Ethiopian Orthodox church says 60 killed in massacres

Two attacks in Ethiopia left 60 Christians dead, the country’s Orthodox Church said earlier this week. In central Ethiopia’s Merti district, 14 Orthodox Christians were killed on Oct. 20, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod said. An additional 46 were killed on Oct. 24 in Shirka, another district in the country’s middle. Dozens of others were seriously wounded and 20 homes were burned down, the synod said. It described the attacks as brutal and merciless massacres with women, children, and the elderly among the dead. It urged authorities to protect civilians and bring those responsible to justice. It did not identify those responsible for the attack.

Who was responsible for the killings? The regional government accused the Liberation Army, known as OLA, of being responsible for the attacks, according to the Associated Press and BBC News. The AP noted no evidence was provided to support this claim. Additionally, both outlets said the OLA had not commented on the recent attacks, but have denied carrying out similar attacks in the past.

The OLA has primarily operated in rural Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, according to the United Kingdom. It’s one of seven groups aiming to remove the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s. Ethiopia has designated the group as a terrorist organization, citing repeated attacks on civilians and public infrastructure, according to Al Jazeera.

What happened during the attack? Families were shattered, and a Christian community was left reeling in the aftermath, the human rights organization International Christian Concern said Wednesday. Attackers coordinated to shoot individuals and kill others by setting houses ablaze, the organization said. Residents told the organization they were burying their loved ones in the ashes of their burned homes. An eyewitness asked for the light of Christ to still shine in Oromia even in this dark hour.

Dig deeper: Listen to Onize Oduah’s report for The World and Everything in It on the fears that another civil war could happen in Ethiopia.