More than 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region on 20 and 24 October, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said on Monday, describing the killings as "extremely tragic cruelty and suffering inflicted on our citizens". More than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 homes were burned down, according to the church, which said attacks on Orthodox Christians and their property in the Arsi area and elsewhere had been growing worse.
The statement from the church's Holy Synod, its highest body, gave the fullest account yet of a wave of violence that had already been reported in fragments by residents and local media. It said 14 people were killed at Gora Silingo in Angada kebele, Merti woreda, on 20 October, and 46 in the Chole and Birbo areas of Shirka woreda on 24 October. The figures come from the church's Arsi diocese, and the church did not itself name those responsible.
Table of Contents
- What the church reported
- What survivors described
- Who has been blamed — and what remains unproven
- Why Oromia is so volatile
- The church's demands
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
- Chronicle related coverage
What the church reported
The Holy Synod's statement, issued from its plenary assembly, condemned the killings as inhumane and a violation of the constitutional rights to life and to freedom of worship. It said killings, displacement and attacks on Orthodox Christians and their property in Arsi and other areas had been worsening, and that it had repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities at different levels of government — but that, in its words, "so far there has been no solution".
The Synod said it would hold talks with senior government officials and directed that a committee of clergy, church scholars and legal experts be formed to study a lasting solution. It also called on the government bodies directly responsible to condemn the killings publicly and bring the perpetrators to justice, and urged that residents be protected until the problem is resolved.
The toll reported by the church is higher than some earlier local estimates, which ranged from the mid-40s to just over 50 for the Shirka attacks alone. Such discrepancies are common in the immediate aftermath of violence in remote areas, where communications are patchy and different counts cover different villages and time windows. What is not in dispute across the reporting is the scale: dozens of people killed in coordinated attacks on villages and churches over a single weekend, with survivors fleeing into forests or sheltering in churches.
What survivors described
Residents who spoke to BBC Amharic described an ambush. One man whose 75-year-old father was killed said: "We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions." Another resident said his sister and uncle were killed and several relatives taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that five of those killed were children. A church official described the attacks on three areas in the Shirka district as a "massacre", saying security forces arrived at the scene but were unable to stop the assault. Many residents have since fled the area, and mass burials were held for the initial victims.
Survivors also described neighbourhood watches being overwhelmed during a multi-hour onslaught that continued through Saturday evening and into Sunday morning, with attackers using heavy weaponry and rifles. Those accounts have not been independently verified, and the precise sequence of events in each village remains unclear.
Who has been blamed — and what remains unproven
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 this attack, but has denied carrying out previous such attacks. The regional government said it would take action against those responsible.
That attribution matters, and it should be treated with care. The church's own statement did not name a perpetrator. Independent reporting has confirmed that dozens were killed in Shirka, but the identity of the attackers has not been independently established. In Oromia, violence is routinely attributed to different armed actors by different sides, and claims made in the first days after an attack are often revised as more evidence emerges.
What can be said with confidence is that the victims were Orthodox Christians, that churches and Christian villages were among the targets, and that the church believes its community is being deliberately targeted. Whether the motive was primarily religious, ethnic, political — or a mixture of all three — is something investigators, not first reports, will have to establish. In Oromia, those categories overlap heavily: Orthodox Christianity is often associated, fairly or not, with the Amhara ethnic group, and armed groups have in the past used religion to inflame ethnic divisions.
Why Oromia is so volatile
Oromia is Ethiopia's largest and most populous region, and it has faced a long-running insurgency alongside deep ethnic tensions. The OLA has fought the federal government for years, and the region has seen repeated cycles of attacks on civilians, displacement and reprisals. The federal government, meanwhile, is simultaneously managing conflicts and fragile truces elsewhere in the country, including in Tigray to the north.
The Arsi attacks land in that wider context of strain. They also come as Ethiopia's religious institutions have become more vocal about insecurity: the Orthodox Church, to which roughly a third of Ethiopians belong, has repeatedly warned that its clergy, churches and congregations are under threat, and has accused authorities of failing to act on its warnings. The church's decision to issue a formal statement from its highest body — rather than leaving the matter to a local diocese — signals how seriously it views this episode.
The killings also underline a grim pattern in Ethiopia's recent history: civilians in rural areas bearing the brunt of conflicts they did not start, with state protection arriving late or not at all. For the families in Merti and Shirka, the immediate questions are practical — burials, medical care for the injured, shelter for the displaced — and the longer question of whether they can safely return home.
The church's demands
The Synod's demands were specific: a public condemnation from the responsible government bodies, prosecutions of the perpetrators, protection for residents until the problem is resolved, and talks with senior officials. It also set up its own committee to seek a lasting solution — a sign that the church does not expect a quick fix from the authorities alone.
The regional government's promise to act will now be tested. Previous attacks in Oromia have produced similar promises, and similar church statements, without a durable end to the violence. If this episode follows that pattern, the Arsi killings will become another entry in a long ledger of unpunished attacks on civilians. If it produces arrests, prosecutions and a sustained security presence, it could mark a break — but residents who fled into the forests this weekend have little reason yet to believe it will.
For now, the confirmed facts are stark enough: 60 dead according to the church, more than 20 seriously injured, 20 homes burned, villages emptied, and a community in mourning demanding to know who killed its people and why no one stopped it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people were killed in the Oromia attacks?
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's Holy Synod says 60 of its faithful were killed: 14 at Gora Silingo in Merti woreda on 20 October and 46 in the Chole and Birbo areas of Shirka woreda on 24 October. More than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 homes were burned down. Earlier local estimates for Shirka alone ranged from the mid-40s to just over 50, reflecting different villages and counting windows.
Who carried out the attacks?
That has not been independently established. A local official blamed a rebel coalition called the Alliance for Survival, which includes the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). The OLA has not commented on this attack but has denied previous such attacks. The church's own statement did not name a perpetrator.
Where did the attacks take place?
In the Arsi area of Oromia, Ethiopia's largest region: Gora Silingo in Angada kebele, Merti woreda, on 20 October, and the Chole and Birbo areas of Shirka woreda on 24 October.
What has the church asked the government to do?
The Holy Synod called on the responsible government bodies to condemn the killings publicly, bring the perpetrators to justice, and protect residents until the problem is resolved. It said it would hold talks with senior officials and formed a committee of clergy, scholars and legal experts to study a lasting solution.
Is this part of a wider pattern of violence in Oromia?
The church says attacks on Orthodox Christians and their property in Arsi and other areas have been growing worse, and that it has repeatedly raised insecurity concerns with authorities without a solution. Oromia has faced a long-running insurgency and ethnic tensions, with civilians repeatedly caught in the violence.
Sources
- Al Jazeera — "Sixty Christians killed in Ethiopia's Oromia region"
- Abay Times — "Orthodox Holy Synod says 60 faithful killed in two Arsi attacks"
