Fano militants raided a village in Qwara district, West Gonder zone of Amhara region, killing several civilians and displacing at least ten thousand residents, the BBC reported.

The militants attacked Yikawo, a village inhabited by the Agew minority ethnic group, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, according to the village’s chairman, Alemayehu Tale, and two other government officials interviewed by the BBC.

They burned down several houses and killed the villagers, including children. The precise number of those killed in the attack is still unknown.

The residents said the conflict erupted after the village’s militias refused to hand over their weapons given to them by the government to the Fano militants.

Alemayehu, the village’s chairman, noted that the militias in the area had been defending themselves from Fano until Tuesday, but after that, the Fano militants entered the village and “killed whoever they wanted to kill and burned down whatever they wanted to burn.”

A local priest interviewed by the BBC said the militants killed two of his brothers in their homes. The priest also stated that he was present at the funeral for two children and a mother killed in the same attack. The children were aged one and twelve.

Another resident who lost his 55-year-old mother in the attack said two elderly men and two women were killed near his house. “No house in the village has been spared. In the Dansa Mariam neighborhood alone, over 170 houses have been burned,” he added.

Another resident said the Fano militants killed his son while he was working. “They surrounded him and attacked him.”

The village’s chairman, Alemayehu, adds that the number of civilians killed in the attack is “more than 80,” while residents told the BBC that the figure is likely higher.

Following the attack, at least ten thousand residents have fled to Galagu, the capital of Qwara district.