How Can This Happen While a Country Has a Government? Are People Not Allowed to Worship Freely?

The Crisis:

Right now, in the Arsi and Oromia regions of Ethiopia, an active campaign of religious cleansing is unfolding in total silence. Innocent Orthodox Christians—including children, women, and the elderly—are being brutally murdered inside their own homes. Sacred, historic churches are being burned to ash. Survivors are being forced into exile, fleeing with nothing but their holy icons.

Our Christian sisters and brothers are being brutally and mercilessly killed by followers of another religion who justify these atrocities with statements such as, “Worship our God or die” and “We have been ordered by our God to kill Christians.” Entire communities are living in fear as these threats are carried out in reality, while perpetrators openly share videos on social media platforms such as TikTok and facebook boasting about their actions and issuing further threats against Christians. Copies of this evidence, including usernames, video links, screenshots, and translations, can be provided to investigators, journalists, human rights organizations, and relevant authorities upon request.

The Ethiopian government is not taking sufficient action to stop these atrocities. Human beings are being brutally and cruelly killed, and entire communities are living in fear. How can this happen in a country that has a government responsible for protecting its citizens? Are people not allowed to worship according to their faith in peace and safety?

The Evidence:

The perpetrators are operating with total impunity. They are openly posting videos on social media platforms, filming themselves while burning churches,  mocking the dead, and explicitly declaring: "We will finish you, this is just part one" and "We will kill all Christians." 

Our Demands:

We call on the Federal Government of Ethiopia, the African Union, the United Nations, and international democratic governments to:

1. Deploy immediate security forces to protect vulnerable Orthodox Christian minorities in the Arsi and Oromia regions.

2. Investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these massacres and those inciting genocide on social media.

3. Allow independent international human rights monitors full access to investigate these regional atrocities.

4. Guarantee the protection of churches, religious sites, and the right of Orthodox Christians to worship freely and safely.

Please sign and share this petition to break the silence and save innocent lives before the promised "next phases" of this violence are carried out.

Displaced Orthodox Christians carrying sacred Tabots after being forced from their homes.

A historic Orthodox church burning amid ongoing attacks on Christian communities.

Attackers setting fire to the roof of an Orthodox church during acts of religiously motivated violence.