State Department urges dialogue and independent probes as fighting continues in Amhara and Tigray


The Harry S Truman Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, with a Department of State sign in the foreground

The Harry S Truman Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of State, in Washington on July 2, 2025. Credit: U.S. Department of State / Isaac D. Pacheco. [file photo]

A State Department spokesman, answering further questions from Mereja Media, said fighting in several regions of Ethiopia, including Amhara, is a concern and urged all parties to protect civilians and resolve disputes through dialogue.

The reply was given on background on Monday, November 9, in response to questions Mereja Media sent on November 5 about the Amhara conflict, reported drone strikes on schools and civilian buildings, independent investigation of drone attacks on civilians, and humanitarian access in Amhara and Tigray. Under the ground rules for a background reply, Mereja Media attributes the comments to a State Department spokesman and does not name the official.

“Reports of civilian killings in Amhara and elsewhere in Ethiopia demand action,” the spokesman said. “We call for independent investigations and accountability.”

“There is no durable military solution to these conflicts,” the spokesman added. “We remain ready to support peace talks to resolve internal conflicts.”

The State Department has advised that U.S. citizens avoid travel to the Amhara Region because of ongoing armed conflict and violence, the spokesman said. The Department’s congressionally mandated annual country report on human rights practices, the spokesman said, references “reports of conflict-related human rights abuses in the Amhara … region,” including reported drone strikes.

On Tigray, the spokesman said that despite improving availability of essential supplies and generally feasible humanitarian access, aerial attacks and movement restrictions continue to impede humanitarian operations and result in civilian casualties and displacement in Tigray’s northwestern and central zones.

What the reply left unanswered

Mereja Media asked whether the United States is mediating between the Ethiopian government and Fano, and asked specifically about the reported drone strike on schools and civilian buildings in Dera and other Amhara towns. The reply did not say whether the State Department is mediating with Fano. It did not mention Dera by name.

Context for those questions includes reports that a drone struck Sana Primary School (also called Sana Elementary School) in Dera woreda, South Gondar, on October 20 while classes were in session. Several eyewitnesses told DW Amharic that a drone hit the school or the surrounding area at about 10 a.m. local time. Mereja Media reported that account the next day, noting that casualty figures from the Amhara Fano National Movement and posts on X conflicted and that Mereja Media could not verify them.

Addis Standard later reported that at least six schoolchildren were killed and more than 20 wounded, and that a teacher at the school said no armed people were in or near the compound. Other accounts put the dead at seven to ten and the wounded above 25, figures the paper said it could not verify. Borkena, citing Anchor Media and Fano forces, also reported at least six schoolchildren killed and 27 wounded. Fano spokesman Gashaw Gizat told Anchor Media the strike came while classes were in session. Pro government activists on social media said the target was Fano forces and that no children were killed. Neither the Government Communication Service nor the Ethiopian National Defense Force has confirmed or denied the reported strike, according to those outlets.

On X, the Amhara Capacity Building Institute relayed Amhara Fano National Movement statements condemning the strike. One ACBI post said the strike had killed “at least 27 children.” An account posting as @TeferiFe wrote that the strike was “reportedly killing 27 students.” Another, @dehnahun65780, wrote that 27 students were harmed and that seven “passed away immediately.” Photos shared by @ETHDefenders showed a damaged classroom; Mereja Media could not confirm that the photos show Sana school or that they were taken that day. Security trackers were more cautious: Armistice Security Consult International called the report an “alleged airstrike,” and @AUC31 called early accounts “unverified, single-source.”

It was not the first report of a strike on the same school. The Amhara Advocacy Group said in September that a September 7 drone strike left the Sana Primary School building “completely destroyed.” Mereja Media covered that claim in September, citing the Amhara Association of America’s weekly tally.

Independent reporting has also described aerial attacks and disrupted aid in Tigray. In September, the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat said a drone struck a truck carrying more than 41 metric tons of food for displaced people in Sheraro. The United Nations later said the escalation risked adding to already substantial needs and that insecurity was disrupting humanitarian movements. The New Humanitarian reported in October that federal aerial campaigns and renewed fighting had cut access and left aid operations struggling. Mereja Media could not independently confirm each of those incident details from the field.

Earlier U.S. engagement

In an earlier background reply to Mereja Media on November 4, a State Department spokesman said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on October 14, that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker had spoken twice with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh since October 1, most recently on October 11, and with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos on October 2, that Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia met Osman Saleh on October 1, and pointed to an October 3 statement. That earlier reply focused on Ethiopia and Eritrea tensions. Monday’s reply turned more directly to Amhara fighting, civilian killings, drone strikes in the human rights report, and humanitarian conditions in Tigray.

The federal government, the Amhara regional government and Fano had not issued public responses to Monday’s State Department comments by publication time.

Separately, Democratic senators led by Jeanne Shaheen wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging an immediate ceasefire, new mediation, a halt to new arms sales and the reinstatement of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, Semafor reported, and the State Department did not comment.

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