According to Al Jazeera English, On November 30, a deadly drone attack killed five civilians in Wegel Tena, a town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, leaving residents traumatised. Witnesses reported that a drone struck an ambulance near Delanta Primary Hospital, killing hospital staff, including a doctor and construction workers.

Gebeyehu, a local witness, described the horrific aftermath with bodies burned to dust and remnants of victims clutching mobile phones. Surveillance drones continue to hover over Wegel Tena, creating an atmosphere of fear among residents.

The attack is part of a surge in drone activity by the Ethiopian army against the Fano militia, who previously allied with the government but refused to disband in April, subsequently seizing several towns in August. In response, the government declared a state of emergency and launched military operations to quell the rebels.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the UN have documented multiple incidents of civilian casualties from drone strikes and other violence in the Amhara region, including the deaths of 26 people in Finote Selam and killings in Wadera and Wabirr. The BBC reported another deadly drone strike in Amhara Sayint on December 10, and a Christmas Day strike killed eight in Oromia.

Tewodrose Tirfe from the Amhara Association of America highlighted the rise in drone strikes targeting civilians, indicating federal forces’ struggles against Fano. Despite military denials of targeting civilians, footage from the Wegel Tena strike contradicts these claims, showing an ambulance destroyed by a direct aerial hit.

Regionwide communication outages hinder the verification of reports, but ongoing violence underscores the severe impact of drone strikes on the civilian population in Amhara.Read more about collective punishment in Amhara: Collective punishment’: Ethiopia drone strikes target civilians in Amhara