Drone strike kills 12 civilians collecting grain in Ethiopia’s Tigray region

At least 12 civilians were killed and several others injured in a drone strike in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region Friday while collecting grain spilled from a truck damaged in an earlier attack, local authorities and hospital sources confirmed Saturday.

The attack took place in the town of Rama, where residents had gathered to collect sorghum scattered across the road after a privately owned truck transporting grain for local traders was struck Thursday night.

Local sources told Ethiopian news outlet Addis Standard that 12 people died at the scene, while several others sustained injuries, some of them serious.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which monitors violence worldwide, also documented the Friday attack, recording 12 deaths plus injuries and property damage.

The latest incident comes amid renewed fighting in Tigray, where drone operations have raised concerns over civilian safety.

Earlier in October, separate drone strikes in Medebay Terer killed seven civilians, including an 8-year-old girl, and injured six others. Other attacks in the Hintalo district also caused civilian deaths, including a 2-year-old child.

The escalation extends beyond Tigray, with drone strikes causing casualties in the neighboring Amhara region and western Oromia.

On Thursday, a strike at the Hayiq Jari 2 Turk displacement camp in Amhara killed at least 16 civilians and injured 22 others.

Ethiopia’s northern conflict has also heightened tensions with neighboring Eritrea, which Addis Ababa has accused of supporting armed groups and sending troops into Tigray.

Eritrea has rejected the accusations, as concerns grow over the risk of another regional confrontation.