A group of Spanish tourists has stayed trapped in a hotel in the Ethiopian region of Amhara, located in the north of the country, due to clashes between state security forces and the Fano militias, a heterogeneous armed group that collaborated with Amhara troops during the last tigray war until their relationship deteriorated due to disagreements over the management of regional security.
Sources from the acting Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation have confirmed that the Spanish Embassy in Ethiopia is aware of the group’s situation and is “permanently in telephone contact with them”. It has also recommended that remain without leaving the hotel until the situation calms down”.
According to information from the digital newspaper NIUS, the group of tourists traveled with a travel agency based in Barcelona, it would be made up of 18 personas, including a minor under 13 years of age, and would have been trapped in the hotel since Wednesday, August 2.
The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region late on Thursday in response to months of clashes between state security forces and militias, which also denounce years of discrimination by the country’s central authorities.
Fighting has intensified in the region in recent days after militias seized control of the airport in the holy city of Lalibela, a World Heritage Site for its ancient 11th-century Coptic monasteries, according to a travel alert published. last Tuesday by the UK Foreign Office.