#Ethiopia #Oromia – Gunmen have killed more than 40 people, including children, in a coordinated attack against Christians in two villages in Shirka woreda in the Arsi area of Ethiopia’s Oromia region on October 24, 2026, according to residents and church sources. The dead were buried together in a single mass grave at St. Raphael Church in Chole later that day.
The assault targeted farming communities in Birbo and Chole kebeles, where armed groups surrounded homes from multiple directions in the early morning hours. Survivors told BBC Amharic that many men who had been on overnight guard duty had returned home to rest when the attackers struck. Elderly residents, women, and at least five children were among those killed. One resident said his 75-year-old father was among the dead. A church servant described the incident as a “mass slaughter” and said security forces stationed nearby reached the area but did not intervene effectively.
Casualty figures varied across accounts and could not be independently confirmed at the time. Three residents who spoke to BBC Amharic put the death toll at 46. A local church servant reported 43 killed in Chole kebele alone, with more than 20 wounded taken to hospital, some in critical condition. The Arsi diocese of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church stated that 42 people had died and 18 were wounded. Other local outlets, including Ethio Focus in Asella, reported 47 killed, while Meseret Media cited more than 45 deaths and said 36 bodies were collected from one location. Homes were burned and property was looted. Digelu Medhane Alem Church was reported hit with heavy weapons, looted, and damaged.
Residents and grieving families accused local armed groups operating in Shirka, along with additional fighters drawn from neighboring areas in the Bale Zone such as the Wabe River corridor, Honkolo Wabe, and Robe Didea. Some alleged that the attackers operated with the tacit support or knowledge of local administrative structures. In Gobessa town, the woreda’s administrative center, residents said they appealed to police and security forces for help but were told no orders had been received to intervene. A Shirka church official said in a video shared online that authorities had been warned about armed groups entering the area but failed to act.
The Oromia regional government blamed the attack on “Tsimdo,” an armed alliance of seven groups that had announced its formation the previous month to oppose the federal government. Hailu Adugna, head of the Oromia Communication Service, expressed condolences for the deaths in Chole and Birbo and said the group’s attempt to create ethnic and religious conflict had failed. He gave no specific casualty figure. BBC Amharic reported that its requests for comment from the regional communication bureau went unanswered. Earlier statements from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government had attributed similar attacks in the area to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which has repeatedly denied responsibility for killings of civilians
The October 24 attack followed a series of smaller incidents in Shirka and nearby Honkolo Wabe districts earlier in the month. Between October 12 and 17, at least six Orthodox Christians were killed and several others abducted, according to church officials and BBC Amharic sources. A farmer was killed in his field, livestock were driven off, and a priest was seriously wounded. These events formed part of a longer pattern of violence in East Arsi. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council had previously documented hundreds of civilian deaths—mostly among Orthodox Christian communities—along with abductions, forced displacement, and destruction of property in the zone since 2021.
The Arsi diocese said the killing of Christians in Shirka had been worsening and that Archbishop Abune Elsa’e had raised the deteriorating security situation repeatedly with officials up to the Ministry of Peace, without an effective solution. Opposition groups, including the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, condemned the recurring violence and called for independent investigations. Images and videos shared online showed mourners, including women, gathered around the mass grave and the bodies of the dead.
Cover Image: A man stands in front of the mass grave at St. Raphael’s church in Ethiopia.
