Massacre of More Than 60 Orthodox Christians Shakes Ethiopia's Oromia Region

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church says gunmen killed at least 60 people in two separate attacks over the past week in Oromia's Arsi Zone, one of the deadliest spasms of violence against the Orthodox Christian community in years. The church's Holy Synod said late Monday that 14 people were killed on October 20 in the village of Gora Silingo, in Merti district, and that 46 more were killed on October 24 across three locations in neighboring Shirka district, according to reporting by TRT World and Al Jazeera.

The Holy Synod said it had received the toll from its own diocese office and had heard the report "with deep sorrow," describing the killings as "extremely tragic cruelty and suffering inflicted on our citizens." It said the violence violated constitutional guarantees of the right to life and freedom of religion, and it called on federal and regional authorities to publicly condemn the attacks, protect remaining communities and bring those responsible to justice.

More than 20 people were seriously wounded and roughly 20 homes were burned in the attacks, according to Greek City Times, which cited church and eyewitness accounts. Eyewitnesses told BBC Amharic that five children were among the dead. A church official said government security forces reached the area but could not stop the killing before it was over.

A local official blamed the attacks on the Alliance for Survival, a newly formed rebel coalition that includes the Oromo Liberation Army, a group that has fought Ethiopian federal forces for years in parts of Oromia. The Oromo Liberation Army has not directly addressed the latest allegations but has previously denied targeting civilians and rejected responsibility for comparable attacks.

A pattern of unresolved violence

The Arsi Zone has seen recurring bouts of ethnic and religious violence for several years, driven partly by a long-running insurgency and partly by local land and identity disputes. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, an independent monitoring body, reported in July that at least 432 civilians and four local militia members had been killed in targeted attacks across East Arsi between 2021 and early June, a toll that underscores how little the violence has abated despite repeated government pledges to restore order.

The Holy Synod said it had repeatedly raised security concerns with federal and regional authorities in the past without seeing the problem resolved, and it called for prayers for the victims and asked churches and monasteries both in Ethiopia and abroad to hold special services on Tuesday. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government had not, as of Tuesday, issued a specific public statement addressing this week's killings.