Washington has condemned the targeted killing of civilians in Oromia's Arsi zone and called on Ethiopia's government to bring the perpetrators to justice, a day after Britain's ambassador said he was deeply shocked. The Orthodox Church says 60 of its faithful were killed in two attacks.
The United States on Saturday 31 October said it was "deeply concerned about recent reports of targeted killings of civilians in Arsi zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia" and called on the Ethiopian government to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. The statement came from the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs on X and was repeated by Ambassador Ervin Massinga, Zegabi and The Abay Times reported.
"The United States condemns religious, ethnic, or political motivated violence. Such horrific attacks against any group must stop," the bureau said. It added that "as we seek to understand this tragedy, the United States urges against characterizations that could deepen division". It did not say whom it held responsible.
British ambassador 'deeply shocked'
On Friday 30 October the UK ambassador to Ethiopia, Darren Welch, wrote on X that he was "deeply shocked to hear of the killing in Arsi: one of the first places I visited here in Ethiopia". He offered condolences and added: "We continue to support all efforts to investigate & establish who was responsible."
The attacks
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church says 14 people were killed in Merti woreda on 20 October and 46 in Shirka woreda on 24 October. It says more than 20 were seriously wounded and the homes of 20 church members were burned. A church official called the Shirka attack a "massacre", and eyewitnesses told the BBC that five of the dead were children. Residents have given differing tolls. On 29 October the World Council of Churches called for "prompt, impartial and transparent investigations".
The Oromia regional communication bureau has blamed the attacks on the newly formed rebel coalition that officials call "Tsimdo", which describes itself as the Alliance for Survival and includes the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). The OLA has not commented on these attacks but has denied carrying out earlier ones in the area, the BBC reported. Opposition parties accuse officials of failing to stop killings that they say have recurred for years. According to Zegabi, citing BBC Amharic, the federal government had made no public statement by Sunday.
Context: The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, a non-governmental group, said in July that 458 people had been killed in attacks in the area over four years. The national Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has repeatedly urged the government to prevent recurring attacks in Shirka, Aseko, Merti and neighbouring woredas, to ensure accountability and to avoid unverified labelling that could inflame conflict.
Photo: An Orthodox church on a hillside in Oromia, 2017. Ninara, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.