BBC Amharic – A drone attack on a shelter for internally displaced persons left 18 people killed and more than 30 wounded in Amhara Region
Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from BBC Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
BBC Amharic – A drone attack on a shelter for internally displaced persons left 18 people killed and more than 30 wounded in Amhara Region
October 30, 2026
A drone attack on the “Jari Number 2” shelter for internally displaced persons in South Wollo Zone of Amhara Region sheltering residents displaced from Wollega Zone of Oromia Region left 18 people killed including “pregnant women and children” according to three residents from the camp and hospital sources who spoke to BBC.
A total of 36 people who sustained casualties including “eight children and 10 women” were taken to Hayq Primary Hospital as confirmed by a hospital source which spoke to BBC.
According to displaced persons who spoke to BBC, the drone attack occurred at around 11 o’clock on Thursday, October 29, 2026 (Tikimit 19, 2019 EC).
The camp located in Teuhuledere District of South Wollo Zone had been used over the past four years to shelter Amhara residents displaced from various parts of the Wollega area in Oromia Region.
Though Fano forces which operate in the region had conducted fighting with state forces in nearby areas there had not been any such circumstance on the day of the attack according to three residents of the camp.
The drone attack which caused significant fatalities had been carried out in at least four rounds said two displaced residents. The drone attack which landed on the camp struck tents made from tarp which were meant to shelter displaced residents.
BBC sent calls and written messages to ENDF communications head Colonel Biresaw Shifferaw however they did not receive an immediate response. Efforts to obtain a response from South Wollo Zone administrator Ali Mekonnen were also unsuccessful.
BBC spoke to one internally displaced person who said the attacks were carried out “within 15 to 20 minutes from one another”, saying “there were five drone strikes. All five landed on tarp tents, the tents burned down, the people burned, they died” they said.
Another resident on their end said the attack took place on “inside an IDP (camp), it was entirely on tents. It was on the camp. They were inside their tents at the time” they explained.
“It dropped four times as it just flew over the camp [when it dropped]” said the third displaced person, and the shelters made from tarp that were damaged were “great in number” they added.
According to the residents these attacks resulted in at least 16 displaced persons losing their lives in the camp. And among those taken for medical care two lost their lives according to a hospital source who spoke to BBC.
Among the dead displaced persons were a significant number of women and children as explained by two residents. One displaced person said, “there were children, there was a woman who gave birth, there was a pregnant woman, but there were also many who were frail.”
One resident said, “three pregnant women died, three students died, there were elderly persons sitting inside their dwellings doing nothing, in their neighbourhood's with nothing, they were innocents [who died]” they explained. The resident named two of the pregnant women who were killed by name, among these women one was “killed along with her five-year-old child” they said.
According to the three residents the other residents who sustained casualties were taken by ambulance to hospital. BBC spoke to a medical source who said 36 injured people reached Hayq Hospital at around 2 pm.
According to the source among the casualties were eight children as young as three years old. And over ten of the victims were women.
“There was one person who died and was returned back after reaching the hospital. And another died as he was taken to Dessie [General Specialized Hospital] for referral” explaining that two additional people lost their lives.
According to the source, among the people who came there were 12 people with severe injuries taken to Dessie City. The injured people who were taken for additional treatment had suffered “severe blood loss, head trauma and bone fractures” they explained.
Another 11 people are currently in Hayq Primary Hospital and other residents who suffered “minor injuries” received medical treatment before leaving.
In the area where the attack was carried out, burials for over 16 people were held yesterday on Thursday “inside the camp in a single grave” according to three displaced persons.
One resident said, “it was not possible to leave from the camp to the outside so we covered them in tarp, we wrapped them in tarp [during their burial], because their hands and their feet had been scattered in different places.”
Another resident said “all of the bodies were left out in the open” there was no one to watch guard, but they were buried in a mass grave.
After yesterday’s attack a significant number of displaced persons vacated the camp said residents.
BBC’s efforts to obtain comment from the state regarding the attack were unsuccessful. During confrontations with the combatants the state had previously denied repeated allegations of drones being used to attack civilians.
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