By Engidu Woldie
ESAT News (August 25, 2016)
Aided by ground forces and helicopters, the TPLF regime forces approached the Angereb jail in the city of Gondar on Wednesday to take custody of Col. Demeke Zewdu, the symbol of the revolt in the Amhara region. The local defense forces however refused to transfer his custody.
Regime security forces in plain cloth but armed, who managed to sneak into the jail to whisk away the Colonel, were arrested and their weapons confiscated by the local forces.
Residents of Gondar, who were holding a stay at home protest on Wednesday were irate over the news and repeated attempt by the TPLF forces to take Colonel Demeke.
The Colonel, a leader of the movement against Tigrayan oppression in Amhara, had reportedly killed three TPLF forces last month as they attempted to arrest him at his residence. Since then, Gondar has seen one protest after another demanding an end to TPLF rule. The protest in Gondar was joined by Bahir Dar and other major towns and even smaller localities lately. 150 people were killed by security forces two weeks ago when residents of Gondar and Bahir Dar held a peaceful demonstration.
The revolt in the Amhara region was sparked when TPLF forces arrested members of a committee that spearheads the demand by the people of Wolkait, Tgede and Telemt to reclaim a territory that was forcefully incorporated into the Tigray region by the TPLF and against the false Tigrayan identity imposed on them by the regime.
In Finote Selam, West Gojam, residents blocked a highway to Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa keeping regime forces at bay. The people then marched to the central square of the town, burnt the flag of the TPLF and hoisted the original Ethiopian flag, a significant sign of freedom from TPLF rule.
New rounds of stay at home protest began on Wednesday in Gondar as the protest in Bahir Dar entered its fourth day.