ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — More than 60 Orthodox Christians have been killed in two attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region over the past week, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
The church said 14 people were killed on October 20 at Gora Silingo in Merti district, and 46 more on October 24 in the villages of Tereta, Chole and Birbo in Shirka district. Both areas are in the Arsi Zone.
More than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 homes were burned, the church said. Witnesses said five of the dead were children.
“We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions,” one resident told BBC Amharic.
A local official blamed a new rebel coalition, the Alliance for Survival, which includes the Oromo Liberation Army. The OLA has denied involvement in past attacks. The regional government has vowed to take action.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council said in July that 458 people had been killed in the area over four years.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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