At least 26 people, believed to be protestors, have been killed in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, reports said.
According to VOA, a suspected drone attack on Sunday August 13, 2023, was carried out in the central town of Finote Selam, in the West Gojam Zone.
The BBC has claimed that the bombing was carried out by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), following clashes with a militia group, called Fano, in the Amhara region since August 3, 2023.
The protesters were said to be demonstrating against plans by government forces to enter the area.
A doctor at a local hospital told VOA that injured people started arriving around midday.
“There are many people who died at the site of the accident, but we do not have the exact numbers of that. But the ones who arrived here and passed away are around 26 people as of now,” the doctor said.
Around 55 people are thought to be being treated for injuries sustained in the attack.
The Fano militia recently fought alongside the government against Tigrayan forces during a two-year war that ended in November 2023.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it has received “credible reports of strikes and shelling, including from Debre Birhan, Finote Selam, and Burie, resulting in many civilian casualties and damage to residential areas and public spaces”.
According to the EHRC fighting broke out “following the decision by the Federal Government to dissolve and reorganize Regional Special Forces”.
A state of emergency was declared by the government on August 4, 2023.
