More than 60 Christians killed in Ethiopia ‘massacre’, church official says

More than sixty Christians were killed in a series of attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, according to the Orthodox Church. The regional government vowed to hold those responsible accountable. A local official blamed the assaults on a new rebel coalition, the Alliance for Survival, which comprises the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).

The OLA has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks. The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reported that twenty homes were destroyed during the assaults, but did not specify the perpetrators. Eyewitnesses told BBC Amharic that five of the victims were children. A church official described the attacks on three locations in the Shirka district as a "massacre", stating that security forces arrived at the scene but were unable to prevent the assault.

Many residents have since fled the region. Condemning the violence, the Orthodox Church emphasized that attacks against Christians have been escalating recently and that such actions undermine the country's values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. The Orthodox Church had previously warned authorities about increasing insecurity in the region but reported no improvement.

In July 2026, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council published a report stating that 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the previous four years. This attack is among the deadliest in that period. The report attributed the attacks to armed groups targeting local communities, particularly followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, describing them as religiously motivated.

The government has previously accused the OLA of carrying out such attacks, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stating that violence against civilians and religious institutions is part of a plan to destabilize the country. The OLA denies these allegations. Previous reports have also documented attacks against Muslims in the area. Residents have described the violence as both ethnic and religious in nature, with about two-thirds of Ethiopians being Christians, primarily Orthodox, and one-third being Muslim.