{"id":2396,"date":"2026-08-18T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2026-08-18T08:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:00:46","slug":"from-bullets-to-dialogue-former-combatant-and-residents-urge-armed-groups-to-end-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/from-bullets-to-dialogue-former-combatant-and-residents-urge-armed-groups-to-end-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"From bullets to dialogue: Former combatant and residents urge  armed groups to end conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"4\"><em>Addis Ababa (AMECO)<\/em>&#8211;<strong> Former combatant Colonel Fentaw Muhabaw and local community members in Ethiopia&#8217;s Amhara region have urged armed groups to lay down their weapons and embrace peaceful negotiations, pointing to the devastating socio-economic toll of prolonged fighting and early signs of local security improvements.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Drawing on his direct experience in the bush, Col Fentaw warned that armed insurgency yields nothing but suffering for the country and its citizens. He called on active fighters to recognise the futility of military confrontation and pursue political demands exclusively through structured dialogue, discussion, and consultation.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">The appeal coincides with growing grass-roots demands for peace. In Bure Zuria district, located within the West Gojjam Zone, residents report a gradual stabilization of security conditions and improved freedom of movement. A local resident noted that while mobility has measurably improved, sustaining these fragile gains will require shared responsibility among religious leaders, community elders, local residents, and armed factions.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">The ongoing instability across Amhara Region has severely fractured the region&#8217;s socio-economic fabric, displacing farmers from their fields, shutting down local trade, and undermining youth prospects. Beyond economic stagnation, the security vacuum created by persistent conflict has expanded lawlessness, leaving civilians increasingly exposed to extortion and kidnapping.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">Community leaders and peace advocates stress that transitioning from armed violence to political discourse should not be viewed as capitulation, but rather as a crucial step to rescue the region from structural collapse. They argue that Amhara Region&#8217;s future depends on redirecting youth energy away from the battlefield and toward education, technological innovation, and economic reconstruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Addis Ababa (AMECO)&#8211; Former combatant Colonel Fentaw Muhabaw and local community members in Ethiopia&#8217;s Amhara region have urged armed groups to lay down their weapons and embrace peaceful negotiations, pointing to the devastating socio-economic toll of prolonged fighting and early signs of local security improvements. Drawing on his direct experience in the bush, Col Fentaw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-2396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396\/revisions\/2399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2396"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}