Mersa / Habru, North Wollo — At least 39 government militia members were killed in an attack on a training ground near the Jara shelter in Habru district, North Wollo Zone, Amhara region on 5 September 2018, BBC Amharic has reported. Eyewitnesses told BBC Amharic that the site — believed to be a militia training camp close to a displaced-persons shelter used since 2015 — was hit on the morning of 5 September. A senior North Wollo zone official confirmed to BBC Amharic that an attack on trained militia members took place and said authorities were still gathering information on the extent of the damage.
It remains unclear which armed group carried out the assault. Some residents and local sources have speculated the attack may have been carried out by Amhara Fano fighters or by forces loyal to the TPLF, though there has been no independent verification of those claims. Analysts and recent reporting note that Fano-style Amhara militias have been active across Wollo and other parts of Amhara in recent years, and that TPLF-aligned forces have at times operated beyond Tigray into northern Amhara during later phases of the wider northern conflict — context that residents pointed to when offering possible explanations.
Local sources told BBC Amharic that the training ground targeted had previously been used to train members of the regional defense forces and that the site sits close to the Jara shelter where displaced people from Oromia have camped since 2015. BBC Amharic reported that officials were still collecting casualty and damage figures at the time of their reporting.
No group has publicly taken responsibility for the attack and federal and regional authorities had not issued a detailed account confirming the attacker or motive by the time of the BBC Amharic report. Further investigation and on-the-ground confirmation will be needed to verify responsibility for the strike.
