Over 60 Christians Killed In Ethiopia Massacre
No fewer than 60 Christians have been killed in a coordinated series of attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region in what the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has described as a massacre.
The attacks, which targeted three areas in Shirka district, left 20 houses burnt to the ground and forced many residents to flee, according to a statement from the Holy Synod of the Church.
One of the survivors, who lost his 75-year-old father in the assault, narrated how the attackers ambushed the community without warning, surrounding them from all sides.
He told BBC Amharic: “We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions.”
An eyewitness also revealed that among the victims were five children, underscoring the brutality of the assault.
A church official who described the incident as a massacre said security forces arrived at the scene but could not stop the attackers.
He was quoted as describing the attacks as a “massacre.”
Condemning the violence, the Orthodox Church noted that attacks against Christians have been on the rise in recent times and warned that such acts threaten the nation’s unity.
The Church said: “Such actions undermine the country’s values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.”
The Church further expressed frustration over government’s inaction despite repeated complaints about insecurity.
In a statement posted on Facebook, it said: “We have repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities at different levels of government, but so far there has been no solution.”
The regional government has promised to take action against those responsible, while a local official blamed the attacks on a newly formed rebel coalition, the Alliance for Survival, which includes the Oromo Liberation Army, OLA. The OLA has not commented but has denied previous similar allegations.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, in its July 2026 report, said 458 people had been killed in attacks in that area over the previous four years, describing the latest as one of the deadliest. The report said armed groups had repeatedly targeted local communities, particularly followers of the Orthodox Church, in what it described as religiously motivated attacks.
The government had previously accused OLA of orchestrating such violence, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed saying the attacks on civilians and religious institutions were part of a plan to destabilise the country.
The group, which says it fights for greater rights for Oromo people, denies the allegations, while residents told BBC the violence has both ethnic and religious dimensions.
About two-thirds of Ethiopians are Christians, mostly Orthodox, while one third are Muslims.
