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A drone strike killed at least 26 people in a town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region this week, in what was likely the deadliest attack since fighting erupted between government forces and a local militia in the territory months ago, the Voice of America reported.
Health officials said the strike took place in the central town of Finote Selam, adding that more than 100 people were injured.
The drone strike came amid ongoing clashes between the Ethiopian military and the Amhara militia known as Fano that began in April. Tensions between the two parties came to a head when the group refused to integrate with Ethiopia’s police or military.
Earlier this month, the Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency across Amhara, Agence France-Presse wrote. Authorities have also arrested 23 people, including an opposition lawmaker, for so-called illegal activities.
The recent fighting has revived fears of instability in Africa’s second-most populous nation less than a year after a peace deal ended a bloody two-year war in the northern Tigray region.
Fano and Ethiopian troops fought together against Tigrayan fighters in that conflict.
The militia’s integration was part of the peace deal following the end of the conflict.
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