Tensions have escalated across Ethiopia following a deadly military strike on a historic Orthodox monastery in the Amhara region, leaving two nuns dead and at least 14 others injured.
The attack unfolded Wednesday morning around 10:00 a.m. at the Arsema Monastery near Mekane Selam in the South Wollo Zone. Eyewitness accounts and monastic leadership reported that nuns were gathered under a tree within the compound, preparing grain reserves for the community, when the aerial bombardment struck. Beyond the immediate loss of life, the blast leveled vital grain storage facilities and shattered the water pipeline serving the religious complex. Emergency responders and church administrators subsequently transported the wounded to medical facilities in Mekane Selam and Dessie, where several remain in critical condition.
The strike has drawn swift and severe condemnation from major Ethiopian opposition parties. The Enat Party characterized the strike not as a operational error, but as part of a calculated and systemic campaign targeting religious communities and sacred heritage under the guise of counter-insurgency. Joining the backlash, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) sharply criticized the ruling Prosperity Party, questioning the credibility of the government’s ongoing national dialogue initiative while civilian spaces and holy sites continue to face violence.
Ground accounts confirm that while armed Fano militia members maintain a checkpoint nearby along the main road to Gojjam, clergy emphasized that no insurgents were inside the monastery compound when the strike took place. Federal defense forces have relied heavily on aerial technology and drone strikes throughout their prolonged military offensive against Fano fighters in the Amhara region, a strategy that opposition leaders argue consistently jeopardizes civilian lives and regional infrastructure.
Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Ethiopian National Defense Force has publicly acknowledged the strike or offered an explanation for the attack on the monastic compound. The incident has sparked widespread anger among followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and reignited calls from political leaders and civil society for an independent investigation into military conduct in Amhara.
