{"id":1437,"date":"2026-10-26T14:45:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/over-40-killed-in-attack-on-orthodox-christians-in-ethiopia\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T14:45:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:45:51","slug":"over-40-killed-in-attack-on-orthodox-christians-in-ethiopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/over-40-killed-in-attack-on-orthodox-christians-in-ethiopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 40 killed in attack on Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ethiopia's<\/p>\n

At least 43 people have been killed and 18 others wounded in an attack targeting villages, Orthodox Christian churches and homes in Ethiopia\u2019s Oromia region, according to residents and a conflict monitoring organisation.<\/p>\n

The attack occurred on Saturday in Shirka district, about 270 kilometres south of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n

Residents and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED) reported the casualties to AFP on Monday, with local accounts suggesting that the death toll could be higher.<\/p>\n

ACLED said the attack was believed to be religiously motivated and targeted Orthodox Christians, adding that it triggered clashes with local militias that continued through Saturday afternoon and evening.<\/p>\n

A resident told AFP by telephone that the attack claimed the lives of two family members, while several relatives were reportedly taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister and uncle were killed, and several of my relatives were taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district,\u201d the resident said, requesting anonymity.<\/p>\n

The resident estimated the death toll at 44, while another local source put the figure at 51.<\/p>\n

A deacon from one of the affected churches said the killings had left the community devastated and called on the government to restore security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply shocked by these tragic killings and are appealing to the government to intervene and restore security,\u201d the deacon said, putting the death toll at 46.<\/p>\n

He added that some residents had sought refuge in nearby churches following the attack.<\/p>\n

The state-run Ethiopia Human Rights Commission said it was \u201cfollowing the situation\u201d but did not provide further details.<\/p>\n

Oromia, Ethiopia\u2019s largest region, has a population of about 40 million and has experienced a prolonged insurgency and tensions among Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox Christian communities.<\/p>\n

ACLED said attacks against Orthodox Christians in the region had increased since February 2023, with a further escalation reported since last year.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear whether the latest violence involved the Oromo Liberation Front, the main insurgent group operating in the region.<\/p>\n

Although political and ethnic representation have been central to the insurgency, religion has also been used to mobilise fighters.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia continues to grapple with several internal conflicts, including renewed heavy fighting in the northern Tigray region last month.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s restrictions on media access have made independent verification of reports from conflict-affected areas difficult.<\/p>\n

\n

The post Over 40 killed in attack on Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least 43 people have been killed and 18 others wounded in an attack targeting villages, Orthodox Christian churches and homes in Ethiopia\u2019s Oromia region, according to residents and a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}