At least 36 people were killed and 16 others injured in a drone strike targeting a public meeting on ethnic administration in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, local officials and residents told the BBC.

The incident took place on Thursday morning, January 15, 2025, at a camp in Sahala Sayemti district, according to five sources cited by the BBC. The camp, located in an area known as Sefa Dildiy near the town of Meshaha, has served as a shelter for displaced individuals since the Tigray conflict and is also used as a base by security forces.

District officials noted that military equipment was present at the site at the time of the attack. Local commanders and residents said the strike was carried out “by mistake.”

Residents described the militia managing the camp as present during the attack. “They were receiving instructions and consuming food,” a district leader told the BBC, a claim confirmed by three local residents who witnessed the gathering. The militia has reportedly been stationed in the area to prevent incursions by Fano forces.

The attack has raised questions about the targeting of locations serving both as civilian shelters and military posts in conflict-affected regions of Amhara.