Drone strikes on displacement camp in Ethiopia's Amhara region kill at least 15

A series of drone strikes hit the Jari 2 displacement camp in Ethiopia's Amhara region on October 29, 2026, killing at least 15 civilians, including at least five children, and injuring 36 others. Witnesses reported that no active fighting was occurring nearby during the bombardment. While local Fano militias allied with Tigray rebels were reportedly in the area, official attribution remains unconfirmed as federal military authorities have declined to comment.

The drone attack on Jari 2 camp

• ▪Witnesses and rescue workers reported that no active fighting was taking place in or immediately around the Jari 2 camp when the drone strikes occurred.
• ▪A series of drone strikes hit the Jari 2 displacement camp
• ▪The Jari 2 displacement camp, located 400 kilometers northeast of Addis Ababa and home to over 1,700 displaced civilians, was hit as students were returning home from school.

Casualties in the Jari 2 camp strike

• ▪The conflict monitoring group ACLED estimated that between 16 and 23 people were killed in the drone strikes on the Jari 2 displacement camp.
• ▪At least 15 to 16 people were killed in the drone attack on the Jari 2 displacement camp, including 13 to 14 people buried at the site and two who died at a hospital in Hayk.
• ▪At least 36 people were injured in the Jari 2 camp drone strikes and required medical treatment.

Child casualties from the strike

• ▪Rescue workers confirmed that at least five children were among those killed in the drone strikes on the Jari 2 displacement camp.
• ▪At least 10 children under the age of five received medical treatment for injuries sustained in the Jari 2 camp attack.

Displaced camp residents

• ▪According to witnesses, the displaced residents of the Jari 2 camp had originally fled from Oromia, the neighbouring and most populous region in Ethiopia.
• ▪Following the attack on the Jari 2 displacement camp, surviving residents were relocated to shelter in a local school in the town of Hayk.

Silence over responsibility for the strike

• ▪Spokespersons for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Ethiopian federal military did not respond to official requests for comment regarding the Jari 2 camp strikes.
• ▪No military or government group immediately claimed responsibility for the drone strikes on the Jari 2 displacement camp.

Drone strikes in Rama

• ▪An initial drone strike targeted a private vehicle carrying sorghum in the centre of Rama at approximately 9:00 pm on October 29, 2026.
• ▪A separate drone strike in Rama, Tigray, killed at least 11 to 13 civilians on October 30, 2026, as residents gathered to salvage grain from a lorry struck the previous night.

Conflict impact in Amhara

• ▪Nearly half a million people were displaced in Amhara, Ethiopia's second most populous region, according to United Nations figures published in July 2026.
• ▪The Ethiopian military has utilized drone strikes extensively during clashes in Amhara and Tigray to gain a tactical advantage, but has faced accusations of civilian casualties.

Rebel groups in Ethiopia

• ▪The Ethiopian federal government previously fought a war against the Tigray People's Liberation Front from 2020 to 2022 before signing a peace agreement.
• ▪Members of the Amhara Fano National Movement, which is allied with rebels from the Tigray region against the Ethiopian federal government, were present near the Jari 2 camp prior to the strike.

Broader conflict in northern Ethiopia

• ▪Ethiopian government forces launched a military offensive on September 23, 2026, driving back the Tigray-led rebel alliance and retaking the Tigray regional capital.
• ▪Ethiopia accused neighboring Eritrea of supporting Tigray rebels by sending troops across the border, an allegation Eritrea denied while calling the claim a declaration of war.