A drone bombardment in Kiramu district left at least 36 displaced civilians dead as families fled ongoing conflict in neighboring Gida Ayana
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — A targeted drone strike late last month killed at least 36 displaced civilians—including women, children, and the elderly—in the Kiramu district of the newly reorganized West Oromia Zone, BBC Amharic reported, citing victims’ families and local eyewitnesses.
Survivors and local residents told BBC Amharic that the aerial bombardment struck in the early morning hours of October 27, 2026. The victims belonged to a larger group of 200 to 300 displaced residents fleeing ongoing instability in neighboring Gida Ayana district, where they had faced displacement since August. The group was traveling on foot toward the Amhara Region for safety. Witnesses said the strike hit families navigating rural pathways at night and in the early morning hours near Wedesa Dima, causing severe destruction and heavy casualties.
Local accounts indicate the dead included eight children under age five, 17 mothers (including five pregnant women), three blind monks, and three elders over sixty, alongside several unidentified victims. Grieving relatives and local residents had to conduct rushed mass burials in nearby forests for fear of renewed aerial surveillance and strikes. Survivors recalled toddlers surviving beneath their slain mothers’ bodies, while numerous others suffered critical injuries with minimal access to emergency medical care.
Security across the West Oromia Zone—including Abe Dongoro, Kiramu, and Gida Ayana districts—remains severely volatile. Protracted conflict since 2019 among federal forces, regional units, the Oromo Liberation Army (referred to by authorities as Shene), and armed Fano militias continues to endanger civilian populations.
Although local residents and displaced families attributed the operation to regional security forces, Hailu Adugna, Head of the Oromia Region Communication Service, stated that regional authorities are actively combating armed factions in the affected districts and blamed ongoing violence on splintered insurgent groups. Federal defense authorities and regional communications offices did not respond to BBC Amharic’s requests for comment on the strike.
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