At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to the country’s Orthodox Church, which urged authorities to protect civilians and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod said Monday that 14 people were killed in Merti district on October 20 and another 46 in Shirka district on October 24. Both districts are in the Arsi Zone of Oromia.
More than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 houses were burned down in the attacks, which the church described as “brutal and merciless massacres.”
Oromia regional government spokesperson Hailu Adugna blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the attacks, accusing the rebels and their allies of attempting to provoke ethnic and religious conflict to divert attention from military losses in northern Ethiopia. However, he provided no evidence to support the allegations.
Adugna expressed sorrow over the deaths and destruction, saying regional authorities had begun taking action against those responsible. He also pledged assistance to the injured and displaced people.
The OLA could not be reached for comment. Its leader, Jaal Marroo, denied in an interview with The Associated Press published in February that his fighters target civilians, saying, “Our war is not against the people.”
The OLA is one of seven groups in the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, formed in September with the aim of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The alliance also includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Amhara Fano National Movement.
The church said the attacks violated constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and the right to life. It called on authorities to publicly condemn the killings and take measures to prevent further violence.
Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region with a population of around 40 million, has been experiencing conflict between government forces and the OLA since 2018. Other armed groups and criminal gangs also operate in the region, where civilians face killings, extortion and kidnapping.
United Nations investigators have accused the OLA of killings, rape and kidnapping. Human rights monitors have also documented abuses by government forces, including indiscriminate drone strikes, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Sarah Kimani, media manager at Amnesty International, told the AP in January that the organisation had documented summary executions, torture, abductions and rape by both government forces and the OLA.
She said internet blackouts and restrictions on independent media and civil society had obscured the extent of civilian suffering.
“What we have been able to document now is just the tip of the iceberg,” Kimani said.