According to Barnabus Fund, an international Christian aid agency, at least 500 Ethiopian Christians have been murdered in coordinated door to door killings since June. This slaughter of Christians seems to have begun after the assassination of a popular Oromo singer Hachallu Hundessa, whose music promoted resistance and political freedom.
The attackers are from the Oromo ethnic group, traditionally Muslim, and members of the Qeerroo, (which means "bachelors") a male youth movement. Since June, extremist members of the Qeerroo have been on a killing spree, going door to door armed with guns and machetes to seek out Oromo Christians. Oromo Christians have often found themselves at the mercy of these brutal extremists due to aid provided to the Qeerroo by local authorities, who have helped to supply them with lists of Christians in the area, as well as the neglect shown to the situation by local police.
The killers seem to have no intent on subtlety as they were seen in the town of Dera "dancing and singing, carrying the chopped or hacked body parts of those they slaughtered." In other towns, the hacked up bodies of Christians were dragged through the streets as their homes and businesses were burned to the ground.
Ethiopia, as a primarily Christian religiously affiliated country, has tried to mitigate the situation. The government suspended internet in the region in the hopes of reducing incitement to violence through social media, however, as mentioned above, actual use of security and military intervention has yet to be fully employed.
According to Barnabus, thousands of survivors and widows of the attacks have fled and are currently being sheltered in churches and community centers. A contact from the region reached out to Barnabus to share that "Many still live in fear" for their lives. Other Christian contacts from the region have reached out to Barnabus as well and have urged them to share that any concerned readers and supporters should reach out to their Ethiopian Embassies to call for more immediate action and support for the Oromo Christians and the atrocities still being committed in the region.
