, also known as JNIM, has become “the most significant threat in the Sahel,” according to a U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team report released last week.

JNIM commands 5,000 to 6,000 fighters, the report said, and “continues to expand, mostly in Burkina Faso, but also significantly in Mali and the Niger.”

And while the intelligence suggests JNIM has not given up on striking Western interests in the Sahel, the group’s ability to expand and consolidate territorial gains could put it in position “to establish an emirate from central Mali to northern Benin,” the report warned.

The Islamic State terror group’s affiliates in the region have also made gains.

The U.N. report warns that IS’s West African Province, also known as ISWAP, “has grown in both importance and capability,” working with IS core leadership to establish terror cells and networks in Nigeria and beyond.

Estimates from U.N. member states put the number of ISWAP fighters at between 4,000 and 7,000. But much of their focus has been on supporting Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, or ISGS, with 2,000 to 3,000 fighters seeking to expand beyond their entrenched positions in Mali and the border regions of Burkina Faso and Niger.

Making matters more precarious, the U.N. report warned that a tenuous détente (an unofficial agreement) between the al-Qaida-affiliated JNIM and ISGS appears to be holding, “with the continued trend of the groups taking and holding larger areas of contiguous territory in the Sahel.”

Some analysts who study the region caution that the trendlines are unlikely to change.

“What we’re witnessing right now is the direct consequence of all the coups in the region and the fact that all these troops have been driven out — the French, Belgians, MINUSMA [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali], African Union, the Americans,” said Pieter Van Ostaeyen, a Belgian Arabist who studies Islamic extremism.

“It’s like a carousel won’t stop,” he told VOA. “It’s like a downward spiral.”

Van Ostaeyen said that is reflected in the number of attacks claimed or attributed to JNIM and the IS affiliates.

According to his data, the groups averaged 125 attacks per month over the first five months of this year, compared to just over 50 attacks per month during the same period a year ago.

And Van Ostaeyen sees no indications that any of the region’s militaries have what it takes to stop the spread of violence.

“Right now, it’s like the Islamic State and JNIM are partly dividing Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger will fall completely to the jihadis, as well,” he said.

Liam Karr, the Africa team lead with the Washington-based Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, also sees little reason for hope.

“In many cases, due to the illicit networks that a lot of these terror groups sit on, they might be more wealthy than a lot of the actual countries that they’re operating against,” Karr told VOA.

There are also massive concerns about the role Russian official forces and paramilitary forces, like the Wagner Group or the recently formed Africa Corps, are playing in countries like Mali and Niger as Moscow seeks to gain influence.

“We see that Wagner has been very, very progressive at trying to establish control in African countries,” said U.S. Africa Command’s General Michael Langley, briefing reporters this past June.

“This does not enhance security or stability,” he said.

Additionally, there are also concerns about the capacities of the Russian forces in Africa. Western officials have long warned the main goal of groups like Wagner has been to help Russia secure access to natural resources.

And some recent events, like an attack by separatists in northern Mali that is said to have killed more than 80 Wagner mercenaries, have cast further doubts on Russian competence. 

 Analysts like Karr also argue that even if Russia wanted to help push back against terror groups, the numbers are lacking. 

“The Russian footprint there is much smaller,” Karr said. “Especially in somewhere like Niger, from a quantity standpoint, you have roughly 100, maybe, to 200 Russian forces taking the place of what was 1,500 French troops and over 1,000 U.S. service members.”

 
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VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Ezinne Kalu scored 21 points and Nigeria made Olympic history by becoming the first African team, male or female, to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in basketball when it beat Canada 79-70 on Sunday.

The Nigerians (2-1) came in having only one win — back in the 2004 Athens Games — and now they’re staying around the Olympics longer than they ever have before. Their quarterfinal opponent is the United States, which is going for an eighth consecutive gold medal.

The next opponent didn’t matter after the win over Canada.

Kalu and her teammates went to midcourt to start celebrating, with an assistant coach using her phone to record the moment. The Nigerians stopped to high-five the Canadians, and then returned to celebrating with a midcourt huddle.

An assistant coach grabbed a flag from a fan for photos on the court, and the Nigerians took their time hugging and posing for more photos as they savored the moment.

Canada, ranked fifth in the world, leaves winless in three games, eliminated on the final day of group play for women’s basketball by a team ranked 12th.

Australia held off France for a 79-72 victory in the final game in group play on Sunday night. The Opals (2-1) clinched the eighth and final quarterfinal berth, avoiding elimination before a crowd of 27,193 that FIBA said set an attendance record for women’s basketball in Europe.

The Aussies will play the first quarterfinal Wednesday against Serbia after the draw was announced Sunday night. Spain will play Belgium, followed by France and Germany and then the U.S. and Nigeria.

Five countries came into the final day having clinched berths, led by the U.S. The others were Spain, Serbia, France and Germany. Belgium, Nigeria and Australia clinched Sunday.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and went winless in Tokyo. This women’s team was denied access to Nigeria’s boat for the opening ceremony on July 26, and now it will play Wednesday in Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine River.

Nigeria scored the first six points. Captain Amy Okonkwo hurt her right shoulder early in the second quarter, colliding with Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards while diving for a loose ball, and Canada took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Okonkwo returned for the third quarter, when Nigeria opened with a 13-1 run. The Nigerians outscored Canada 23-5 in the third and took a 60-46 lead into the fourth.

Elizabeth Balogun added 14 points for Nigeria, and Promise Amukamara had 12.

Shay Colley led Canada with 17 points, Bridget Carleton had 13 and Kayla Alexander 12.

Australia 79, France 72

The Opals jumped together in celebration following their big win against France.

The French (2-1), who won bronze at the Tokyo Games, were backed by a stadium packed with flag-waving fans.

The Opals outscored France 25-16 in the third, taking a 59-50 lead into the final 10 minutes. Gabby Williams helped France close to 65-64 with 4:40 left.

Tess Madgen scored, and then Cayla George hit a corner 3 to give the Opals some breathing room.

Madgen led Australia with 18 points. Ezi Magbegor added 14, and Sami Whitcomb and Alanna Smith each had 12.

Williams finished with 15 for France (2-1).

U.S. 87, Germany 68

The Americans showed off their size through the start of group play. They clinched first in their group by showing off their tremendous depth, outscoring Germany 52-13 in reserve points.

Jackie Young scored 19 points for the U.S.. A’ja Wilson added 14 points, and Breanna Stewart had 13.

The Americans clinched the top seed in their pool and extended their record streak to 58 consecutive Olympic wins dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.

These teams played an exhibition game in London right before the Olympics, and the Americans came away with an easy 84-57 victory that night. They had to work a bit more for this one.

Belgium 85, Japan 58

Emma Meesseman scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Belgium routed Japan to clinch the first of three remaining quarterfinal berths. The Cats came together, hugging and dancing at midcourt, after the final buzzer, with some wiping tears from their eyes.

Japan (0-3) was eliminated after winning silver three years ago at the Tokyo Games. The Japanese wiped away tears as they left the court.

This is the second straight Olympics that the silver medalist failed to medal in the next Olympics. Spain won silver in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, and then lost to France in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

Belgium (1-2) needed to beat Japan by 27 points to finish with a better point differential than China to keep playing. The Cats had a packed house trying to help, with Belgium a mere 20 miles (32 kilometers) away and China (1-2) watching the scoreboard through the final three games to learn its fate.

The Cats led 19-7 at the end of the first with the final margin the biggest concern. Japan didn’t make it easy as Belgium had a 20-16 edge in the second for a 39-23 lead at halftime.

Belgium outscored Japan 22-16 in the third for a 61-39 lead. Fans roared for each Belgium bucket, knowing the need to not only win but by the point margin. Elise Ramette’s 3 with 4:52 pushed the lead to the 27 points needed at 71-44, and Becky Massey hugged her to start a Japan timeout.

Ramette finished with 16 points. Antonia Delaere and Maxuella Mbaka Lisowa each had 12.

Saki Hayashi led Japan with 13, and Evelyn Mawuli added 12.
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Abortion is restricted in Kenya, but in Kilifi County on the southern coast many women and girls with unplanned pregnancies say they have no choice but to undergo dangerous abortions without the intervention of a nurse or doctor. Local activists say the practice is contributing to high maternal mortality in the region. Halima Gongo reports.
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Abuja — Nigeria’s leader called Sunday for an end to mass protests over economic hardship, saying the rallies have turned violent and blaming “a few with a political agenda” for driving them.

The protests, which began Thursday, have been accompanied by reports of looting and vandalism, as well as accusations that security forces have used excessive force. Amnesty International has reported the deaths of nine protesters in clashes with police, while another four were killed by a bomb. The Nigerian police denied the Amnesty report.

“I have heard you loud and clear,” President Bola Tinubu said in his first public remarks on the demonstrations. “I understand the pain and frustration that drive these protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of our citizens.”

But, he said, “a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart” would be resisted by security forces.

The protests reflect frustration with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and accusations of misgovernment and corruption in Africa’s most populous country, a top oil producer where public officials’ huge earnings contrast with high poverty and hunger levels.

Tinubu’s aides have said the protests are politically motivated. His election last year was disputed by the opposition, after he won with 37% of the vote, the smallest margin of any Nigerian president ever. The election also recorded the lowest turnout since 1999, when the country returned to democracy.

The protesters have also been inspired by other young people in Kenya who held rallies last month to oppose a planned tax hike.

The Nigerian leader said that his government “will not stand idly” and allow the looting reported in the past days to continue.

“Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organizers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue,” he said.

The military has also threatened to intervene to quell violence.

Tinubu defended the audacious reforms that were supposed to save the government money and shore up dwindling foreign investment, but whose immediate impact has added to hardships.

The reforms, including the suspension of decades-old gas subsidies and currency devaluation, have had a knock-on effect on the price of just about everything else because they’ve been poorly implemented, analysts say.

“The economy is recovering; please, don’t shut out its oxygen,” Tinubu said.

In a region that has witnessed rampant military coups off the back of popular discontent with democratically elected governments, the Nigerian leader warned the protests could also threaten the country’s democracy.

“Forward ever, backward never!” he said.
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ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s police on Saturday arrested dozens of protesters and fired teargas to disperse those trying to march to government offices in the capital, Abuja, on a third day of demonstrations over a cost-of-living crisis.

In northern Kano state, at least one person was shot in the neck and rushed to a hospital, witnesses said.

At least 13 people were killed on Thursday when protests turned violent, Amnesty International said, blaming police for using live rounds.

Police said on Saturday that in three days of protests, seven people died, but they denied responsibility. Nearly 700 people were arrested during the protests and nine officers injured, police added in a statement.

Police have sought to confine protesters to the outskirts of major cities to avoid disruptions to business and traffic.

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered at a major stadium in Abuja, but police used teargas to disperse them when they attempted to march on a major road into the center of the city.

“Many Nigerians are feeling the same pains, so I believe they will come out and protest. I will be here ‘til midnight,” said protester Julius Chidiebere before police fired teargas.

Dozens of protesters were arrested and driven away in police vans, Reuters journalists said.

Police and the army intensified patrols in Kano State, where some protesters attempted to break into a police station near the neighborhoods of Kurna and Rijiyar Lemo.

In the commercial hub of Lagos, more than 1,000 protesters gathered peacefully to denounce economic hardship worsened by President Bola Tinubu’s reforms that started last year with the removal of a popular fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the currency, which sent inflation soaring.
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RABAT, Morocco — France has thrown its support behind Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position and adding itself to a growing list of countries to align with Morocco as a United Nations-mediated peace process remains stalled.

In a letter to King Mohammed VI, France’s President Emmanuel Macron called the plan that Morocco proposed in 2007 to offer the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the “only basis” to solve the conflict. The shift deals a blow to the pro-independence Polisario Front, which has for decades claimed to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous Sahrawi people.

“The present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” Macron wrote in a letter made public on Tuesday. “France intends to act consistently with this position at both national and international level.”

Macron’s move is unlikely to change the key tenets of the territorial dispute but could deepen France ties with Morocco, which has long blamed it for drawing the colonial borders it sees as the root of the conflict. France signaled earlier this year that it was open to investing in Moroccan projects in the disputed territory.

The move could strain diplomatic relations in North Africa, further alienating both France and Morocco from Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front’s claims and allows it to operate as a self-declared government in exile from refugee camps within its borders.

It follows similar shifts from the United States, Israel, Spain and a growing list of African nations that have established consulates in the territory.

In a statement, Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s Royal Cabinet called France’s shift “a significant development.” A high-ranking Moroccan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity noted France’s role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and called it “a game-changer” amid an international shift toward Morocco’s position.

The move was preemptively rebuked by both Algeria and the Polisario Front in the days leading up to the publication of letter, which Algeria said it was made aware of by France in the days prior.

The Polisario’s Mohamed Sidati accused France of acting at odds with international law and backing Moroccan expansionism as its influence wanes throughout Africa.

“Whatever hardships Morocco tries to impose on us with the support of France, the Sahrawi people will continue to stubbornly defend their rights until they obtain the definitive departure of the Moroccan aggressor from their territory and general recognition of the legitimacy of their struggle for self-determination and independence,” Sidati, the Foreign Minister of the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, said in a statement on Monday.

Algeria called Morocco and France “colonial powers, new and old” and announced it would withdraw its ambassador from Paris.

“The French decision is clearly the result of a dubious political calculation, a morally questionable judgement and legal interpretations that are neither supported nor justified,” Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement last week.

Western Sahara is roughly the size of Colorado, encompassing a stretch of desert rich in phosphates and sitting along an Atlantic coastline rich in fish. Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, sparking a regional conflict and putting it at odds with the pro-independence Polisario Front over the region that the United Nations considers a “non-self-governing territory.”

Morocco quickly moved to occupy the majority of the land, fighting off guerilla warfare from the Polisario until the U.N. brokered a 1991 cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territory’s future. Disagreements over who is eligible to vote prevented the referendum from taking place.

Morocco has long sought political recognition of its claim from its other nations, while the Polisario has prioritized fighting legal battles to assert the people of the region’s right to self-determination.

Sporadic violence has ensued since the Polisario renewed armed conflict in 2020, ending a 29-year truce. Morocco has since embarked on expansive economic development efforts, constructing ports, highways and hotels.
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ADDIS ABABA, ethiopia — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that negotiations are in progress with armed militias in the Amhara region to peacefully resolve the ongoing conflict there. 

Speaking at a meeting with financial leaders in Addis Ababa on Friday, the prime minister said the federal government has been making efforts to reach out to the rebels but hinted that a lack of unity among the armed groups could be an obstacle. 

“I haven’t revealed this so far but to let you know today, it has been a while since we started talks with armed groups operating in the Amhara region,” he said in Amharic, speaking to participants of the meeting. “The problem so far is that there is no centralized group. When we reach an understanding with one group we don’t agree with the other.”   

The prime minister said efforts have been made to make the groups come together to “create enabling conditions for talks.” 

“But we have started talks with some of the groups; there are groups that have started continuous talks with the government,” he said.

The prime minister did not identify which armed groups were involved in the talks and when the talks started. The format of the talks is also not yet clear. 

Group denies it’s talking to government

A spokesperson for one of the Fano armed groups fighting in the Amhara region denies talks with the government. Fano is an ethnic Amhara militia without a formal structure and there are several groups operating in different parts of the Amhara region.  

Simeneh Mulatu, head of the foreign and diaspora affairs department for the Fano militias in Gojjam, told VOA that there have not been any talks or negotiations they started with the government. 

Leaders of other Fano factions operating in the region could not be reached for comment.

Official unaware of reports of talks   

Despite the prime minister’s remarks, an official with the Amhara region’s peace council set up in June also appears to be unaware of the reports of talks with the armed militias.   

Eyachew Teshale told VOA that they are not aware of any formal peace talks that are going on between the government and the Fano armed group.   

Fighting between federal government forces and Fano broke out a year ago after reports emerged that the government was planning to disarm the regional paramilitary forces to integrate them into other security structures, including the federal army. 

In November last year, the Ethiopian government held talks with the other rebel group fighting in the Oromiya region, the Oromo Liberation Army. The two sides failed to narrow their differences during the two rounds of talks that took place in Tanzania. 

This story originated in the Horn of Africa’s Amharic Service. 
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