Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Addis Ababa (Agenzia Fides) - Chaos and violence continue to affect the Ethiopian population. Currently, there are strong social tensions in addition to the crisis in the country caused by university students who began to protest the killing, on June 18, of about 300 civilians of the Amhara ethnic group in Tole Kebele, 400 km west of Addis Ababa, in the area of West Wollega of the regional state of Oromia. According to local sources, another 40 people died in a recent clash in Gambella.
"The Church strongly condemns the killing of innocent people in Gambella and western Wollega, mostly women and children", said members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE). Against these umpteenth brutal killings, the bishops have urged criminals to stop evil acts and to respect the lives of others. "In recent years in various areas of our country, actions contrary to any religious teaching have been repeated, leading to death, displacement and migration". "Our Church is deeply concerned about the dangerous situation in which the population finds itself in their country and in their families. Nobody should be killed because of identity and religion", they stressed, urging the government and local administrations, elders of the country, religious leaders and all citizens to stop such evil acts and restore the tradition of living respecting the dignity of others. In conclusion, they reiterated that "there is no acceptable reason that can lead to the death and humiliation of a human being". The civil war that began in Oromia in July 2020 and in Tigray in November 2020, has spread to Afar, Amhara and the Gambella region, on the border with South Sudan, gradually turning into an ethnic war. (GF/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 6/7/2022)
