Ethiopia: More Than 50 Detained After Burying Victims of Deadly Attacks On Orthodox Faithful in Ethiopia's Oromia
Fifty people went to bury their dead and help the wounded. Then they were arrested. That is what residents in Shirka Woreda, in the Southeast Zone of Oromia, formerly known as Arsi Zone, are reporting after a series of deadly attacks on Orthodox faithful in the area.
More than 50 residents have reportedly been detained by authorities following recent killings that targeted Orthodox Christians in the community. According to accounts shared with Addis Standard, those arrested were not combatants or agitators. They were neighbors who showed up to bury the victims and care for the injured.
The detentions have deepened fear in an already grieving community, raising serious concerns about a security crackdown that appears to be reaching people who simply responded to tragedy the way communities do. Residents say the arrests came in the direct aftermath of the killings, compounding the trauma of the attacks themselves.
What happened in Shirka Woreda, and who is being held, and why, are questions that still need answers.
Originally published by AllAfrica.