ATTACKS KILL MORE THAN 60 CHRISTIANS IN ETHIOPIA

More than 60 people were killed in attacks on Christian communities in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. A church official said attackers struck three areas of Shirka district. The church’s Holy Synod said the attackers burnt 20 houses to the ground. The official said security forces arrived but could not stop the assault. One eyewitness said five of those killed were children.

A resident whose father was killed said the attackers surrounded his community. “We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions,” he said. Many residents have fled the area. A local official blamed the Alliance for Survival, a newly formed rebel coalition that includes the Oromo Liberation Army. The church did not identify the attackers, and the Oromo Liberation Army has not commented on the allegation.

Oromia’s regional government said it would take action against those responsible. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said it had repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities but had received no solution. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, a non-governmental organisation, said in a July 2026 report that attacks in the area had killed 458 people over the previous four years. The council said armed groups had repeatedly targeted local communities, particularly Orthodox Christians, in attacks it described as religiously motivated. The Oromo Liberation Army has denied responsibility for previous attacks, and earlier accounts have also documented attacks on Muslims in the area.