Several people were killed in a drone strike at an Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) graduation ceremony in the West Shewa Zone of Oromia region, the BBC Amharic reported.

The drone strike targetted a graduation ceremony organized by the group calling itself the Oromo Liberation Army or Shene for its young military recruit in the Chobi district of West Shewa zone at the end of last week, the radio reported. According to the BBC, civilians forced to attend the graduation ceremony by Shene became victims of the airstrikes and the death toll reaches 70. Around 120 civilians and members of the armed OLA were also wounded in the attack.

In the past few days, the federal government has been carrying out drone strikes targeting the armed group in the West Shewa, East Shewa, and West Wallega zones. The spokesperson of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) Odaa Tarbii, said in an October 24 post on his Twitter account that there have been six drone strikes in the region since Oct 20th. The spokesperson says that ‘over 150 civilians’ were killed in Meta Wolqite and Chobi districts in West Shewa Zone. Odda Tarbii did not say anything about the reported graduation ceremony of the militant group.

The local officials, including the Chobi district administrator, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it is conducting an investigation into the alleged drone strikes and civilian causalities, according to the BBC.

The federal government continues to face enormous security challenges following the rise of the group, Shene or OLA after 2020, especially in western and southern Oromia. Shene has reportedly become a major terrorist group operating from areas of the Oromia region and there have been continued reports of serious abuses in Shene-controlled areas including summary executions, unlawful arrests, kidnapping, blocking routes, and systematic extortion of money from citizens and businesses.