An airstrike in Ethiopia’s Amhara region resulted in the tragic loss of at least 15 civilian lives, including children and the elderly, this week. The incident occurred when a strike hit a truck transporting villagers to a nearby settlement, located approximately 24 km (15 miles) from where Ethiopian troops were engaged in combat with militiamen, as reported by three residents who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals.
The victims included individuals fleeing ongoing clashes and those returning home from a baptism ceremony, according to the residents.
Despite multiple attempts to seek comments, there has been no response from Ethiopia’s government, military, or Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office.
Ethiopian forces have been in conflict with the Fano militia since last July, resulting in over 200 reported deaths, according to United Nations reports from the previous year. The airstrike on Monday targeted a large Isuzu truck carrying several dozen people in Amhara’s North Shewa Zone, as recounted by the three residents. Independent verification of their accounts is unavailable.
“We first heard an explosion and the area was covered with smoke and dust,” a priest said. “We collected 15 bodies. It was more a matter of collecting their dismembered bodies. Hands, legs and heads were everywhere.”
The priest said more than 20 people wounded in the strike were sent to hospital and that he thought the overall death toll was significantly higher.
Another resident, who claimed to have lost 10 family members, asserted that at least 30 people had been killed. Villagers reported seeing a small drone in the area just before the explosion, according to this resident.
A third resident, grieving the loss of his son and daughter-in-law, shared that at least 20 people were killed in the truck. The Ethiopian military’s extensive use of drones during the conflict has been documented by the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which reported the deaths of at least 81 civilians in drone strikes or extrajudicial killings by government security forces.
Despite allegations of abuses by the military, the federal government has generally refrained from responding to requests for comments. The government maintains that military actions in Amhara are intended to uphold law and order and protect citizens’ rights.
A video circulating on social media purports to show the aftermath of Monday’s attack, depicting lifeless and bloodied bodies alongside a badly damaged white-and-green Isuzu truck. Reuters could not independently verify the video’s authenticity.
The Amhara conflict erupted less than a year after the government brokered a peace deal in November 2022 to end a two-year civil war in the neighboring Tigray region. Fano militiamen, who previously fought alongside the military in that conflict, now accuse the federal government of undermining Amhara’s security, a claim denied by the government.
