Ethiopia: It’s reported that three civilian Amhara men—Temesgen Getachew, Yitagesu Asegde, and Gizaw Girma—were forced off a public bus in Abeshge Woreda, Gurage Zone, and brutally killed by regime forces after being accused of being “Fano members''
Aster Bedane’s remarks framing a specific ethnic and religious group as “owners of the country” whose suffering is simply a generation taking revenge are just another form of atrocity-promoting commentary. Genocide scholars and international law recognize that sustained dehumanizing or collective-blame rhetoric helps lower moral inhibitions, reframe civilians as legitimate targets, and prepare audiences to accept or participate in large-scale violence.
When an influential artist uses this language while Amhara civilians and Orthodox Christians are already under documented attack, it risks normalizing and cheerleading the very atrocities taking place. Words like these have consequences.
Justice will be served for this kind of hateful commentary.
In testimony following the July 22 drone strike on Abay-Ghion-Senet-Arsema Monastery, a priest stated: "While our mothers and children were engaged in spiritual and charitable work at the monastery, a drone strike came out of nowhere and massacred them."
With @hjaruissen, it was a pleasure to host H.I.H. Asfa-Wossen Asrat in the EP for a side event on the situation in #Ethiopia.
If you missed it, you can watch the full event on YT 📺: https://t.co/hukGdtHK8w
🚨 𝐎𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐱 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐢 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐎𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
An Orthodox priest serving at Gado Maryam Church in Mitana Gado Kebele, Shirka Woreda, East Arsi Zone, was abducted and killed after being taken captive while working on his farmland on June 15. According to local reports, Priest Abayneh Tebeqe was seized by Oromo militants and later found dead after several days in captivity. His body was recovered from a nearby forest and laid to rest on June 17 at Gado Maryam Church, where he had served the local congregation for many years.
The killing comes amid continued reports of violence targeting Orthodox Christian communities in Shirka Woreda. Local sources state that a previous mass killing in the woreda claimed the lives of 169 Orthodox Christians, while more than 30 individuals who were reportedly abducted during the attacks remain missing. Sources further report that 26 of the woreda’s 37 Orthodox churches have been burned, destroyed, or forced to close, leaving only 11 churches currently providing religious services in the area.
🇪🇹 #Ethiopia: At least 37 Orthodox Christians were killed & churches burned during coordinated attacks in the East Arsi Zone between 30 May and 1 June 2026.
➡️The ECLJ submitted an urgent appeal to the UN Office on Genocide Prevention:
https://t.co/VcKEnDVeCT
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to reverse the expulsion of French journalist Augustine Passilly of La Croix following her reporting trip to the northern state of Tigray, where residents spoke out about their fears of a return to war.
“Ethiopia’s expulsion of Augustine Passilly is a blatant act of retaliation against a journalist for reporting on developments in Tigray, an issue of significant political and security importance that authorities would rather not see scrutinized or discussed publicly,” said CPJ Africa Director @angelaquintal.
“Authorities should immediately restore Passilly’s press accreditation and residency permit, allow her to return to Ethiopia and continue her reporting, and stop using regulatory powers to punish independent journalism.”
Read more: https://t.co/tCO0IG8sLz
📆Next Wednesday, June 17, H.I.H. Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate will be the keynote speaker of our side-event in the European Parliament of #Strasbourg to speak out against the ongoing perscutions of #Ethiopians
Follow online:
https://t.co/FdZbnGpDrQ
or register quickly to attend in person: https://t.co/IOb2RcHsYT
French journalist Augustine Passilly expelled from Ethiopia.
A sad reflection on Ethiopia’s lack of confidence about being open to scrutiny.
https://t.co/uD5eyFuDIP
We strongly condemn the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Prosperity Party regime for its direct and systematic participation in the persecution and killing of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.
In the Oromia region, state forces and state-backed actors are carrying out targeted attacks on Orthodox churches and their faithful. Historic churches have been burned to the ground, worshippers massacred while praying, and entire communities terrorized with impunity. This is not a failure to protect citizens - it is active state involvement in atrocities against a religious community that forms a cornerstone of Ethiopian identity.
The Abiy regime bears full responsibility for these crimes. By orchestrating, enabling, or directly executing violence against Orthodox Christians in Oromia and beyond, it has turned the machinery of the state into an instrument of religious and ethnic persecution.
We call on the international community - the United Nations, African Union, United States, European Union, and all governments that claim to stand for human rights - to immediately condemn these atrocities, launch independent investigations, impose targeted sanctions on responsible officials, and demand accountability at the highest levels.
Silence in the face of state-sponsored killings of Orthodox Christians is complicity. The world must act now before more blood is shed.
Justice for the victims. An end to the Abiy regime’s war on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
#AmharaGenocide
@UNGeneva@UN_HRC@UNHumanRights@EU_Commission@EUCouncil@realDonaldTrump@StateDept@SecRubio@SenateForeign@HouseGOP@HouseForeignGOP@HouseForeign@POTUS@_AfricanUnion@Pontifex_es
Ethiopia was a Christian nation while Europe was still pagan. They preserve the most complete account of biblical history and scripture and deserve the attention and support of Christians worldwide. Ethiopia matters. @potus please direct your attention to this matter. The Ethiopian bible must not be lost 🙏
The attacks on Ethiopia’s Orthodox churches in Oromia recently and sadly ongoing for years are shocking, and officials should be doing more to stop it. It is specific targeting of these Orthodox communities.
But it’s not clear to me that “Islamists” are doing this, but rather extremist Oromo nationalists. Maybe some might be Islamists as well, but this seems timed more for national destabilization because of elections and to inflame tensions.