Two residents of the city who spoke to the BBC said that the exchange of fire was between Tigray militants and federal security forces.

The mayor of Alamata, who was appointed by Tigray's interim administration, Zenabu Desta, confirmed that the incident had occurred, but said that he could not provide detailed information due to the political situation created by the TPLF militants.

According to a resident who asked not to be named, the shooting took place in the city on September 8, 2025, between three o'clock and five o'clock in the evening.

"Because most of the people were asleep," he explained, it was possible to find out what happened after dawn on September 9.

He also said that the cause of the conflict was when they were trying to hang the flag of the Tigray region by demolishing the "Wenchef Square" built by the Amhara prosperity and taking down the Ethiopian flag.