Addis Abeba — Residents say several people have been killed in an "organized attack" carried out by the Fano militia group in Bako Chabo and Sontom Mariam villages of Bure district in West Gojjam zone, Amhara region. More than three thousand people displaced by the attack have arrived in the neighboring Horro Guduru Wollega zone of Oromia region, according to local officials.

A resident who fled the attack to Agamsa district of the Horro Guduru Wollega zone told Addis Standard on conditions of anonymity that the attack started at around 8am on 08 November 2023. According to the resident, at least 25 people have died during the attack, while an unknown number of people drowned in river Abay while trying to cross to Oromia.

The resident further said, Fano groups who were stationed in Haro village of the Kiramu district in East Wollega zone and those who operate in the Bure district of West Gojjam zone, Amhara region have coordinated to carry out the attack. A resident who spoke to the BBC put the death toll as high as 40.

Another informant whose families are displaced from the Bako Chabo village of the Bure district in West Gojjam told Addis Standard that the attack targeted ethnic Oromo residents who refused to cooperate with the militia group. "They were collecting food grain, and the Oromo residents refused to contribute," the informant said.

A government official in Amuru district of the Horro Guduru Wollega zone told the BBC that nearly 2,900 people have arrived in Jooj village of the district over the past days fleeing the attack. The official expressed concern that the number could increase and become over the district's capacity to provide basic necessities.

Earlier this month, Addis Standard reported that Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Western Oromia, who were displaced by previous attacks and the conflict between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have been in dire humanitarian crisis for years in an area where relief operations are constrained by continued security threats.