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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.
A drone attack in Eastern Gojjam kills more than 100 people say eyewitnesses
April 23, 2025
On Thursday, April 17, 2025 (Miyazia 9, 2017 EC) a drone attack on a school killed more than 100 people in East Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region say residents and eyewitnesses who spoke to BBC.
In a small rural town called Gedeb in Enarj Enawga Woreda of the zone “civilians” who came for development work to build a fence and buildings for a school were reportedly killed.
The local administration, however, told BBC the attack targeted local Fano militants that were gathered and not civilians.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission indicated it is undertaking investigations into the alleged attack.
Residents told BBC the attack struck people who were “gathered” in Gedeb Primary School to build a fence.
Another eyewitness who reported being near the site of the attack says there was immediate shouts, unrest and shock, “we didn’t know what had happened” they said describing the circumstances during the incident.
The source and others, who were working at the time, traveled to the area where the attack took place saying “people could not be distinguished” describing the aftermath.
“Everything became black. There were no people left in the area. Among those who fell, some had been shouting and others had been rolling. What happened was disturbing. It is disturbing for anyone with humanity.”
Another resident who had been building the school fence when their right hand was struck and injured said there had been an “intense explosion” and added “a large number of people were hurt.”
Another eyewitness said many community members had gathered “some were cutting eucalyptus, others were striking nails, others were cutting rafter, and there were others carrying” and that the number of people killed “was great in number.”
Another eyewitness who said they retrieved bodies said the majority of victims from the attack lost their lives immediately, and that the majority of the deceased were youths.
More than 24 injured victims were taken for medical care said the witness, but the majority who were taken to Gedeb health center in the town lost their lives soon after arriving.
One eyewitness who said they used a bajaj to transport more than 70 bodies to the church said there were over 120 killed victims and among the victims were children and elderly persons.
“Between 115 and 120 bodies were buried. I believe there are others who were not identified. This is because we were in a state of shock.”
Another eyewitness on their end said they observed up to the retrieval of the first 57 bodies and they predicted that the number killed was beyond 100.
The witnesses said it was difficult to identify who the bodies belonged to as a result of the severe injuries to the bodies and for this reason they were buried en masse in Gedeb Giyorgis Church up to 2 am while in fear.
One resident said, “they were told to bury the bodies before they could be consumed by vultures and for this reason, they were buried in five graves which were dug swiftly.”
Following the attack government forces entered the town prompting some residents to flee the area out of fear says one resident who added they carried out additional attacks.
After residents had settled down, a tent was laid out for the funeral of the victims and days later a program called “Firaj” was held for the mourners’, said residents.
“Recently it’s been terror. The entire public is terrified” they said explaining that the Fasika holiday was spent in fear in anticipation of another drone attack, “there was no holiday” they said.
“We are in mourning. It didn’t seem like a holiday. Youths did not come to town to celebrate the holiday” they said explaining that the area is now in a state of mourning.
Since the start of the conflict in Amhara Region in mid 2023 (late 2015 EC), the town had been under control of Fano militants say residents.
When the attack was carried out Fano militants were not present in the town and there was no active fighting in the area.
The militants “are not present in town unless they come for specific work reasons” said one resident.
One eyewitness who said they were a merchant said the victims were civilians and that he knew “many of them through his business.”
“If they had been Fano members we would have found armed persons when the bodies were retrieved. We know the difference between Fano and members of the public. The Fano also operate together in groups”, said another resident.
Another resident, “we are unsure of whether the people who were building fences and homes were labeled as Fano militants during drone surveillance…it could be that the people were labeled as Fano members when they were gathered, this is what we understood” they said offering their guess for why the attack may have been carried out.
Enarj Enawga Woreda administrator Ato Mulu Getie said the killing of civilians was “enemy propaganda” and told BBC the measures were taken again Fano militants who he called “extremists”.
“There is a large number of forces in this area. I have information that this group even conducts training. The notions of a school fence and building homes are a cover…” he said adding no civilians were killed even by stray fragments.
Fano militants on their end had operated in the woreda however at the time of the attack there had been “no armed combatants” in Gedeb town, saying none of their forces were killed in the attack.
Amhara Fano in Gojjam Vice-Chairman Ato Asres Mare Damtie said their forces did not use the area for training, “everyone that was killed was a civilian. There was not a single armed person in the area” saying the attack was carried out to terrorize the public.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) told BBC they were conducting investigations into the drone attacks.