In a statement released on the evening of May 26, 2015, the Security and safety joint task force confirmed that the military operation was aimed at taking action against Iskander Nega. He said that their plan to destabilize the region has failed due to the action taken against Iskandir Negana and his accomplices.
The statement added that “Action has been taken against a few extremist forces who were protecting the Trinity Monastery in Debre Elias district in the eastern Gojam zone and were moving to overthrow the government through armed struggle”.
Iskander Negana, who was the leader and coordinator of the armed group, indicated that although a few of his associates tried to hide from the area, mainly the defense forces and the security forces of the Amhara region are conducting a coordinated operation to arrest them.
When the person [Iskander] knew that this did not succeed; By creating an organization called the Amhara People’s Front to overthrow the government by force, Shimeles was recruiting, organizing, and deploying militants in coordination with his accomplices named Summehoun Weretaun and Menbur Kase, as well as a few other extremist forces of the region and operating in Hbue.
The statement said that the front is led by himself in the country and coordinated abroad by an individual named Shaleka David W. Giorgis; He accused the two of them of engaging in armed struggle in the region to bring the people into an endless war.
“To use the religious leader as protection, he and other militants of the group headed to the Debre Elias district of East Gojam zone and dug a fort in the area of Trinity Monastery two years ago and plotted to overthrow the government through armed struggle,” the statement recalled.
He said, “Especially they were using Father Elsa, who is the administrator of the monastery, for this illegal activity.” He accused them, “In addition to allowing illegal activities to be carried out in the monastery outside of the religious teachings, they were involved with the members of the extremist group by flying with other monks and supplying them with weapons.”
The statement states that he has made repeated efforts to get the members of the destruction group to stop their illegal activities and come to peace through dialogue, but this has not been fruitful.
Militants killed 200 members of the extremist group and the rest were captured and fled; The group denied that the information was being spread on social networking sites where the government’s security forces spread false propaganda to the monastery and the devotees are far from the truth.
At the end of the statement, he called on the society to strengthen its joint efforts and partnership in the law enforcement movement to rid the region of a few extremist forces and establish a peaceful movement.