Over 40 Killed In Armed Attacks On Orthodox Churches In Ethiopia

More than 40 people were killed in attacks on Orthodox Christian churches and villages in Ethiopia's central state of Oromia on Saturday, two residents and a priest told AFP on Monday.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 told AFP by phone, asking to remain anonymous. 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. "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.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)