At least 43 people have been killed and 18 wounded after gunmen attacked several villages in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, amid allegations that Orthodox Christians were deliberately targeted in religiously motivated violence.
The attacks took place on Saturday in the Sherka district, approximately 270 kilometres south of the capital, Addis Ababa, according to residents and conflict-monitoring organisations.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) told AFP on Monday that at least 43 people had been killed and 18 others injured, adding that the violence was suspected to have been driven by religious motives.
The organisation said an Orthodox church had also been looted during the attacks.
One resident, identified by the pseudonym Kebede for security reasons, said armed men stormed an Orthodox church and surrounding homes, killing his father and numerous other civilians.
He put the death toll at 51, although the figure could not be independently verified.
Two other witnesses, including an Orthodox church deacon, reported that more than 40 victims had been buried in mass graves following the violence.
Residents said families fleeing the attacks had sought shelter in nearby churches, while fears of further violence continued to spread through surrounding communities.
One witness warned that already heightened religious tensions could escalate into a broader crisis unless authorities intervened.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it was monitoring developments and examining reports of the killings but provided no further details.
Growing violence in Oromia
The latest killings come amid worsening insecurity in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, where government forces have battled the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for years.
The OLA, which Ethiopian authorities designate as a terrorist organisation, has been engaged in a prolonged insurgency against the federal government.
However, no group has been independently identified as responsible for Saturday’s attacks, and allegations of religious targeting remain under investigation.
ACLED has documented an increase in violence across parts of Oromia in recent years, particularly in districts affected by armed confrontations and attacks against civilian communities.
At least 11 civilians were killed in the Arsi area between late May and early June, with authorities blaming the OLA for those attacks.
In November 2023, at least 30 civilians were also killed by unidentified gunmen in the region.
Oromia, home to approximately 40 million people, surrounds Addis Ababa and stretches across much of central and southern Ethiopia. Its population includes substantial Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox Christian communities.
Ethiopia faces expanding security crisis
The killings come as Ethiopia confronts multiple armed conflicts and growing political instability.
In late September, several armed organisations, including the OLA and rebel factions from the northern Tigray region, announced an alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government.
Federal forces have since conducted military operations against armed groups in several regions, including drone strikes targeting rebel positions.
Ethiopia continues to struggle with the consequences of the devastating 2020–2022 Tigray war, which killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
The latest violence in Oromia has renewed concerns about civilian protection and the potential for religious tensions to deepen existing ethnic and political divisions.
With residents reporting continued displacement and fears of further attacks, local communities have appealed for urgent government intervention to restore security and prevent additional killings.
