Addis Ababa, October 17, 2026 (FMC) — Tens of thousands of residents flooding the streets of towns and cities across the Amhara Region today transformed public squares into a powerful expression of solidarity with the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).
Their slogans carried a message that went beyond supporting an institution: Ethiopia’s defense force is a national asset, its sovereignty is a shared responsibility, and its unity is a cause the public refuses to surrender.
From Gondar and Woldia to Sekota, Debre Tabor, Lalibela and Genda Wuha, residents took their message into the streets with unmistakable conviction. Community elders, religious leaders, young people and other members of society stood together to affirm their backing for the ENDF and the federal and regional security forces.
The breadth of participation gave the rallies their force, while the words carried on placards and echoed through the streets revealed what the demonstrations meant to those taking part.
“We stand with the ENDF” captured the spirit of the day. The pledge was not merely an expression of admiration for soldiers in uniform; it was a declaration of public solidarity with the force entrusted with defending the country.
By honoring the sacrifices of the ENDF and other security personnel, rallygoers placed their own voices behind the difficult responsibility of protecting Ethiopia’s peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Another slogan described the ENDF as “a symbol of our multinational identity.” That message gave the rallies a significance beyond military support.
It presented the defense force as a national institution whose identity reflects the country’s diverse peoples and whose mission concerns the security of the nation as a whole.
In a country as diverse as Ethiopia, the idea of a shared national defense carries particular weight: the protection of the country is a common interest that transcends the boundaries of individual communities.
The residents’ slogans also made clear that their support for the ENDF was closely tied to their desire for lasting peace. They declared their backing for government measures to establish peace and insisted that the country’s unity would not be derailed by forces seeking to disrupt stability. These were not separate messages.
They formed a single argument: the country needs security to preserve its unity, and peace requires the resolve to protect it.
The rallies also paid tribute to the sacrifices of federal and regional security forces, recognizing that the responsibility of maintaining security extends beyond one institution. Their message was one of solidarity with those serving to protect the country and a rejection of attempts to weaken the conditions necessary for peace.
The ENDF and the National Cause
Perhaps the most striking feature of the demonstrations was the way residents connected support for the ENDF with Ethiopia’s wider national ambitions. “We will move from the dam to the port,” they declared, linking the country’s development achievements and aspirations to its pursuit of strategic national interests, including sea access.
The slogan brought a broader vision of Ethiopia into the rallies. It conveyed the conviction that the country must continue advancing its national priorities while safeguarding its sovereignty and stability. For the rallygoers, support for the defense force was part of a larger commitment to the country’s future and its ability to pursue its interests.
Residents also condemned forces they said were aligning with Ethiopia’s historical adversaries to undermine peace. Their message was firm: the country’s unity and security should not be compromised by efforts to sow division. They pledged to stand with the government in strengthening and developing Ethiopia, while celebrating the ENDF’s contribution to peace beyond the country’s borders.
What made today’s rallies significant was not simply the number of people on the streets, but the convergence of the messages they carried. Support for the ENDF, respect for the sacrifices of security personnel, the demand for lasting peace, the defense of national unity and the pursuit of Ethiopia’s national interests were woven into a common public declaration.
The rallies offered a visible expression of the relationship between a nation and its defense force. An army’s mission is carried out by its personnel, but the cause it serves belongs to the country it is sworn to defend.
Public solidarity cannot replace the ENDF’s professional duties, yet it can demonstrate the depth of public commitment to the security, unity and sovereignty those duties are intended to protect.
Across Amhara Region today, the message was unmistakable: residents were not content merely to watch events unfold from the sidelines. They took to the streets to declare where they stood—with the ENDF, with lasting peace, and with Ethiopia’s sovereignty and national unity.
Their slogans gave that commitment its clearest expression: the defense force is a symbol of the nation’s shared identity, and standing behind it is, in their view, part of standing up for Ethiopia itself.