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Ethiopian Orthodox Church Calls for Justice After 60 Christians Killed
· Confirmed
In Short: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church called on the government to intervene after 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Oromia.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reported that at least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, with 14 killed in Merti district on October 20 and 46 in Shirka district on October 24.
Reacting to the attacks, the church urged authorities to condemn the killings and prevent further violence.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) said the violence was believed to be religiously motivated, citing the looting of an Orthodox church.
Oromia, Ethiopia's largest region with a population of around 40 million, has long faced an insurgency and ethnic tensions among its Muslim, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian communities.
Church leaders had previously warned about the rising tensions but their warnings were ignored.
The attacks have intensified over the past year, with ACLED noting an increase in violence against Orthodox Christians since February 2023.
Catholic bishops in Ethiopia have also condemned the attacks, joining the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in calling for justice.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported in November 2020 that Amhara residents were killed after federal troops withdrew from the region.
Religious authorities provided no further details about those responsible for the attacks.
In Jordan, gunmen opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral, killing at least seven people and wounding nearly three dozen others.
Jordanian officials called the attack a terrorist act, while the Archbishop of Jerusalem affirmed that Christians are part of the country's history.
Muslim religious leaders and tribal representatives from across Jordan expressed solidarity with the families of the victims.
What this adds
The attacks in Ethiopia and Jordan highlight ongoing concerns about religious persecution and violence against Christians in various regions.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's call for intervention and justice underscores the need for authorities to address the rising tensions and protect civilians.
Background
At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a rare call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
What's confirmed
- At least 60 people have been killed in two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region in recent days, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said.
- Reacting to the 24 October attack, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) told AFP that the violence was "believed to be religiously motivated and to have targeted Orthodox Christians", citing the reported looting of an Orthodox church.
- ACLED said attacks against Orthodox Christians in the region had increased since February 2023, with the violence intensifying over the past year.
- In a statement issued on Monday, the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said 14 worshippers were killed in Merti district on 20 October and another 46 in Sherka district on 24 October.
- The church calls for authorities to condemn the killings and prevent further violence.
- At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in separate attacks on October 20 and 24 in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, with more than 20 others seriously wounded and 20 homes burned down, church officials said in a statement late on Monday.
- Two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region killed at least 60 Orthodox Christians, the country's Orthodox Church said, urging authorities to protect civilians and bring those responsible to justice.
- At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region on October 20 and October 24, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod said Monday, calling the killings brutal and merciless and pressing authorities to protect civilians.
- Issued on: 23/10/2026 - 16:16 Modified: 23/10/2026 - 18:43 Seven people were killed and 34 injured on Friday when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan ’s Karak governorate, the head of the country’s Public Security Directorate told reporters, in a rare attack on the country’s Christian minority.
- October 27, 2026 By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News (OSV News) — The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church called on the Ethiopian government to intervene after armed assailants killed 60 Orthodox Christians in two separate attacks.
- The church said Monday that 14 people died in Merti district on Oct. 20, and 46 in Shirka district on Saturday.
What's still developing
- Church leaders had already warned them, but the warnings were ignored.These issues… ‘Armed men were going door to door, shooting and stabbing civilians,’ one witness told the newspaper.
- Syrian officials said five people were killed in the Jordanian strike on a village in the southern Daraa province Jordan has struck what its military says were "terrorist organisations" in Syria in retaliation for an attack on a Christian funeral last week that killed nine people.
- The young prophet’s name was Efim Klubnikin, and he found eager listeners among Kim Kardashian ’s ancestors on her father’s side, who were ethnic Armenian but also religious rebels, iconoclasts, at odds with the Orthodox faith in their homeland.
- A predominantly Christian village in Syria is calling for “security, justice, and accountability,” as one priest wrote on Facebook.
- According to information available so far, a rebel coalition identified by Ethiopian authorities as “ Tsimido ” is believed to be operating in the area.
- “Friday’s attack on the Hammoud Church in Jordan is a heinous assault on the universal human right to worship freely,” said Shawn Wright, President of International Christian Concern (ICC).
- Pope Leo XIV has made AI a central issue of his pontificate, while Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox and Buddhist thinkers are debating whether machines can ever reproduce distinctly human qualities such as conscience, compassion, spiritual judgment and responsibility.
- "The security services have fulfilled their duties, resulting in the capture of those who carried out this terrorist act," he said in a phone interview with state TV Al-Mamlaka.
Sources
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- Vatican Newslink
- https://kulu-media.com/link
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- CBN News — video link