Explosions targeting Muslim Amharas attending Sheikh Kemal Legas funeral ceremony killed at least six people and an unspecified number of people were wounded Tuesday evening in a neighborhood of Gondar city. Four members of the Qemant committee militia have been implicated and arrested for the blast.
The late Sheikh Kemal Legas was laid to rest as hundreds of Muslims and non-muslims joined to bid farewell and commemorate his legacy on Tuesday. He lived a life in service to his community by using his medicinal knowledge (traditional and spiritual) for over 40 years. He was born and raised in Gonder city and died at the age of 84-years-old. Sheikh Kemal Legas is known to be a father of both Christians and Muslims in Gondar city.
This attack on Amhara Muslim citizens by the Qemant militia has been a big challenge for local leaders who’ve expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of Amhara nationals. Qemant committee militias were previously funded by the former TPLF regime and are currently being supported by the current Abiy Amhed government. The Qemant committee militia has targeted and attacked local farmers and civilians as well as burning houses to take over areas and create a region.
Religious leaders of both Muslim and Orthodox Christian faith have joined together in unity to denounce the killings and stated that this incident is part of a multifaceted internal and external attempt to create a religious conflict and attack the Amhara people. The anti-Amhara propaganda has reached feverish pitch as many Amharas in Ethiopia and in the diaspora are demanding Prime Minister Abiy Amhed’s resignation, and hold him as well as the Amhara regional government responsible for the worst humanitarian crisis the Amhara region has faced in over 30 years.
The rise of Amhara nationalism and unity continues to be viewed as a threat by the Ethiopian government and other ethnonationalist. To better understand the root issue special attention needs to be given to the staged propaganda, as the death of Amhara Muslims is being politicized to sow religious division and break Amharas’ unity. Amhara nationalists strongly condemn the action of the perpetrators and those who tirelessly work to fuel religious division. The Amhara regional government must take an immediate action on those who conspire to destabilize the region.