40 feared dead after armed group attack Christian community in Ethiopia

More than 40 people have lost their lives in attacks on Orthodox Christian churches and villages in Ethiopia.

The attacks were carried out on Orthodox Christian churches and villages in Ethiopia's central state of Oromia on Saturday, October 24, two residents and a priest told AFP on Monday.

Local residents and the ACLED conflict monitor told AFP that at least 43 people were killed and 18 wounded when an unidentified armed group attacked villages in the Shirka district of Oromia, around 270 kilometres south of the capital, Addis Ababa.

“The attack is said to be religiously motivated and to have targeted Orthodox Christians,” ACLED said, adding that the attack led to clashes with local militias and lasted through Saturday afternoon and evening.

'My sister and uncle were killed, and several of my relatives were taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district,' one resident said.

Oromia, a state of around 40 million people in the centre of the country, is home to a mix of Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox communities. 

'We are deeply shocked by these tragic killings and are appealing to the government to intervene and restore security,' said a deacon of one of the attacked churches, who put the death toll at 46.

It comes days after several people died during clashes between the armies of southern Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions.