More than 65 people were killed in an armed attack on Dalati, a locality in western Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region, on 5 and 6 November 2026, residents told the Addis Standard. At least 27 of the dead were civilians, including women and children, while the rest were members of regional security forces and local militias. The regional police commissioner, Mohammed Idriss, confirmed the attack in an interview with BBC Amharic and blamed the armed group known as OLF-Shene, the name the Ethiopian government uses for the Oromo Liberation Army. The group had not commented on the allegation at the time of reporting. ## Conflicting tolls The casualty figures remain disputed. Residents put the death toll at more than 65, while the regional police said 52 people were killed: 21 civilians, 18 members of the regional anti-riot police and 13 local militia fighters. Some local reports put the toll above 100, but the Addis Standard said it could not independently verify those higher figures. The attack began at about 5am on Thursday 5 November, according to the police commissioner, and targeted security forces and civilians in Dalati, in Buldiglu woreda of Assosa Zone, near the border with Oromia region. ## A region scarred by violence Benishangul-Gumuz, home to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, has suffered recurrent armed violence, counterinsurgency operations and civilian displacement in recent years. The regional government had not issued an official statement on the latest attack at the time of publication, and it remains unclear whether the incident is connected to an armed faction the regional government said it had confronted in October. The attack was reported on 9 November 2026 and picked up by international outlets on 11 November 2026. Sources: [Addis Standard](https://addisstandard.com/more-than-65-killed-in-armed-attack-in-benishangul-gumuzs-assosa-zone-residents-say/) and [Abay Times](https://abaytimes.com/conflict/police-say-52-killed-in-attack-in-benishangul-gumuz-s-bilidigilu-woreda).