Chief of prime minister Abiy Ahmed's ruling Prosperity Party army downplays the prospect of his regime's collapse.
Berhanu Jula says his army has defeated the Amhara Fano fighters who overwhelmed his military at the start of August by fully controlling the Amhara province whose territory is half of Germany.
The army managed to regain control of the regional capital Bahir Dar and installed a new governor but most of the region is still seeing heavy fighting. There were even clashes near Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, in the northern Shoa zone where OLF militants backed the army in fighting Fano fighters.
There is a huge tension in the rest of Ethiopia as the fighting continues. Many fear Berhanu Jula's army may face the same fate it faced in Tigray region where it was exhausted and defeated in the summer of 2021 after six months of unsuccessful campaign.
But Berhanu downplayed those fears saying his army is still strong and will defend the ruling party's power base in Addis Ababa.
He also called Fano fighters "rapists" and "robbers" despite the reports showing the opposite. Berhanu said the same thing about TPLF in December 2020. But TPLF fighters reached the outskirts of Addis Ababa a year later.