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Over 60 Ethiopian Christians Killed in Oromia Attacks
· Confirmed
In Short: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reports more than 60 Christians were killed in two separate attacks in the Oromia region.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reported that more than 60 Christians were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, according to the BBC and Voiceofpersecutedchristians.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council reported in July 2026 that 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over the previous four years.
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church stated that 20 houses were burnt to the ground in the attacks.
The attacks reportedly began on May 31, 2026, and continued into June.
According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod, 14 people were killed on October 20 in Merti district, and an additional 46 were killed on October 24 in Shirka district.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said that the attacks were brutal and merciless, and called on the Ethiopian government to intervene.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reported more than 25 innocent people were killed in October 2025 alone in East Arsi.
The General Assembly of the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa said that the massacres, forced displacements, and physical and property damage inflicted upon Orthodox Christian faithful have continued unabated and worsened over time.
What this adds
The attacks have raised concerns about the safety and religious freedom of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has called for justice and protection for its faithful.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council's report from July 2026 provides context for the ongoing violence.
Background
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church reported that more than 60 Christians were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, according to the BBC and Voiceofpersecutedchristians.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church called on the government to bring perpetrators to justice after 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Oromia.
What's confirmed
- 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 Ethiopian Human Rights Council, a non-governmental organisation, said in a report released in July 2026 that 458 people had been killed in attacks in that area over the previous four years.
- One resident, whose 75-year-old father was killed, described it as an ambush.
- A statement from the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said that 20 houses were burnt to the ground in the attacks.
- (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.
- 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.
What's still developing
- Yet today, a deeply troubling question confronts Ethiopian Orthodox Christians: What does it mean to inherit an ancient faith if we are unwilling or unable to defend the lives, dignity, institutions, and religious freedom of the people who sustain it?
- According to information available so far, a rebel coalition identified by Ethiopian authorities as “ Tsimido ” is believed to be operating in the area.
- 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 attack "will not undermine national unity," the Archbishop of Jerusalem said, affirming that Christians are "part of the history of this country."
- CCTV in Jordan showed what appeared to be gunmen running toward a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, where seven people were killed in what King Abdullah II called an act of terrorism. (Jordan TV via AP) A group of gunmen stormed a Christian church in Jordan during a funeral Friday, killing nine people and injuring more than two dozen, according to authorities.