Two Orthodox Church priests and their families were killed by gunmen in the West Arsi and East Arsi zones of the Oromia region.

According to the church sources, the incident occurred on Monday, March 25, when two priests from the Church of Debre Kidusan Gebre Kirstos in Dodola, along with five family members, were fatally attacked late night by unknown assailants. The Bale synod Archbishop Abune Yoseph told the BBC Amharic that he had heard about the killings but he said did not have details regarding the incident.

The murder of men and women involved in pastoral ministries of the Orthodox church is not an isolated incident in the Oromia region. In November, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church reported the killing of 36 church members across various districts of the Arsi zones in the Oromia region. Alongside these killings, there were reports of damage to church property and property belonging to members. At that time, the head of Oromia Regional Communications stated that the attack was carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army, a faction that the government refers to as Shane.

A church head of the eastern Arsi zone, informed the BBC that no fewer than 80 people have been killed in the area since September in attacks targeting the church and parishioners.