At least 60 people were killed in two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region in the past week, according to a statement from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holy Synod issued on Monday 27 October 2026, Reuters reported.

What the Church reported

The Church said 14 believers were killed in Merti Woreda on 20 October and 46 in Sherka Woreda on 24 October, with more than 20 homes burned and more than 20 people hospitalised with severe injuries. A BBC Amharic eyewitness account described an ambush in which a resident's 75-year-old father was killed, and the BBC reported that five of those killed were children. The Church said attacks against Christians had been increasing and condemned the violence.

Who was responsible is disputed

Responsibility for the attacks is disputed and must not be stated as settled: the Oromia regional government blamed a rebel alliance including the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), while a rebel-alliance-linked source blamed the regional government, and the OLA did not immediately respond to Reuters. The Church statement itself did not name who was responsible in the Reuters report, and the regional government's claim that the attacks aimed to spark religious conflict was reported without evidence in that copy. The deaths are therefore reported here as the Church stated them, with the question of responsibility left open.

Sources: Reuters; BBC via Capital FM Africa, 27 October 2026.