AT LEAST 60 ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS KILLED IN ATTACKS

ADDIS ABABA, OCTOBER 27 /SRNA/ - At least 60 members of the Orthodox Christian Church have been killed in two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said.

A statement from the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said 14 people were killed in the Merti area on October 20, and another 46 in the Shirka area on October 24, AP reported.

According to the statement, more than 20 people were seriously injured and around twenty homes were burned down.

Oromia regional government spokesman Hailu Adugna blamed the attacks on the Oromo Liberation Army /OLA/.

He accused the rebels and their allies of stirring up ethnic and religious conflict to divert attention from military losses in northern Ethiopia.

Adugna expressed sorrow over the deaths and destruction, and said the regional authorities had taken action against those responsible.

The OLA is one of seven groups in the Ethiopian People's Alliance for Survival, formed in September with the aim of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration from power.

Oromia is Ethiopia's largest region, home to around 40 million people.