A devastating drone strike in the Sahala Sayemt district of Ethiopia’s Wag Hemra Zone has claimed the lives of at least 36 people, according to local reports and testimonies gathered by the BBC. The attack took place on the morning of Thursday, January 7, 2018, in the Ethiopian calendar, targeting a militia camp in a location known as Wide Bridge, situated just outside the sub-town of Mesha. At the time of the explosion, militia members were reportedly gathered for a morning meeting and breakfast, having no reason to suspect they were in danger. Residents and local officials noted that a drone had been observed scouting the area in the days leading up to the event, but the militia believed the surveillance was routine and did not expect an offensive strike.
The aftermath of the attack has left the community in a state of shock and mourning. Beyond the 36 confirmed fatalities, at least 16 others were injured, including two women and a child who were working in the camp’s kitchen. The destruction at the site was nearly total; the camp, which had served as a logistics hub and armor storage facility since the Tigray war, was burned to the ground along with its equipment. The BBC spoke with health professionals and residents who described the horrific difficulty of identifying the deceased, noting that many victims were burned so severely that they had to be buried in mass graves at the local St. Gabriel’s Church.
In a development that has sparked both grief and anger, local military leadership reportedly characterized the incident as a “mistake.” During a funeral ceremony held on Friday in Mesha, a commander from the Defense Forces expressed regret for the loss of life and offered apologies to the families of the victims, promising that the government would provide support to the orphans and relatives left behind. However, the district administration has raised sharp questions about the nature of this error. They have called for a formal investigation to identify who authorized the drone strike and how a coordinated military asset could misidentify a friendly militia camp that was specifically positioned to prevent the entry of rival Fano forces into the district.
Despite the admissions made by local commanders on the ground, the central leadership of the Ethiopian Defense Forces has yet to provide a definitive public statement. Colonel Getnet Adane, the head of defense communications, told the BBC that he currently lacked detailed information regarding the strike but would be gathering reports from the relevant authorities to clarify the situation. For now, the people of the Wag Hemra Zone are left to bury their dead and wait for an official explanation for a “mistake” that has cost dozens of lives and devastated a local security outpost.
