Aerial bombardment at the Jari Number Two shelter site leaves 18 dead and forces hundreds of survivors to flee toward Dessie and Hayiq
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — At least 18 internally displaced persons were killed and dozens more wounded in a series of aerial drone strikes followed by gunfire at the Jari Number Two shelter site near Hayiq in South Wollo Zone.
Local coordinators reported that five drone strikes hit the area in rapid succession, with five munitions striking plastic-sheathed tent structures housing ethnic Amhara families displaced from Wollega four years ago. The bombardment instantly killed 16 civilians inside the camp, including eight women—three in advanced stages of pregnancy—and eight men, alongside children returning from school. Two severely injured victims died during emergency evacuation to Dessie, raising the final death toll to 18. Medical staff in Hayiq and Dessie treated at least 29 survivors for severe hemorrhage, blast trauma, and deep burns.
Eyewitnesses noted the attack occurred suddenly while residents were working. Ongoing security risks forced camp leaders to bury 14 victims in a communal grave on the facility grounds before gunfire erupted around the perimeter the following morning. The renewed shooting triggered widespread panic across the 1,750-resident camp, prompting hundreds of surviving families to abandon the site entirely and flee toward Dessie and Hayiq.
Displaced residents emphasized that the facility had suffered a complete halt in humanitarian food aid for four consecutive months despite repeated appeals to government bodies for emergency relocation. Field sources confirmed no active combatants were stationed inside the camp during the strikes. Federal military authorities and regional security officials declined to issue statements regarding the air operation or resulting displacement.
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