At least 60 Christians have been killed in coordinated attacks on communities in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, prompting the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to accuse authorities of failing to address repeated warnings over worsening insecurity.
The attacks, which struck three locations in Shirka district, also left about 20 houses burnt and forced residents to flee their homes, according to a statement by the Church’s Holy Synod.
The latest killings have renewed concerns over the safety of Christian communities in the area, where armed attacks have repeatedly claimed lives, including those of followers of the Orthodox Church.
A survivor, who lost his 75-year-old father in the latest violence, told BBC Amharic that the attackers surrounded the community from all directions, leaving residents unprepared for the assault.
“We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions,” he said.
An eyewitness said five children were among those killed, highlighting the impact of the attacks on vulnerable residents.
A church official described the incident as a massacre, claiming that although security forces arrived at the scene, they were unable to prevent the killings.
The Orthodox Church condemned the violence, warning that repeated attacks against Christians were undermining Ethiopia’s tradition of peaceful coexistence and threatening national unity.
“Such actions undermine the country’s values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence,” the Church said.
It also expressed frustration over what it described as the failure of authorities at different levels to respond effectively to repeated complaints about insecurity.
“We have repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities at different levels of government, but so far there has been no solution,” the Church said in a statement published on Facebook.
The regional government has pledged action against those responsible, while a local official blamed the attacks on the Alliance for Survival, a newly formed rebel coalition that includes the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
The OLA had not commented on the latest allegations at the time of reporting but has denied responsibility for similar attacks in the past.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, in a July 2026 report, said 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the preceding four years, describing the latest incident as among the deadliest.
The report also documented repeated attacks on local communities, particularly Orthodox Christians, which it characterised as religiously motivated.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has previously accused the OLA of orchestrating violence against civilians and religious institutions as part of efforts to destabilise the country. The group, which says it is fighting for greater rights for the Oromo people, has denied the allegations.
Residents who spoke to the BBC said the violence had both ethnic and religious dimensions, reflecting the complex nature of the conflict in the region.
Christians account for roughly two-thirds of Ethiopia’s population, with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church representing the country’s largest Christian tradition, while Muslims make up about one-third of the population.
