Ethiopian forces killed approximately 40 fighters on their own side in a drone strike in the insurgency-hit Amhara region on 15 January, a nurse and a local official told AFP on Tuesday.
Amhara, Ethiopia’s second most populous region with about 23 million residents, has been gripped by an insurgency since April 2023, after the federal government attempted to disarm the local ethnic militia, Fano.
The army regularly carries out drone strikes, but the attack on 15 January in Waghemira hit a pro-government camp, the local official told AFP by phone on condition of anonymity. He said army officials later admitted it had been a “mistake,” although the drone had reportedly been hovering over the camp for some time before the strike.
“I immediately saw smoke and fire… I rushed to the scene… I saw body parts of the dead as well as the injured agonising in pain,” the official said, adding that 36 people were killed instantly and two more died in hospital.
A medic who treated several wounded, Abebaw Zinabu, told AFP that “more than 40” were killed.
“How can an attack happen by our forces on a well-known camp that has been home to militia members for the past six years, defending the government, fighting in the desert and valleys, away from their family and loved ones?” the official said.
An army spokesperson told AFP they had “not received any information” on the incident.
Drone Strikes Widely Used in Amhara Conflict
Drone strikes have been extensively used by the Ethiopian government in its operations against armed groups in the Amhara region.
On 27 September 2025, a drone strike hit the Sanka health post in Gubalafto Woreda, North Wollo Zone, killing four civilians, including a pregnant woman, and injuring more than ten others, according to eyewitnesses and health professionals. In April 2025, the BBC reported that more than 100 people were reportedly killed in a drone strike in Gedeb, a rural town in the Enarj Enawga district, East Gojjam Zone.
In February 2025, a strike on a residential house in Zenbo Kebele, Efrata Gidem district, North Shewa Zone, killed three civilians, including a pregnant woman and her six-year-old daughter, a family member told Addis Standard. Earlier, on 5 November 2024, drone strikes and clashes in Durbete, West Gojjam Zone, resulted in multiple deaths, including civilians and militants, with reports indicating that Fano fighters were among those killed in areas where they were allegedly training. In December 2024, an 83-year-old woman was killed by a drone strike in Bilbala, Lasta district, North Wollo Zone, while two health professionals living on the same compound were injured.
ENDF Confirms Drone Use Against Combatants
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, has acknowledged the use of drones against combatants, describing them as weapons acquired specifically for warfare, comparable to firearms such as the Kalashnikov. In an interview aired in December 2023, Berhanu said drones are deployed against “collective targets,” areas where large numbers of enemy forces gather.
He emphasized that the ENDF does not select weapons based on opponents’ preferences and will strike when significant enemy gatherings are identified, although he claimed drones have not been used to their full capacity. He also warned civilians to avoid armed groups, urged families to keep children away from extremists, and stated that drone strikes would continue whenever targets are identified.
Calls for Accountability and International Pressure
In its editorial last October, Addis Standard urged that the government be held accountable for its use of drone strikes on civilian areas, calling for an immediate halt to such operations, independent investigations into past attacks, and justice for perpetrators.
The editorial also stressed that the international community must act with clarity and urgency, making security and military cooperation, as well as diplomatic engagement, conditional on Ethiopia’s adherence to international humanitarian law.
