In this update covering 12 to 25 April 2025
57 political violence events
28% decrease compared to the last two weeks
17 incidents of violence targeting civilians
37% decrease compared to the last two weeks
At least 280 reported fatalities due to political violence
9% decrease compared to the last two weeks
ACLED is a living dataset and figures are subject to change as new information becomes available.
OLA/OLF-Shane retaliatory attacks kill women and children in Oromia
ACLED records several retaliatory attacks by the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) — referred to by the government as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)-Shane — in Haro Limu woreda in East Wollega zone from 7 to 12 April, resulting in at least 18 fatalities. These attacks were linked with the killing of an OLA/OLF-Shane senior commander by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).
On 4 April, the ENDF killed the head of the OLA/OLF-Shane Wollega zones unit, along with an unspecified number of militants, in Haro Limu woreda. The ENDF said it killed the leader, known as “Shode,” after receiving information that he was traveling by motorcycle from the Korma River to Sugi road, accompanied by other fighters.1Facebook @fdredefense.official, 5 April 2025 This commander was a key senior figure in the OLA/OLF-Shane who had also participated in the peace talks with the Ethiopian government in Tanzania in 2023.
Several days after the commander was killed, members of the OLA/OLF-Shane began targeting the families of former group members, accusing them of helping the government carry out the operation. On 7 April, OLA/OLF-Shane fighters forcibly removed a former member from his home, along with five of his family members — four men and a 12-year-old boy — and killed them in Dhiba forest, in Garba Gudina kebele of Haro Limu woreda. The former OLA/OLF-Shane member was among the militants who had accepted the Abiy government’s repeated calls for militants to surrender and return to their families. Five days after the attack, on 12 April, the militants returned and abducted five more civilians, including the wife and two children of the same former militant, aged 10 and seven, and killed them in Dhiba forest. A similar attack was conducted in the neighboring Surge kebele, where members of the OLA/OLF-Shane attacked and killed eight family members of another former member on 8 April.
A drone strike in Amhara results in mass casualties
On 17 April, the ENDF carried out a drone strike in Gedeb town, located in the Enarj Enawga woreda of the East Gojam zone, that killed over 100 people. Following this strike, government forces moved into the town. A representative of Gojam Amhara Fano militias said the drone strike was a government response aimed at suppressing the Fano movement in the area, as Fano militias had recently begun operations there.2YouTube @EthiopianMediaServices, 18 April 2025 However, reports suggest that the town has been under a Fano militia’s control since the end of August 2023.3BBC Amharic, “Eyewitnesses say ‘over 100 people killed’ in drone strike in eastern Gojam,” 23 April 2025 (Amharic) Eyewitnesses reported that the drone strike targeted civilians who were volunteering to build a fence for a primary school, and there was no Fano militia movement during the strike. The head of the Enarj Enawga woreda administration claimed that the drone strike was aimed at Fano militias, not civilians.
A pro-Fano media outlet also reported another drone strike in the Awi zone, but this claim has not been corroborated by a third party. Airstrikes are not common in the Awi zone. Since the Fano conflict began in April 2023, ACLED records 73 reported air- and drone strikes in the Amhara region, with the first such strikes being recorded on 12 August 2023 in Bure town, West Gojam zone. Out of these 73 airstrikes, 30 were reported by pro-Fano sources and are not corroborated by other sources. Most airstrikes occurred in the North Shewa, West Gojam, and East Gojam zones, where 21, 18, and 11 airstrikes have been recorded, respectively, since August 2023. One study using ACLED data identified Ethiopia as one of six African countries employing drones in offensive operations.4Nate Allen, “Military Drone Proliferation Marks Destabilizing Shift in Africa’s Armed Conflicts,” Africa Center for Strategic Study, 21 April 2025 The ENDF began to use drones during the northern Ethiopia conflict. Since then, such strikes have been recorded in the Oromia and Amhara regions.
