Destroyed shelters at the Hayiq Jari 2 camp for displaced people in South Wollo, in images published by Addis Standard on October 29, 2026. Photo: Addis Standard (@addisstandard) via X
A drone strike on Thursday killed 16 people and wounded 22 at a camp for displaced Amhara families in South Wollo, residents told Addis Standard. Schoolchildren were among the dead, residents told DW Amharic.
The dead included three pregnant women, an eight year old girl and students, camp residents told Addis Standard. "The drone struck the camp five times, at least, at intervals of 15 minutes, while IDPs were inside their shelters. We never expected a drone to attack the camp," one witness told the news site. Another resident said at least 15 of the dead "were buried together in one grave because we had no place to bury them individually." The wounded were taken to the hospital in Haik, and those in serious condition were sent on to Dessie, the witness said. Residents said the camp holds more than 1,800 displaced people and that aid groups had largely stopped helping them.
The camp, called Hayiq Jari 2 and known locally as Turk camp, sits in Tehuledere district near the town of Haik in the Amhara region. Most of the people living there are Amharas who fled killings in the Wollega zones of Oromia several years ago. According to residents quoted by DW Amharic, the attack began at about 11:30 in the morning local time on October 29 and lasted around half an hour, after drones had been seen circling the area since the day before.
One resident told DW Amharic that the strike combined drones and artillery, and that the plastic sheeting of the shelters burned completely. The attack came as parents were collecting their children from school, the resident said, and two pupils were killed while others suffered serious wounds to their hands and other parts of their bodies. A mother told the broadcaster that she had just brought her children home from school when it happened. "I saved one child, but the other one was hit on her hand," she said, in Mereja's translation.
Residents told DW Amharic that Fano fighters move around the area near the camp and that the strike may have been aimed at the surroundings, but that the blows landed squarely on the camp, scattering its residents in fear. DW Amharic said no official body had issued a statement or explanation about the attack. Local sources quoted by another broadcaster said there was no armed activity in the area, The Abay Times reported. Those sources put the toll at at least 17 and said it could rise because of fires in the camp.
On social media, accounts that follow the war in Amhara gave higher tolls, which Mereja could not verify. The account @neby_G wrote on Thursday afternoon that "at least 23" displaced civilians were killed in what it called three successive drone strikes, and said the first strike came at about 1:10 PM, that the drone stayed overhead after the first strike, and that wounded people were taken to Haik by Red Cross ambulances. Another account, @JoeTseGy, shared a statement saying about 20 people died and more than 25 were badly wounded, citing people at the site. @AfcRoBel, who posted photos of burned tents, wrote that residents had told him "many people" had died. None of these figures, including the toll given by residents to Addis Standard, has been confirmed by an official or humanitarian body.
Robel Alemu (@TheFitawrari) shared the DW Amharic report and called for attention to the attack.
DW Amharic also reported heavy fighting between the army and Fano forces around Sanka in South Wollo since last Saturday.
Mereja asked the Government Communication Service, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Amhara regional communication office on Thursday whether a strike hit the camp, how many people were killed and who carried it out. None had responded by the time of publication, and the claims could not be independently confirmed.
The people in the camp are now scattered and living in great fear, and no authority has explained what happened, residents said, according to DW Amharic.