More than 60 Christians killed in attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region

More than 60 Christians have been killed in a series of attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The violence took place in the Shirka district, where a church official described the incident as a massacre. The attacks also left homes burned and prompted renewed concern over insecurity in the area.

The church said 20 houses were burned to the ground in the assaults, and eyewitnesses said five of those killed were children. One resident, whose 75-year-old father was among the dead, described the attack as an ambush and said the victims were surrounded from all sides. A church statement said security forces arrived at the scene but were unable to stop the assault.

A local official blamed the violence on a newly formed rebel coalition, the Alliance for Survival, which includes the Oromo Liberation Army. The regional government said it would take action against those responsible. The Oromo Liberation Army has not commented on this attack, but it has denied carrying out previous similar assaults.

The church said it had repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity with authorities at different levels of government, but that no solution had been found. The killings come against a backdrop of repeated violence in parts of Oromia, where armed groups have been accused of targeting local communities, including followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. In a report released in July 2026, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council said 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the previous four years.

The council said armed groups had repeatedly targeted communities in what it described as religiously motivated attacks. The latest killings are among the deadliest reported in the region during that period and are likely to intensify pressure on regional and federal authorities to improve security. The government has previously blamed the Oromo Liberation Army for violence targeting civilians and religious institutions, while the group says it is fighting for greater rights for the Oromo people and denies the allegations.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said such violence is part of a plan to destabilise the country. What remains unclear is who carried out the attacks and whether any arrests have been made. The regional government has promised action, but no public details have been given on the response.

The scale of the killings, the reported deaths of children and the burning of homes suggest the incident will remain under close scrutiny as authorities face questions over protection of civilians.

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