A suspected army drone strike killed at least 26 protesters and injured more than 70 others in Ethiopia on Sunday, the BBC reported.
The strike occurred in the town of Finote Selam, Amhara Region, where people were said to have gathered in protest against plans by the military to enter the area, according to the BBC. It followed recent heavy fighting between the military and an Amhara-based militia group, Fano, the outlet reported.
Fano had backed the military during the Tigray civil war but had refused to lay down their arms, alleging that the federal government was trying to weaken regional defenses, a separate BBC report noted. The federal government reportedly declared a six-month state of emergency on August 4 and deployed the army against the militia group. (RELATED: REPORT: Drone Strike Kills 17 People On Same Day Biden Speaks With African Leader)
Ethiopia Amhara: Air strike kills at least 26 in Finote Selam https://t.co/sXnDoJGqwH
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) August 14, 2023
The report of the strike on Finote Selam was credible, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said in a statement, while also indicating that there were “credible reports of strikes and shelling” in the city of Debre Birham and the town of Burie. All three locations are in the Amhara region, which borders the troubled Tigray region.
“There have been cases where protestors including civilians who attempted to block roads were killed,” the EHRC statement read in part, while also noting that the government of the Amhara region has suffered destruction and deaths, commercial activities have been paralyzed, and access to basic amenities disrupted.
The conflict is the greatest security challenge facing Ethiopia since the end of the country’s two-year Tigray war in November 2022, per the BBC.
“The explosion shook the city. I don’t know if it was a drone or something else. But it fell from the sky,” Tikikil Kumlachew, a university professor who visited the hospital where victims of the suspected strike were taken to, reportedly said.