More Than 60 Orthodox Christians Reported Killed in Attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia Region

More than 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks on Christians in Ethiopia's Oromia region, according to the country's Orthodox Church. The regional government has said it will take action against those responsible.

A statement from the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said 20 houses were burnt to the ground. The statement did not name a culprit. Eyewitnesses told BBC Amharic that five of the dead were children.

One resident, whose 75-year-old father was among those killed, described the assault as an ambush. "We were completely unprepared and had no prior knowledge. They surrounded us from all four directions," he said. A church official called the violence in three areas of the Shirka district a "massacre" and said security forces reached the scene but could not stop the attack. Many residents have since fled the area.

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 has not commented on this incident, though it has denied carrying out similar attacks in the past.

In condemning the violence, the Orthodox Church said attacks on Christians had been rising recently and that "such actions undermine the country's values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence". In a Facebook statement, the church said it had repeatedly raised security concerns with authorities at several levels of government, but that "so far there has been no solution".

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, a non-governmental organisation, said in a report published in July 2026 that 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the previous four years. This latest assault is one of the deadliest in that period. The report said armed groups had repeatedly targeted local communities, particularly followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, in attacks it described as religiously motivated.

The government has previously held the OLA responsible for such violence. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said attacks on civilians and religious institutions form part of a plan to destabilise the country. The OLA, which says it is fighting for greater rights for the Oromo people, rejects these allegations.

Earlier reports have also documented attacks on Muslims in the area, and residents who have spoken to the BBC on various occasions have described the violence as both ethnic and religious in nature. About two-thirds of Ethiopians are Christians, mostly Orthodox, while one third are Muslim.