Ethiopian Airlines, the national flag carrier of Ethiopia, announced Tuesday that it has cancelled flights to Bahir Dar City, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region.
The airlines said in a press statement that flights planned for Wednesday to Friday in Dessie, Gonder, Lalibela and Bahir Dar cities have been cancelled.
On Friday, the airlines announced it has indefinitely suspended flights to Dessie, Gonder and Lalibela cities, leaving Bahir Dar as the only remaining city with an air link in the Amhara region.
The statement expressed apologies for the flight cancellations to the four northern Ethiopia cities and stated that those who had booked flights to those cities can ask for refunds at nearby airline ticket offices or travel agencies where they bought air tickets.
Some Amhara activists have accused the Ethiopian Airlines of violating civil aviation international rules and conventions by transporting military forces to Bahir Dar, which is the capital city of the region..
On Monday, residents told Daily News Egypt that the Fano militia is now in control of Amhara’s historic towns of Gondar and Lalibela, according to residents who spoke to Daily News Egypt.
Also, another resident told Daily News Egypt that in the region’s capital, at least 150 government soldiers have been captured, during the fighting in West Gojjam.
On Friday, the Ethiopian federal declared a state of emergency in the region following several days of fighting in towns across the Amhara region between federal forces and local militiamen known as Fano.
On Sunday, the Ethiopian government admitted local militias have seized several cities in the Amhara region from government forces and it has promised to reverse ongoing security problems in the Amhara region in a short period of time.
