MUSLIM HATE IN ETHIOPIA
At least 500 Ethiopian Christians reported
slaughtered in relentless door-to-door attacks since June
Barnabas Fund
September 1, 2020
An Ethiopian Christian leader called for an
international inquiry into the slaying of hundreds of Christians, including
pregnant women, children and whole families, in ongoing Oromo Muslim extremist
attacks in the parts of the Oromia regional state, extending south, south-east
and east of Addis Ababa, since the end of June. According to reports, more than
500 were killed.
The coordinated killings, targeting Christians
from a wide range of ethnicities including Oromo Christians, began soon after
the alleged assassination of a popular Oromo singer, Hachallu
Hundessa, who was shot dead on 29 June, while driving
in the outskirts of the capital.
The attackers are from the Oromo ethnic group,
which has traditionally been Muslim, and are members of Qeerroo
(meaning, “bachelors”), an Oromo male youth movement.
In door-to-door attacks on Christian households
the Qeerroo extremists arrived in cars and, armed
with guns, machetes, swords and spears, sought out and slaughtered Christians.
Children were forced to witness their parents being brutally murdered with
machetes.
Barnabas regional contacts confirmed attacks in
numerous towns including Arsi Negele, Ziway, Shashemane, Gedeb Asasa, Kofele,
Dodola, Adaba, Robe, Goba, Bale Agarfa, Chiro, Harar,
Dire Dawa, Adama, Dera, Asela and Kembolcha, reaching to the far south-east and east of the
country.
Some of the Qeerroo
militants held lists of Christians and were helped by local authorities, often
run by Muslims in the Oromia region, to find individuals, particularly those
actively involved in supporting the Church.
Oromo ethnic Christians were also targeted. An
Oromo Christian was beheaded for refusing to deny his faith by tearing off the
thread around his neck (worn by many Ethiopian Christians as a sign of their
baptism). His widow told Barnabas, “The attackers said that it is only he/she
who prostrates with us before Allah for prayer who is considered an Oromo.”
Local witnesses said that police stood by and
watched as the murders unfolded. However, contacts reported that, in Bale Agarfa, some Christians were saved by the intervention of
courageous local Muslims who risked their own lives to protect them.
Christians’ business premises and houses were
burnt down, vandalised or destroyed by the
extremists. Billions of dollars of damage was caused
to property, including businesses owned by internationally renowned Christian
athlete, Haile Gebreselassie, in Ziway
and Shashamahe towns.
The severity of the atrocities shocked local
witnesses who gave accounts of harrowing scenes. In Dera,
a witness described how the killers desecrated corpses by “dancing and singing,
carrying the chopped or hacked body parts of those they slaughtered”. Another
witness reported how the hacked bodies of an elderly Christian couple, who were
beaten to death in their home, were dragged through the streets in Gedeb Asasa.
Thousands of traumatised
survivors have fled for their lives, including orphaned children, and many are
being sheltered in churches and community centres. A
regional contact told Barnabas, “Many still live in fear. Christian leaders
from all denominations visited the areas. I watched news where priests and
pastors physically wept in tears while listened to horrors from the victims’
families.”
The Ethiopian government suspended the internet
in the region for several weeks in an attempt to reduce incitement to violence
through social media channels. Government security forces have been slow to
intervene to halt the atrocity, which is being compared to the surge of murders
that led up to the Rwandan genocide. However, thousands of arrests have since
been made, according to regional reports, including local officials implicated
in the attacks.
As of 27 August, Barnabas contacts say the
“targeted genocide” of Christians by the extremists is continuing in the south,
south-east and east of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Christians in touch with Barnabas
urge concerned readers and supporters to contact their Ethiopian embassy, to
call for immediate action to bring to a halt the atrocities continuing in the
Oromia regional state at this time.
High-profile
Oromo media mogul, Jawar Mohammed, provoked unrest in Ethiopia in October 2019 when he criticised the government in tweets to his supporters. Violent
protests ensued leading to 67 deaths. Around the same time, two pastors were
beheaded in Sebeta, in the Oromia region to the
south-east of Addis Ababa. A Barnabas contact added that many churches were
burnt that year.
Since September 2018, violent ethnic clashes
have led to some two million Ethiopians becoming internally displaced.
Two pastors
beheaded as violence against Christians flares in Ethiopia
11 November
2019
Barnabas Fund
Two Ethiopian pastors
have been beheaded in Sebeta, near the capital Addis
Ababa, in an outburst of violence against Christians at the end of October,
reported a Barnabas Fund contact.
The contact
said that the situation on the ground has become “quite challenging for Christians”
and many churches have been burnt this year. There is also an unverified report
that a group of Christians has been forced out of the majority-Muslim town of Ginir, located 303 miles south-east of the capital.
The army was
called in to restore order after 67 people were killed and 213 wounded in Addis
Ababa and the Oromia region during several days of unrest.
Muslim
activist and high profile media mogul, Jawar Mohammed,
is thought to have provoked the unrest when he announced to his supporters that
the government had removed his personal security protection. Subsequent street
protests against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed erupted in violence.
Since
September 2018, violent ethnic clashes have led to some two million Ethiopians
becoming internally displaced.
Muslim Mobs
Attack 10 Church Buildings in Ethiopia
Unprecedented
religious destruction in town sparked by false rumor.
March 1, 2019
By Our East Africa Correspondent
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Christians in a town in southern Ethiopia
were stunned when local Muslims attacked 10 church buildings on Feb. 9,
destroying one and burning the property inside all the structures, according to
aid agencies.
Chanting the
jihadist slogan, “Allahu akbar [God is greater],”
Muslims in Halaba Kulito
targeted worship buildings belonging to eight denominations, reported
Scotland-based aid agency Steadfast Global and Voice of the Martyrs-Canada.
Kale Hiwot Galeto church’s
building was razed.
“The incensed
crowds comprising Muslim residents of all ages from across the town made their
way to the churches chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ after being given false information
that a mosque in the surrounding countryside had been fire-bombed,” said a
Steadfast Global representative who requested anonymity. “The contents of all
the churches were removed from the buildings and set on fire on the street.”
Except for
some minor vandalism, Christians in the town have not suffered such attacks to
this extent, he said. But Halaba Kulito,
in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), is a
predominantly Muslim town with nearly all Christians there having moved from
surrounding villages for work reasons, creating an underlying tension, he
added.
He learned
from witnesses that an Islamic conference was held in Halaba
Kulito about week before the trouble flared that
included speakers suspected of holding extremist views, but he said he had no
information on what was said at the conference.
Witnesses
indicated that the assailants were clearly instructed to target only property
and not Christians, he said.
One of the
attacked churches, Meserete Kristos
Church, has since been vandalized again, and area Christians have faced
intimidation and threats, he added.
While Kale Hiwot Galeto church building was
destroyed in the Feb. 9 attack, aid workers believe the other nine church
buildings were not set ablaze only because of the risk to neighboring
Muslim-owned properties.
Municipal
police were present during almost every attack but took no action, the agencies
reported.
The attacks
lasted about five hours, with state police arriving in town in the early
afternoon and restoring order. A number of the assailants were said to be
arrested and placed in custody, and the aid agencies believe they will be
charged and tried.
More than
9,900 worshippers are estimated to attend the 10 churches. A small number of
Christians sustained minor injuries and returned home after receiving hospital
treatment, including two that were more seriously injured, according to the aid
agencies.
Huge amounts
of property were destroyed, including Bibles, song books, instruments, benches
and chairs.
Despite the
destruction, all of the congregations managed to meet for worship the following
Sunday, the agencies reported. At the same time, after the attack a significant
number of Christians chose not to gather for worship out of fear, they learned.
The local government has allocated a police guard to each of the attacked the
churches.
Most of the
churches are gathering contributions from their members to try to replace
damaged items, but they will need help from the wider church, according to the
aid agencies, which have distributed emergency funds and are studying ways for
ministry partners to help restore and rebuild.
Ethiopian PM
sends condolences to Orthodox Church after 15 priests killed
August 14, 2018
By World Watch
Monitor
Ethiopia’s prime minister visited the leader of the country’s Orthodox Church
on Saturday to express his condolences after 15 priests were killed and ten
Orthodox churches damaged in the eastern Somali region last week.
Among the priests killed were Rev. Kidane Mariam Nibretu,
Rev. Yared Hibu, Father Gebiremariam Asfaw, and Abreham Tigabu, a local source told World Watch Monitor, adding
that four of the 15 priests were found burned together.
Nine evangelical churches were also vandalised or
looted. Although state media reported the deaths of at least 30 people,
according to local sources the number could be as high as 50.
Orthodox parishes in the regional capital, Jijiga,
are supporting more than 20,000 displaced Ethiopians, sources close to the Tewahedo Orthodox Church told Catholic news agency Fides.
Voice of America reported that nearly one million people have been displaced
since April as part of an ethnic conflict between Oromo and Somali people that
has been going on for years.
Earlier today, 40 people were killed when armed men, allegedly members of the
Somali region’s paramilitary Liyou forces, carried
out cross border-attacks in Oromia’s East Hararghe
district, according to Al-Jazeera.
New man in charge
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has moved quickly to implement a reformist vision for
the country since he came to power in April on the back of a revolt against the
old regime, which was largely controlled by a small group of former liberation
fighters, who had been ruling the country since 1991.
Ahmed has fired a number of officials and generals accused of corruption,
curbing the military’s power and lifting government monopolies on key
industries, to dismantle the grip on power by the Tigrinya People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF).
His agenda created tension with the Somali Regional President Abdi Illey, who resigned last week after federal forces stopped
his paramilitary Liyou forces from entering Dire Dawa, a federal city outside of the Somali Region’s
jurisdiction.
Illey flew to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, where
he was reportedly arrested. The former president was known to govern the region
with an iron fist, using political positions and his paramilitary Liyou police to commit widespread human rights abuses.
On Sunday (12 August) the Ogaden National Liberation
Front (ONLF), a rebel groups which has been fighting for self-determination for
the Somali Region for years, declared a unilateral ceasefire. The group said it
had made the decision in response to prime minister Ahmed’s call for peace and
the offer of talks towards a negotiated settlement.
Ahmed’s new political approach has also led to the historic reconciliation with
neighbour and long-time foe Eritrea. Eritrea’s
leader, Isaias Afwerki, is ethnically Tigrayan but after the decades-long war
and Ethiopia’s occupation of the Eritrean border, he supports Ahmed in seeking
to curb the power of the TPLF.
‘Tensions bubbling under the surface’
Eritrea is 6th and Ethiopia 29th on Open Doors International’s 2018 World Watch
List of the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian.
Ethiopia’s Protestant communities face challenges from fanatical elements in
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and, where ethnicity and Islam are
interconnected, Christians can experience hostility from family and community.
In mid-June, 20 Christians were killed in the Bale Goba
area of Oromia, west of the Somali region. Although some observers blamed TPLF sympathisers, a local source told World Watch Monitor that
it took place after Christians opposed the installation of a monument for a
prominent Muslim leader in the area.
Some locals pinned the blame on the government, saying they were warning
Christians against opposing such moves in future.
“Similar tensions are bubbling under the surface in other parts of Oromia,”
said World Watch Monitor’s source. “We have even heard of places where Muslims
had asked Christians to vacate the area. And though this call is veiled as
ethnic rivalry by some media and observers, it is at its very core a religious
matter.”
Tourists From 5 Nations Victims in Ethiopia Attack
By LUC VAN KEMENADE Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA,
Ethiopia January 18, 2012 (AP)
Gunmen in Ethiopia's arid north attacked a group of European tourists traveling
in one of the world's lowest and hottest regions, killing five, wounding two
and kidnapping two, an Ethiopian official said Wednesday.
Ethiopia called the attack "an act of open terrorism" and said the
gunmen came from neighboring Eritrea and attacked the tourist group before dawn
on Tuesday. Three Ethiopians were also taken hostage. Eritrea denied it was
involved.
Austrian, Belgian, German, Hungarian and Italian nationals were among those in
the tourist group, Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.
Two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were among the five killed,
according to an Interpol report cited by the spokesman for Hungary's prime
minister. Two Belgians were seriously hurt and two Italians escaped unharmed,
the report said. Two Germans were kidnapped.
Austria's foreign ministry confirmed that an Austrian man from the province of
Upper Austria was among the five dead. Germany's foreign minister also
confirmed two German deaths. Germany's foreign minister said 12 other people
were flown to safety by helicopter.
Those wounded in the attack arrived in Addis Ababa Wednesday evening, where
they were met by embassy personnel. A British diplomat at the airport said it
was possible one British tourist was among the group attacked.
One victim had to be moved in a wheelchair. Others covered their faces to avoid
being photographed by journalists. A diplomat said that the victims did not
want to make any statements to the media and said that they have had "a
very hard time."
Ethiopia offered its condolences to the families of victims and said it would
"do everything possible to try and get those taken prisoner released as
soon as possible," a government statement said. "It is already clear
that the attack was carried out with the direct involvement of the Eritrean
Government. There is a fear that the people who have been kidnapped might be
taken across the border into Eritrea."
Ethiopia said it suspects the attack was linked to an upcoming African Union
summit in Addis Ababa later this month. It said the attack shows that the
international community "must now get serious about the destabilizing role
of the Eritrean regime in the region."
The tourists were visiting a volcanic region in Ethiopia's northern Afar
region, which lies below sea level and is known for its intense heat and
picturesque salt flats.
Some of the tourists appeared to be traveling with Addis Ababa-based Green Land
Tours and Travel, according to three people in Ethiopia's capital, all of whom
asked not to be identified because the information hadn't yet been made public.
Green Land Tours and Travel offers a 15-day travel package to the Afar region,
which include visits to watch salt extraction from salt lakes and a trek around
a volcano that spouts lava pools.
Some of the tourists on the trip also appear to have been booked by a company
in Germany called Diamir, which posted a statement on
its website saying that it deeply regrets what happened. Diamir
said it had offered the Ethiopia trip several times a year since 2006.
"Up until the current incident, Diamir had no
indications that the security of guests could be in question in the
region," it said, adding that there was no German travel warning in place
for Ethiopia or parts of it at the time of the incident.
Bereket said that "some groups trained and armed by the Eritrean
government" attacked the tourists about 20 to 25 kilometers (12 to 15
miles) from the Eritrean border.
Eritrea's ambassador to the African Union, Girma Asmerom, said Ethiopia's allegations are an "absolute
lie" and that the attack is an internal Ethiopian matter.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war from 1998 to 2000,claiming
the lives of about 80,000 people. Tension between the neighboring East African
countries rose last year when a U.N. report claimed that Eritrea was behind a
plot to attack an African Union summit in Ethiopia.
Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tiefenthal
said there was an Austrian Foreign Ministry travel warning in effect for the
region since 2007 "because of several incidents involving attacks on
tourist groups ... in some case politically motivated in others criminally
motivated."
In 2007, five Europeans and 13 Ethiopians were kidnapped in Afar. Ethiopia
accused Eritrea of masterminding that kidnapping, but Eritrea blamed an
Ethiopian rebel group. All of those hostages were released, though some of the
Ethiopians were held for more than a month.
In 2008, Ethiopia foiled a kidnapping attempt on a group of 28 French tourists
in the area.
"The problem is, there is no infrastructure in the area, no telephone
lines, satellite phones barely work," Launsky-Tiefenthal
said, comparing the remote area to "the surface of Mars."
Ethiopia Faces Threat from Wahabi Muslim Extremists
MONDAY, 10 OCTOBER 2011 04:12 NEWBUSINESSETHIOPIA.COM
By Andualem Sisay
Some
Wahabi Muslim extremists in Ethiopia are being engaged in underground violence
and unrest instigation activities by abusing the freedom of religion and faith
guaranteed by the constitution says, Ethiopian government official.
“We are not against their doctrine; what they are doing by organizing
themselves underground is a crime against the constitution,” said Shiferaw Teklemariam,
Minister of Federal Affairs.
The minister made the remark at a
daylong workshop prepared for local journalists and public relation officers of
the government at the Federal Police Headquarter here in Addis Ababa over the
weekend.
Wahabi Muslim extremists have been invading mosques in
the country with causing violence that resulted in death and injuries of other
non- Wahabi Muslims sect followers, according to the minister, who mentioned
the crisis witnessed in Harar, Gimma, Wellega, Illubabor and Bale areas
of the country over the past years.
The group have been working
in secrete to make Ethiopia a Muslim nation that will be ruled by Shriya law by abusing the rights of religion stated in the
constitution of the country. “As such acts of Wahabi Muslim extremists will
lead the country in chaos, the government is forced to intervene,” the minister
said.
According to the Ethiopian constitution government
and religion are separate and one will not interfere into business of the
other. While people are free to choose the religion
they want to follow. In addition, it also states that there will be no state
religion in Ethiopia and all religions are equal.
Contrary to
this, the government has now found that the Wahabi Muslim extremists have been
working underground to make Ethiopia a Muslim nation by violating the rights of
other people to believe in whatever they want.
“We have found
evidences and pamphlets were publicly distributed during the month of Ramadan
calling on the Muslim community to stand up against all non- Wahabi Muslims and
other religion followers,” he said.
Wahabi sect is a member
of a strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect from Saudi Arabia. The doctrine
strives to purify Islamic beliefs and rejects any innovation occurring after
the 3rd century of Islam; "Osama bin Laden is said to be a Wahhabi
Muslim".
Religion and Faith Director General at the Ministry,
Meressa Reda on his part said: “At the moment our
main duty is to save the innocent Muslims who being led to the traps of
religious conflict in Ethiopia orchestrated by these Wahabi Muslim
extremists”.
Implementing Constitution without Rules
From
the public transport to streets, from government offices to universities,
different religion extremists have been abusing the rights of people who also
have the right not to follow any of these religions.
The fact
that Ethiopia has not yet put in place proclamations, rules and manuals on how
to use freedom of religion and faith written on the constitution is mentioned
as one of the reasons that allowed people to abuse these rights.
At the moment one there is no clear rule which areas are for preaching religion
and what kinds of precautions has to be taken in order to avoid the peace of
other citizens who do not belong to that specific religion.
There is no clear demarvcation between residence
areas and noisy religious practices at any time of the day and night. If one
generous person of a certain religion gives his home to the followers, they can
automatically convert it to worshiping institutions violating the rights of
other people who used to live peacefully.
As a result, most of
the dominant religions in the country are engaged in underground zero sum intra
and inter religion war. If one religion follower put a giant speaker on a four wheel drive car and disturbs the city with limitless
volume, its competitor comes with a larger truck and speaker to annoy the city.
There is no rule in place that will protect the peace and health
of the people who are not interested in any religion.
Some of the
participants of the workshop also described most of these religious
institutions as the most corrupt and failed institutions to serve even their
followers properly. Many agree that if the institutions were properly managed
at least the lives of the poor Ethiopians from whom they collect money could
have been better today.
Some people suggest that government has
to approach these institutions and assist them in preparing and implementing
transparent and accountable institution running guidelines by specifying
clearly their role in poverty reduction in addition to the usual spiritual
services they have been busy for centuries.
As a result of
conflicts within or between or among these religion extremists is resulting in
unnecessary bloodsheds and burning of mosques and churches. Some people advice
that the government has to use early warning and protection mechanisms before
such conflicts manifest.
External Interference
Arab Wahabi missionaries, mainly from Saudi Arabia, continue to make inroads
into the Ethiopian Muslim community, but are meeting increasing resistance in
doing so, according to a recent US cable released by Wikileaks. The indigenous
Muslim culture (mainly Sufi Muslim community) has come under attack since 9/11
by Wahabi missionaries engaging in what amounts to cultural imperialism against
Ethiopian Islam.
“Prior to 9/11, there was little Wahabi proselytizing in Ethiopia. As a
result, Ethiopia's delicate Muslim/Christian balance and historic attitudes
between the faith communities regarding tolerance and mutual respect are being
challenged, thereby undermining U.S. interests in the region. Sufi Muslim
leaders want support from the U.S. to counter this pressure,” according to wikileaks.
The other part of US cable released August 30, 2011 stated that as part of the
strategy of countering Wahabi influence through cultural programming the United
States government has been doing different things in Ethiopia since 2006 to
present.
The report indicated that the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural
Preservation (AFCP) of the US government has granted to restore the Sheikh
Hussein Shrine in Bale.
“In addition, AFCP grant to restore the Teferi Mekonnen Palace in Harar (although the childhood home of
Emperor Haile Selassie, the Palace now houses the City Museum, which is heavily
focused on Muslim life in Harar,” stated the cable entitled ‘Countering Wahabi
Influences in Ethiopia Through Cultural Programs’.
Besides, AFCP grant to restore the Muhammad Ali House in Addis Ababa, the home
of a prominent Muslim merchant that reflects the heavy influence of Muslim
merchants and trade with the Middle and Far East in the 19th century, according
to Wikileaks.
“When well-considered and executed creatively, cultural programming can make a
real difference in turning back Islamic extremism and turning public opinion
against activists who seek to overturn the existing order and import a brand of
Islam that breeds conflict through its corrosive teachings that run counter to
more orthodox interpretations of the Koran,” Ambassador Yamamato
concludes in his July 2009 report.
Thousands Of Christians Flee Deadly Violence In
Ethiopia; Churches Burned
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 (10:00 pm)
Dozens of churches destroyed
130 people detained, official says
By BosNewsLife Africa Service
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (BosNewsLife)-- Thousands of
Christians are fleeing violence in western Ethiopia where Muslim extremists
killed several Christians and burned dozens of churches, rights activists and
officials said Wednesday March 9.
Advocacy group Barnabas Fund, which supports Christians in the Muslim-majority
area, told BosNewsLife that 55 churches and dozens of
homes are reported to have been torched in recent days near the city of Jimma, in western Oromia region, "with many more
properties looted by the mob."
Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal said in
a radio interview that two Christians had been killed in the incidents in the
town of Asendabo and surrounding areas and that
police reinforcements had moved in to restore order.
"In Jimma area, some extremists and some
fundamentalists have instigated some people to burn a few prayer places,
praying places, and this has been investigated by police and those who are
suspected to have set fire on those churches have been apprehended," he
told the Voice of America (VOA) network in an earlier interview.
CLASHES CONTINUE
Barnabas Fund said Wednesday, March 9, that three Christians had been killed.
There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy, but with tensions
continuing the death toll was expected to rise.
"Attacks involving thousands of Islamists have continued, spreading
systematically through five districts in the predominantly Muslim area,"
said International Christian Concern (ICC), another U.S. based rights group
closely monitoring the situation.
Government officials said so far 130 suspects had been detained and charged
with instigating religious hatred and violence.
ICC quoted a Christian leader as saying that the attacks were organized by members
of Kwarej, a radical Islamic group that fights to
establish an Islamic state in Ethiopia.
The Muslim attackers allegedly came from different parts of Ethiopia, including
the Somali region. "It’s very sad that a radical Muslim group destabilizes
the unity of Ethiopian Christians and Muslims. We are devastated by the attacks
and we urge all concerned people to help us. We call upon Ethiopian officials
to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future," the church
leader reportedly said, apparently speaking on condition of anonymity because
of security concerns.
VIOLENT PAST
The government has not yet confirmed the background of those detained.
Asendabo is a town located in an area that was the
scene of violent attacks against Christians in 2006 when Muslims killed more
than a dozen Christians and burned down several churches, ICC said.
Islamic radicals are fighting to establish an Islamic state in Christian
majority Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the Christians have borne the brunt of the
Islamic attacks," said ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho told BosNewsLife in a
statement.
"Christians will continue to be killed unless the government of Ethiopia
starts taking serious measures to stop Islamists from carrying out similar
attacks," Racho said, adding that his group has
urged the international community to pressure Ethiopia's government to improve
the situation.
The most recent census reportedly indicates that Ethiopia is about 60 percent
Christian and 40 percent Muslim, though Muslims dispute the figures. (With
reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos and
reporters in the region).
Violence Continues Against Christians in Ethiopia
Mennonite World Conference (MWC)
January 10, 2003
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Christians in Ethiopia continue
to be targets of violent acts in this country where Muslim and Eastern Orthodox
religions are dominant. On December 29, 2002, a Meserete
Kristos (Mennonite) Church (MKC) in Mekele was looted and burned. All its property was
destroyed and one member at the church compound at the time was severely
beaten.
Incidents earlier in the year included raiding the home
of Christians in Abdurafi, a small village in the
northwest. Two church leaders there were beaten, one needing hospitalization
for 13 days. In Moyale, a town on the Kenyan border, two elderly MKC women
suffered beatings. One, aged 65, spent 10 days in hospital and she sustains
permanent disabilities. In Maychew, violent
demonstrations led to the burning of all Christian churches there, including an
MKC church. Its leader was imprisoned due to false accusations, and is still in
prison, according to reports.
Fikru Zeleke,
Evangelism and Missions secretary of the MKC, said that the hostility against
Christians has escalated in the last year.
"Muslims in this country have targeted the
evangelicals as number one enemy. The hostility is not limited to MKC. It
embraces all active evangelical churches in the country," said Zeleke.
The Muslim religion is dominant in some parts of
Ethiopia, ranging from 90 percent of the population in the southeast to nearly
100 percent in the Afar region. In the Tigray region in the north, 96 percent
of the people are Ethiopian Orthodox.
According to Zeleke, these
religions regard themselves as the only religions that have the right to expand
their faith in the country and they target evangelicals who are engaged in
aggressive mission efforts throughout the nation.
The MKC has 83 missionaries working mostly among
unreached groups within Ethiopia as well as international workers in three
African countries. The church, in partnership with Eastern Mennonite Missions
in the U.S., plans to send two workers to Asia and is in the process of
accepting into membership a church of East African immigrants based in the
Middle East.
Zeleke said that MKC is asking
Anabaptists around the world to pray for its evangelistic and mission efforts,
especially in this difficult time of opposition.
— Ferne Burkhardt, News Editor
Brits warned against travel to Ethiopia
Last Modified: 3 Nov 2005
Source: ITN
The Foreign Office has urged British citizens against non-essential travel to
Ethiopia.
At least 33 people have been killed and 150 wounded in three days of
anti-government protests.
A Foreign Office statement said: "There have been further serious
disturbances across the capital on 1 and 2 November 2005, resulting in a number
of deaths.
"Opposition leaders have been arrested and further violence in Addis and
other towns cannot be ruled out. We advise against non-essential travel to
Ethiopia until the situation settles."
In Ethiopia's worst violence in months, security forces opened fire to disperse
hundreds of demonstrators apparently heeding a call by the biggest opposition
party for renewed protests against a May 15 poll it says was rigged.
Security forces were deployed to patrol the quiet streets of the capital where
shops were shut to mark the Muslim Eid Al-Fitr
festival.
Thousands of Muslims streamed to the main square in Addis Ababa for dawn
prayers in a peaceful but brief gathering to celebrate the end of the Ramadan
fasting period.
Merchant Hussein Aware said: "The ceremony is not as joyful as previous
years. Many people did not come. We are very sad because of all this
fighting."
The United States has condemned "cynical, deliberate" attempts to
stoke violence in the capital.
Medical sources in two hospitals have said two people were shot dead during the
third day of clashes between police and protesters.
A doctor said: "We have one person dead. He was 19 years old and hit in
the chest."
Another doctor in the Black Lion hospital said a 60 year-old
man was killed in unrest in an eastern suburb of Addis Ababa.
Rebels plan Ramadan attacks
02/09/2008 08:25 - (SA)
Mogadishu - An Islamist militia commander said on Monday
his fighters will intensify attacks against government and Ethiopian forces
even during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Yusuf Mohamed Siad - allied to
hardline cleric Hassan Dahir Aweys
who is designated as a terrorist by the US - said the fighting is "in
compliance with the guidance of our prophet Mohammed."
"We will double our attacks against the Ethiopians
and their Somali government stooges even during the month of Ramadan until we
root out the enemy of Allah from the country," he told reporters in
Mogadishu.
Since their movement was ousted by a joint
Ethiopia-Somali forces in early 2007, Islamist militias have waged a deadly
insurgency against their rivals mainly in the capital.
The hardline Islamists have rejected a
UN-sponsored truce.
Civilians have borne the heaviest brunt of the violence
and at least 6 000 have died in the past year alone, many in Mogadishu.
Somalia has lacked an effective government since the
1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, sparking
a deadly power struggle that has defied numerous bids to restore stability in
the Horn of Africa nation.