Tewodros says he is concerned this incident is being used to divide people, and that "the longer the federal army is present in the region, the more suspicious Amharas will become and believe this is a deliberate attempt to weaken Amharas and the region."
"It will be difficult for Abiy to regain the trust of Amharas after the Ethiopian media tried to make Asmamanew look like a monster and killer while the majority of Amharas see him as a hero," Tewodrose says.
Arresting hundreds of Amharas that have nothing to do with the killings is making things worse.
The political shootout in Amhara province and a military assassination in Addis Ababa on the same day in late June came as a shock to observers who have praised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's slew of reforms, including freeing political prisoners and lifting bans on exiled groups.
At a 22 June meeting meant to have been top-secret, the most powerful men in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region discussed the removal of General Asamnew Tsige, the regional security chief whose outspoken stance on hard-line ethnic nationalism had become an increasing concern to the Ethiopian establishment.
The Oromos and the Amharas, along with several smaller ethnic groups, feel unrepresented in their government, and that has led to conflict.
Oromos and Amharas are both tired of having such limited say in government.
The Oromia and Amhara regional states spokesmen issued statements after a week of unrest in Oromia that reportedly caused major business disruptions and the burning of several vehicles and properties in various locations, WTOP reported.
"Besides the eleven killings, we have witnessed the destruction of properties and displacement of citizens," spokesman of for the Amhara region, Nigusu Tilahun said on Sunday.
The Amharas and Tigrayans had previously lived peacefully side by side but analysts blame the ethnic-federalism system which introduced ethnic ownership of lands for triggering the current dispute.
He also rejected any notion that the clashes was being spearheaded by the Amhara community.
So to arrest those individuals the Federal Police moved into this area," Negusu Tilahun, Head of Communication Affairs with the Amhara Regional Government told DW.
The violence, which the government says was part of a plot by a rogue general and his militia to take over Amhara, exposed how ethnic tensions are threatening the reform agenda of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Since its founding last year, NAMA has emerged as a rival to the Amhara party in the ruling coalition, which has held power in Ethiopia since 1991.
Party spokesman Christian Tadele told Reuters he had also received reports of arrests of Amhara people in four towns in the Oromia region.
