ADDIS ABABA, An Ethiopian government drone strike allegedly hit Abay St. Arsema Monastery in South Wollo Zone of the Amhara region on Wednesday, killing eight nuns and injuring seven others, according to witnesses and local residents.
Witnesses said there were no active clashes or visible armed groups in the area when the strike occurred. They said the attack took place at about 10 a.m. local time on July 22 as the nuns were preparing lunch for the monastery community.
Survivors and local residents told The Horn Frequency they were shocked by the attack, saying there had been no fighting in the area and no apparent military presence that would have prompted a drone strike. The Horn Frequency could not independently verify those accounts.
The Ethiopian government has not publicly commented on the reported strike, and it was not immediately possible to independently verify the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The incident comes as fighting has intensified in parts of the Amhara region. Sources told The Horn Frequency that government forces recently shelled civilian areas in Dega Damot and the Choke area of East Gojjam using heavy artillery, tanks, and other heavy weapons. Those claims could not be independently verified, and the government has not commented on the allegations.
The reported monastery strike also comes as Ethiopia is conducting a national dialogue aimed at addressing long-standing political disputes. Thousands of delegates representing different communities and interest groups are participating in the process.
Political analysts in Addis Ababa, who spoke to The Horn Frequency on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the reported attack raises fresh questions about the credibility of the national dialogue and its prospects for helping resolve the country’s political and security crises.
Conflict continues across parts of the Amhara region, while tensions are also rising in Tigray amid growing concerns over renewed hostilities involving the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP), an opposition political party, condemned the reported drone strike in a statement issued on Thursday, describing it as an attack on a religious institution. The party called on the international community to stand with Ethiopians and increase pressure on the federal government.
