ADDIS ABABA: More than 40 people were killed in an attack on Orthodox Christian churches and homes in Ethiopia's central state of Oromia on Saturday, residents and a conflict monitor told AFP on Monday.
Oromia, Ethiopia's largest state with some 40 million people, has faced a long-running insurgency and ethnic tensions between its Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox communities, which have been increasingly exploited by armed groups.
Local residents and the ACLED conflict monitor told AFP that at least 43 people were killed and 18 wounded when an unidentified armed group attacked villages in the Shirka district of Oromia, around 270km south of the capital, Addis Ababa.
"The attack is said to be religiously motivated and to have targeted Orthodox Christians," ACLED said, adding that the attack led to clashes with local militias and lasted through Saturday afternoon and evening.
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".
"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.
ACLED has recorded increasing attacks against Orthodox Christians in the region, starting in February 2023 and escalating since last year.
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.
It was not clear if the attacks involved the primary insurgent group operating in the state, the Oromo Liberation Front.
While concerns over political and ethnic representation have been the main drivers of the insurgency, 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.
"Some locals have taken refuge in nearby churches," he added.