The Toll in Alamata and Kobo: Documenting Civilian Deaths and Accountability Gaps

Tier: Warning. This alert is a dated record of events between 22 and 29 September 2026, published after the fact. The tier describes the situation as of 15 October 2026.

What is known

Between 26 and 28 September 2026 (Saturday to Monday, according to a doctor at Alamata General Hospital), at least 52 civilians were killed in and around Alamata (Raya, administered as Southern Tigray; claimed by Amhara) in three days of heavy fighting, according to hospital sources cited by the BBC [1]. Twelve of them were reported killed in a single strike on the town's marketplace [1]. Ethiopia Observer and Addis Standard relayed the BBC's figure [2][3]; they are not independent counts. A resident told Addis Standard that artillery fire on the crowded marketplace had killed "more than a dozen civilians" [3].

In Kobo, North Wollo, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on 25 September that "A mortar strike on 23 September in Kobo town in Amhara reportedly by the ENDF also resulted in civilian deaths" [4]. UN News dates the same strike to 24 September [5]. The UN gave no toll.

Earlier, on 22 September, ACLED sources reported between 15 and 17 drone strikes in Alamata, with schools and a hospital among the reported targets; ACLED said the number of casualties remained unclear [7].

Médecins Sans Frontières reported that war-wounded patients received at hospitals in Korem and Alamata rose from about 180 over a 48-hour period to more than 420 between 22 and 25 September, and that its activities at Alamata Hospital had been suspended [8]. On 1 October, OCHA reported that the Korem and Alamata hospitals had received 480 casualties and that facilities in neighbouring Amhara "reportedly have run out of emergency supplies" [9].

DW Amharic reported on 1 October, citing residents, that 97 civilians had been killed "from Kobo to Kukufto" over eight days, including 52 in Alamata, and that more than 36,000 people who had fled Alamata remained displaced in Kobo [6]. DW's report gives the toll as both 97 and 96, and no second source supports it, so we cite 52 as the floor.

On 10 October, UN News reported that a government-led effort to help displaced people return from Kobo to their home areas had been suspended after security deteriorated [10]. On 1 October OCHA said that no verified displacement figures were available for Tigray and Amhara [9].

What is not known

• Who fired. Residents who spoke to the BBC said they could not determine who carried out the attacks [2]. The Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), the government-aligned Tigray Peace Force, Tigray Defence Forces and Amhara Fano National Movement (AFNM) fighters all fought on this front in late September [3][7]. OHCHR's attribution of the Kobo strike to the ENDF is qualified with "reportedly" [4]. No independent body has attributed the Alamata deaths.

• The final toll. Fifty-two is a floor from one hospital source, not a count. No verified figure exists for the wider Raya–Kobo area.

• Current conditions in Raya. The National Movement of Amhara (NaMA), an Amhara political party, alleges that, in early October, Tigray Peace Force fighters fired on returning displaced civilians and community leaders in Alamata, Bala and Korem; the Tigray Peace Force denies targeting civilians [11]. We have not been able to verify either account.

A note on geography

Alamata and the wider Raya area are administered as Southern Tigray and claimed by Amhara. This alert names towns and does not assign the dead to either region. Kobo lies in North Wollo, Amhara.

We call for

1. An independent investigation into the Alamata and Kobo killings, with findings published and perpetrators identified, whoever they are. OHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission are best placed to begin it.

2. Protection of civilians by every force operating in Raya and North Wollo: the ENDF, the Tigray Peace Force, Tigray Defence Forces and AFNM fighters. No market, school or hospital is a lawful target.

3. Medical access. Safe passage for the wounded, resupply of the Korem, Alamata and Kobo health facilities, and the conditions for humanitarian organisations to resume work there.

Numbered updates will follow as a toll or an attribution is confirmed.

To report information, use the organisations listed on our Report an Incident page; we do not collect evidence.

The Board