Diocese Urges Authorities to Apprehend Perpetrators Following Coordinated Attack in Somali Regional State
Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — An organized group completely demolished the Medhanealem Church in Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali Regional State, according to a statement released by the Somali Diocese.
The diocese published video footage on its official social media channel displaying the fully razed structure. Church officials confirmed that unidentified yet coordinated perpetrators carried out the assault.
In the wake of the incident, the diocese urged regional security agencies and local authorities to take immediate action, restore public order, and apprehend those responsible. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been facing recurring attacks in different parts of the country, particularly in Oromia region, for several years now.
Church leaders noted that the destruction represents a grave breach of religious rights and a direct threat to the country’s long-standing culture of interfaith tolerance.
The incident underscores the rising security threats confronting the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, whose historical sites, monasteries, and places of worship face deliberate vandalism alongside increasing reports of displacement and violence against clergy and congregants.
Reaffirming its commitment to non-violence and endurance, the Church reiterated its demand for federal and regional authorities to safeguard religious institutions and guarantee the constitutional right of all citizens to worship without fear.
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