A large number of civilians were killed in an airstrike in the town of Mandi in western Ethiopia, which is located around 500 kilometres from the capital Addis Ababa, by rebels suspected to be fighters from the Oromo Liberation Army, OLA.
Locals claim that the strike took place on Wednesday about noon in the town that OLA fighters have been in charge of for days following a battle with government security troops.
The government was targeting the militias, but the majority of those killed and injured were civilians, a resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newsmen.
He claimed that a drone struck an OLA car that was stopped by the side of the road with some of its members inside, leading.
One of those killed was his buddy and fellow gospel preacher Tariku Wanna, a father of one girl. Before he left him to go somewhere, he claimed that they had
“After five minutes the drone bombed them. When I returned to that place I found his body lying down on the ground. I saw many scattered bodies but didn’t count, but majority of them were civilians,” he said.
For the sake of his own safety, a second town resident who spoke to media anonymously estimated that at least 20 civilians perished in the airstrike.
He claimed that seven to eight persons passed away instantly and another 13 were hospitalised but passed away there as a result of their injuries.
Oda Tarbi, a spokesman for the OLA, stated that 30 people had died, but she omitted to specify how many of their soldiers had also perished.
Politicians have denounced the attack, calling it “barbaric” and pleading with the government to spare the civilian population. The Ethiopian administration has not responded to the situation.