Massacre of Christians leaves more than 40 dead in Ethiopia

Published: 10:32 EDT, 26 October 2026 | Updated: 10:36 EDT, 26 October 2026 More than 40 people were killed in attacks on Orthodox Christian churches and villages in Ethiopia's central state of Oromia on Saturday.Oromia, Ethiopia's largest state, has faced a long-running insurgency and ethnic tensions, with armed groups using religion to inflame divisions.'My sister and uncle were killed, and several of my relatives were taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district,' one resident said.They said 44 people were killed in the region, while another resident put the toll at 51.Verifying information in Ethiopia is highly challenging due to heavy restrictions on media access.The state-run Ethiopia Human Rights Commission said only that it was 'following the situation'.'Religious tensions remain very high in the area and could escalate into a wider crisis if left unaddressed,' the first witness said.The witnesses said two churches in the region had been attacked. Witnesses said two churches in the region had been attacked 'Several homes belonging to targeted residents were also destroyed,' one witness said Ethiopia is a deeply fragmented nation in the Horn of Africa, facing multiple internal conflicts (Pictured: a destroyed home) 'Several homes belonging to targeted residents were also destroyed,' one witness said.Ethiopia is a deeply fragmented nation in the Horn of Africa, facing multiple internal conflicts, including heavy fighting that broke out last month in its northern Tigray state.Oromia, a state of around 40 million people in the centre of the country, is home to a mix of Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox communities. While concerns over political and ethnic representation have been the main drivers of its conflict, religion has been used to mobilise fighters.'We are deeply shocked by these tragic killings and are appealing to the government to intervene and restore security,' said a deacon of one of the attacked churches, who put the death toll at 46.It comes days after several people have died during clashes between the armies of southern Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions.Fighting erupted on Tuesday after a Somali regional flag was hoisted in Moyale, a city near the border with Kenya jointly administered between the two Ethiopian regions.That act sparked 'a confrontation that resulted in the death of a 13-year-old girl', according to the ACLED conflict monitor, which gave a toll of at least another five dead.'Somali fighters are firing heavy weapons from large buildings in the town while Oromia forces are fighting back,' resident Wako Ganale said.Another local, Hussein Halkeno, said that 'several civilians had been killed and wounded in the clashes'.At least 10,000 people have fled the fighting over the border to Kenya, Malik Adan, who works for the Red Cross in Kenya, told the Kenyan NTV broadcaster on Friday.Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country at some 130 million people, is the scene of various armed conflicts across its vast territory. The borderlands of its various regions, whose tracing dates back to 1991, are often the source of clashes.For several years, the federal government has been locked in conflict with rebel movements in the Oromia and Amhara regions, the country's most populous.After months of tensions, fighting has also broken out again in the northern Tigray region, already the scene of a devastating war from 2020 to 2022.Diplomatic disagreements with neighbouring Eritrea have likewise led to fears of another conflict between the fractious Horn of Africa neighbours.