Borkena
Toronto – Two Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church priests are killed in Horo Guduru Wollega after they were abducted by gunmen operating in the area.
One of the victim was head of Horo Guduru Diocese and is identified as Melake Edom Kesis Duguma Uffa. The other victim is identified as Kesis Desalegne Nemomsa, who was serving in the district.
DW Amharic cited eyewitnesses, who were abducted together with the claim priests, to report that bodies of the victims are not recovered although the killing is confirmed.
The priests and eighteen others were returning from the Hidar Mariam Tsion feast celebration in Areto Mariam. They were using the church’s vehicle when they were stopped by gunmen and abducted near Shambu.
A member of the Horo Guduru diocese administration who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons has confirmed the killing. The number of people who were abducted initially were five.
They were abducted on November 30, 2025 but news of their killing was heard this past Saturday.
The incident has reportedly shocked the community. However, there had been recurring incidents of killings targeting Ethiopian Orthodox church priests and followers in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, mostly in Arsi.
Horo Guduru itself has seen recurring killings of Orthodox Christians and hundreds, if not thousands, of ethnic Amhara civilians over the past few years.
However, killings targeting Orthodox CHristians in the area are believed to be under-reported due to internet connection problems in the district and due to security concerns of residents.
The latest killings seems to have targeted priests with senior level positions in the zone – something that is causing panic-like circumstances in the area.
The government has been claiming the security situation in East and West Wollega zones improved over the past year or so.
Three of them were released despite the circumstances under which they were released – apparently without paying ransom.
The government has not released an official statement regarding the incident. Despite repeated calls for security and respect for the right to worship, the Oromia regional government and the Federal government were unable or unwilling to ensure the security of citizens in the region.
The militant ethnic Oromo Nationalist Group – Oromo Liberation Army – extensively operates in the area. Government and opposition parties have been linking most of the kidnappings and killings of civilians in the region to this group.
In a span of three months between September and November, over two hundred Orthodox Christians were reportedly killed in the Arsi zone of the region. There were cases where several family members were killed.
The killings are mostly cruel in form. The group behind it, which is believed to have links to powerful figures in the government structure, is reportedly politically motivated and believed to be undertaking an ethnic cleansing.
Thousands of residents in areas where there had been recurring killings have been displaced.
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My very dear overqualified editors of this esteemed website,
I understand you are short staffed and doing the best you can muster to give us the news and I’m trying to fill in the blank. But others have been intentionally redacting facts in stories they publish just to feed on the raw emotion of the gullible and make blood money in the process. If you ask me the question if Amharas have been targeted, I won’t be sitting here to deny that fact. Yes, they have been. Meanwhile, I have the confidence in your fairness to ask me about others too. I will tell you with facts that Oromos were also targeted as well as Tigres, Afars and Somalis, all perpetrated by bigots hell bent on starting an all out inter-ethnic war. Will the old country wither away this onslaught being unleashed on it by bigots and connivers? Yes it will and it can as long as facts override/overwhelm lies and redacted stories.
Blessings to you and your loved ones! Happy Holidays y’all!!!
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