At least 60 Orthodox Christians killed in two attacks in Ethiopia, church says

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said on Monday, October 26, that at least 60 Orthodox Christians had been killed in two attacks in the Arsi zone of Ethiopia's Oromia region, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Addis Ababa. Orthodox bishops read a statement at the opening of the plenary assembly of the Holy Synod condemning the killings as a "reprehensible and inhuman act" and demanding urgent action from the federal government to protect the faithful and bring those responsible to justice.

The first attack took place on October 20 in the Merti district, in the north of the Arsi zone, and left 14 people dead. Four days later, on October 24, a second attack in the villages of Tereta, Chole and Birbo, in the Shirka district, killed 46 more. Witnesses said the attackers went from house to house, shooting or stabbing residents. The victims are said to include elderly people and children. More than 20 people were seriously injured and taken to the hospital, and at least 20 homes were burned to the ground.

The Holy Synod called the killings a "massacre" and said that "the horrific and appalling killings, forced displacement and physical harm inflicted on our innocent Orthodox Christian faithful in the Eparchy of Arsi and in other parts of our country have continued without pause and have worsened over time." The bishops said such an act "is completely unacceptable under the teachings of any religion or under the principles of human rights, and violates the constitutional right to freedom of religion and to life."

The Church called on the Ethiopian government to condemn the crimes publicly, uphold the rule of law, prosecute the perpetrators and put in place the legal protections needed to prevent them from happening again. "Reiterating our deep sorrow at the loss of the lives of our children, we urge the government to provide the necessary protection so that our faithful do not suffer similar attacks wherever they live," the Synod said. The Church also ordered prayers for the victims in Orthodox churches and monasteries around the world.

The attacks took place in an area where Muslims, Protestants and Orthodox Christians live side by side. Ethiopian authorities blamed the violence on a rebel coalition called "Tsimido," which they say brings together the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara Fano militias and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), designated a terrorist organization since 2021. The government says the coalition is working to inflame ethnic and religious tensions. A source linked to the rebel alliance blamed the regional government of Oromia for the killings instead.

The Arsi zone has a history of similar incidents. Between late May and early June, 11 people were killed in a comparable attack attributed to the OLA. In July the Ethiopian Human Rights Council documented at least 432 civilians killed in targeted attacks in eastern Arsi between 2021-2022 and June 2026. The violence is part of a long-running conflict between government forces and various armed groups in Oromia, in which both the OLA and government forces have been accused on several occasions of killings and reprisals against civilians.