Gunfire was heard in at least two towns in Ethiopia's Amhara region on Sunday as thousands protested against a federal government order to integrate regional special forces into the police or national army, residents said.
Members of Amhara's special forces and allied militias vowed to oppose Thursday's order, setting up a standoff with the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who said in a statement that the plan was "for the sake of Ethiopia's national unity."
The order applies to all of Ethiopia's 11 regions, which have their own regional armies and the right use their own language, but has been received particularly badly in Amhara, the second biggest, which has fallen out with Abiy recently.
