Two Attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia Region Kill at Least 60 Orthodox Christians, Church Says
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church says 14 were killed in Merti district and 46 in Shirka district within five days; the regional government blames rebels, who have denied targeting civilians.
See where this is ›ARSI ZONE, Ethiopia —
At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in the Arsi Zone of Ethiopia's Oromia region, the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said Monday, Oct. 26, according to the Associated Press.
See where this is ›The synod said 14 people were killed in Merti district on Oct. 20 and 46 more in Shirka district on Saturday, Oct. 24. More than 20 people were seriously wounded and 20 homes were burned, the church said. It described the killings as “brutal and merciless massacres.”
A Christian man from a nearby town told the AP he traveled to Tereta Chole, a village in Shirka district, for funerals and to help move the wounded. “We counted the injured people who were loaded onto the Isuzu truck,” he said. A priest in the same town said he saw wounded people arriving at a hospital near his home. Both spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety.
The church did not name the attackers. It called on authorities to publicly condemn the killings, bring those responsible to justice and prevent more violence, saying the attacks violated constitutional protections for religious freedom and the right to life.
Hailu Adugna, a spokesman for the Oromia regional government, blamed the Oromo Liberation Army, accusing the rebels and their allies of trying to stir ethnic and religious conflict to draw attention from military losses in northern Ethiopia. The AP said he offered no evidence. He said regional authorities had begun acting against those responsible and pledged help for the wounded and displaced.
The OLA could not be reached for comment, the AP reported. In a February interview, its leader, Kumsa Diriba, also known as Jaal Marroo, denied that his fighters target civilians. “Our war is not against the people,” he said.
The OLA is one of seven groups in the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, formed in September to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Oromia, Ethiopia's largest region with about 40 million people, has seen fighting between government forces and the OLA since 2018. U.N. investigators have accused the OLA of killings, rapes and kidnappings, and rights monitors have documented abuses by government forces, including drone strikes and extrajudicial killings.
International Christian Concern, which also reported the attacks, noted that a series of deadly attacks on Christian communities in the region's East Arsi Zone between late February and April had already alarmed church leaders.
