The victims, from Merti district in Arsi Zone, were reportedly ambushed on their farms and in church compounds by armed men believed to belong to the same group that killed 25 christians the previous week.
Three others previously missing were also found dead, bringing the total number of Christians killed in the area to at least 52 since July.
Church representatives accuse authorities of failing to act, describing the attacks as a campaign of cleansing against Orthodox communities. Local clergy told @africa_dne that more than 140 people have been killed since September in the Sherka district alone.
Despite rising deaths, regional and federal authorities have not taken action.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has blamed the government for using “proxy armed networks” to fuel the bloodshed.
Last year, a month-long Reuters investigation revealed that a shadowy group known as "Koree Nageenyaa" formed as soon as PM Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, was linked to dozens of extrajudicial killings in the Oromia region, with the involvement of government forces.
____________
At least five members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church were killed on Monday in a new attack in Merti district, located in Ethiopia’s Arsi Zone of the Oromia region, local sources confirmed.
The victims were reportedly working on teff farms when they were ambushed by armed men believed to be linked to the same group responsible for a mass killing last week. Among the dead were a husband, wife, and a neighbour, according to local witnesses.
Three individuals who had been missing since the previous attack were also found dead, bringing the total number of Orthodox Christian victims in the area to 33 since October.
______________
A community under siege
Last week, 25 Orthodox Christians were killed in what residents described as one of the deadliest assaults in months. Local church representatives told DNE Africa that violence in Arsi has become increasingly targeted and brutal, with over 140 people reportedly killed since September in the Sherka district alone.
In a particularly tragic case, a child who survived last week’s attack underwent a leg amputation at a hospital in Wolaita after suffering severe gunshot wounds. His story has drawn widespread sympathy and outrage across Ethiopian social media platforms.
______________
Armed groups have intensified attacks on Christians in the Arsi Zone of Oromia, killing 22 people in just one week. Dozens more are missing, and their fate remains unknown.
@MeseretMedia reports that more than 115 Christians, including priests, have been killed in this zone since 2023. Government security forces were no where to offer protection.
Across much of the country, insecurity has spiraled. Abductions, robberies, and sexual violence are widespread, while the Abiy Ahmed administration’s authority has shrunk to the capital and a handful of regions.
_______________
(REUTERS) - A secret security committee in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region is behind dozens of extra-judicial killings, Reuters revealed in an investigative report after interviewing more than 30 federal and local officials and victims. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... committee/
______________
News: OLA blames ‘government proxies’ for recent killings in Arsi, accuses the ruling party of ‘fueling new conflict’
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has accused the federal government of orchestrating recent attacks in the Arsi Zone through what it described as “proxy armed networks,” warning that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration is “igniting yet another war” amid deepening national crises.
In a statement released yesterday, the armed group alleged that the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) has turned to
disinformation, proxy attacks, and identity-based assaults
as its political and military standing deteriorates.
Having failed to ignite large-scale violence in Jimma and Arsi last year, the regime has recently attacked Orthodox Christian communities across the Arsi zones through its proxy networks,
the OLA alleged, further claiming that similar “proxy structures” have been cultivated in the Amhara and Tigray regions.
The group warned that the alleged tactics are part of a broader pattern of manipulation and division, accusing the prime minister of
weaponizing deceit and violence as instruments of rule.
It also urged communities in Oromia to remain “vigilant” against efforts to
exploit ethnic and religious divisions under the guise of peace initiatives.
https://addisstandard.com/ola-blames-go ... ict/?amp=1
___________
በአርሲ የክርስቲያኖች ግድያ ያለከልካይ ቀጥሏል
=====
** የተገደሉት በሃይማኖታቸው ምክንያት ነው።
** ልጆቼ ተገድለዋል ብሎ የሚጮህ ተቋም የለም።
** ሞታቸው በሚዲያዎች አይዘገብም፣
** መንግሥታዊ ተቋማት ምንም ዓይነት መረጃ አይሰጡም፣
** ይህ እምነትን መሠረት ያደረገ ወንጀል ሲፈጸም ዓመታት ተቆጥረዋል።
** አካባቢውን በአባትነት የሚያገለግሉት ብፁዕ አቡነ ያሬድ በልጆቻቸው መገደል ዙሪያ ትንፍሽ ብለው አያውቁም። የሚቀርቧቸው ሰዎች ለምን አይነግሯችውም፣ አያግዟቸውም፣
** የኢትዮጵያ የሃይማኖት ተቋማት ካውንስል Inter Religious Council of Ethiopia ጉዳዩ ይመለከተዋል፡ ነገር ግን የኢትዮጵያ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን የተመለከተ ጉዳይ ከሆነ ሁሌም ዘገምተኛ ነው።
______________
የኦርቶዶክሳውያን ጭፍጨፋ ማዕከል መሪ:- ጣሂር አማኖ
======
( ከቀሲስ ኤፍሬም እሸቴ @EphremKesis)
** ይህንን ስም መዝግባችሁ ያዙ፤ ጣሂር አማኖ፤ የሽርካ ወረዳ አስተዳዳሪ፤
** የሽርካ ወረዳ የኦርቶዶክሳውያን ጭፍጨፋ ማዕከል (epicenter) ከሆኑት አንዱ ነው፤
** ሸርካ በክርስቲያኖች ደምና እንባ ከጨቀዩት፣ የክርስቶስ ቁጣ ከሚነድድባቸው አካባቢዎች አንዱ ነው፣
** የኦርቶዶክሳውያን ጭፍጨፋ ሲፈጸም በመንግሥት ሥልጣን ላይ ከተቀመጡት እና ብዙዎቹ የቤተሰቡ አባላት ሸኔ የሚባለው የካዋርጃ እስላማዊ አክራሪ የወሃቢያ ቡድን አባላት ከሆኑት ሰዎች መካከል ዋነኛው ጣሂር አማኖ ነው፤
** ቀን የወጣ ቀን ለፍርድ እንደሚቀርብ ይወቀው።
** አሁን ይኸው በክርስቲያኖች ደም የጨቀየ ስሙን በኢንተርኔት ላይ በሁሉም ቋንቋዎች እንደጠፋ አድርገን እንጽፈዋለን፣
+++++
** ማሳሰቢያ፦
++ "ወንጀሉን በወንጀለኛው ትከሻ ላይ አስቀምጡ" ብያለሁ፣
++ ጥራት ያለው የጣሂር ፎቶ ያለው ይላክልኝ።
++ ለመረጃዎቹ ኃላፊነት እወስዳለሁ።