BBC Amharic – A drone attack on militias at a camp left at least 36 killed in Wag Hemra Zone
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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 militias at a camp left at least 36 killed in Wag Hemra Zone
January 17, 2026 (Tir 9, 2018 EC)
A drone attack on militias gathered for a meeting left at least 36 killed in Wag Hemra Zone of Amhara Region according to a Sehala Seyemit Woreda official, a health professional and residents who spoke to BBC.
The attack resulted in 16 injuries and left the camp and the firearms inside destroyed, according to the woreda official.
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) commanders operating in the area said the attack was conducted in “error” according to the woreda official and residents.
On the morning of Thursday, January 15, 2026 (Tir 7, 2018 EC) a drone attack was carried out on a militia camp in Sehala Seyemit Woreda of Wag Hemra Zone according to five witnesses who spoke to BBC.
The camp was in the “Sefa Dildiy” area, located near the administrative center of the woreda, “Meshaha” town, established as a militia hub since the Tigray war, said residents.
The camp was a supply storage site where the security forces stayed and ate. Residents said the militia members were based in the camp to prevent Fano forces operating in the area from “entering into the woreda.”
At the time of the attack the militias were sent to the field in front of the camp when their superiors “gave orders as they were having breakfast” according to the woreda official who spoke to BBC. Three woreda residents confirmed that the militias were gathered for breakfast. That day Fano forces were “operating to carry out an offensive against the local militias” according to the woreda official, and the militia personnel were making “preparations” to engage the militants. “When the situation intensified the ENDF were asked to come” said the official.
Residents and the official say there was drone surveillance in the area in the days leading up to the incident. Prior to the attack, the drone was sighted circling around the area.
Though the drone sighting did cause concern among the militias, they trusted “there would be no attack against allies” explained residents. The woreda official that BBC spoke to shared a similar reasoning.
The official said, “in order to give orders we were in communication with our superiors on coordinating when the ‘drone came.’ When we asked, ‘what is this drone?’, we were told ‘the drone is circling.’ We said, ‘it must be conducting surveillance.’ At an unexpected time, it returned in no less than 30 minutes” they said explaining the circumstance.
According to the official, in this drone attack “36 people” were confirmed killed. The official further explained that “16 people” were injured and the condition of four people was “uncertain”.
“The camp was completely destroyed. A significant number of firearms were burned. Overall, all of the logistics and ammunition were inside. Since it is far away and we could not reach all of our firearms, our ammunition for the warfront, and our large weapons have been burned down in many areas” said the official explaining the details of the property damages.
Two woreda residents who spoke to BBC said, “38 people” died and that the deceased “were all militia members.”
One health professional who transported the wounded victims to a health center by ambulance told BBC that ten lost their lives while nine were taken to the health center they work at for treatment.
According to the health professional “the ten were brought to us after they had died. One died after reaching us. We traveled to the bridge. And the death occurred as we brought them from the bridge. Another came to us and after we referred him to another center he died on the road.”
The health professional explains the people who lost their lives and were taken to the center was for “postmortem care” and until “locals calmed down.”
The person who lost their life as they were being transported to the health center “was Ato Desalegn Libsnew who gave orders to the militias” according to two residents.
Among those injured were two women and one child who cooked food in the camp. The health professional said the two women and child sustained “minor” injuries.
In addition to the deceased militias there were others which sustained “severe injuries” said the health professional, while three persons were sent to Sekota and Dessie cities for better care.
When the health professional explained the fatalities, they said, “we heard the majority were buried there. Most of those who were brought to us were badly injured.”
Three woreda residents told BBC, “bodies of more than 20 people who could not be identified” were buried in Qidus Gabriel Church in the area.
One resident said “more than 10” of the killed people were relatives or persons they knew, “those who could be identified were laid to rest. Those who could not be identified were buried all together.”
Another resident who lost at least “four cousins” in the attack said, “in the place where the bodies were burned, over 20 people were buried. It was not possible to identify them; the majority were reduced to ash. They were people known to be part of the ganta but they could not be identified” they said explaining the circumstances of the casualties.
Other bodies were taken to kebeles of the woreda where the militias were from, said residents. They explained that on Friday, January 16, 2026 (Tir 8, 2018 EC) a funeral service was held in the woreda center of Meshaha.
ENDF commanders and zone officials were present at the funeral, according to a resident who attended.
The ENDF commander said “sorry, there was a mistake. We will support family members and children of the deceased and the zone. We are sorry for what transpired,” they said.
BBC spoke to a woreda official that said the drone attack was carried out by “error” according to what the ENDF commanders told the woreda officials.
“There was a debriefing. They said it was an ‘error’...a general in the area had come. In today’s debriefing they explained that it was an error” they said explaining what the local ENDF commander said in their debriefing. The woreda official however stated they shared concerns about exactly what kind of error had taken place. The official said, “this is not an ordinary error” adding “for us there are questions about how the area was surveyed, identified, and who ordered the attacked.”
“The person who sent the drone must be asked. The individual must be identified. This is what we need in order to continue to trust in the government. Outside of this the response that it was ‘by error’ is not satisfactory for us” they said, explaining their grievance.
BBC’s efforts to include comments from the ENDF regarding the attack were unsuccessful.
ENDF Communications Head Colonel Biresaw Shifferaw said he “had no information” about the attack, and said information would be gathered from “relevant higher authorities” to issue a response.
