ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's federal government on Friday declared a state of emergency following days of clashes in the Amhara region between the military and local militiamen.

Fighting that broke out across Ethiopia's second-largest region earlier this week between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) has quickly become a major security crisis.

Amhara's government on Thursday requested additional help from federal authorities to reimpose order.

The statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office announcing the state of emergency did not say whether it applied only in Amhara or across the country.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Toby Chopra)