Attacks across Ethiopia’s Oromia region have left more than 60 Christians dead, according to the country’s Orthodox Church. The church has said that assaults on the faith’s followers have been growing in recent times.
One resident, whose 75-year-old father was among those killed, described the assault as an ambush. He said his family had no warning and were surrounded from every side.
Attacks in Shirka district and local response
A church official described attacks on three areas of Shirka district as a “massacre”. He said security forces reached the scene but could not stop the assault.
A statement from the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said 20 houses were burnt to the ground, but did not say who was responsible. An eyewitness told an Amharic-language news service that five of the dead were children.
The regional government said it would act against those responsible. Many residents have since fled the area.
Local official points to newly formed rebel coalition
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 on the latest violence, though it has denied carrying out earlier attacks of this kind.
The government has previously blamed the OLA. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said violence against civilians and religious institutions was part of a plan to destabilise the country. The group, which says it is fighting for greater rights for the Oromo people, rejects these allegations.
Church warns of insecurity and rights council report
In a Facebook statement, the church said it had repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities at different levels of government, adding that “so far there has been no solution”. It condemned the violence, saying that “such actions undermine the country’s values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence”.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, a non-governmental organisation, said in a report released in July 2026 that 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the previous four years. The report said armed groups had repeatedly targeted local communities, particularly followers of the Orthodox Church, in what it described as religiously motivated attacks. This latest attack is described as one of the deadliest in that period.
Earlier reports have also documented attacks against Muslims in the area, and residents have described the violence as both ethnic and religious in nature. About two-thirds of Ethiopians are Christians, mostly Orthodox, while one third are Muslim.
