On 20 January 2022, a group of Oromia police officers fired at Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo followers while the congregants transporting a tabot to Woybela Mariam Church during the feast day of Saint Michael in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing three people from direct gunshots, and injuring ten other people.[1]
| Woybela Mariam Church incident | |
|---|---|
| Location | Woybela Mariam Church, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Date | 20 January 2022 |
| Target | Congregants at feast celebration |
| Weapons | |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Injured | 10 |
Event
editFollowing an altercation with congregants bearing Ethiopian flags and wearing the flag's colors, Oromia police opened fire on congregants of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church while they were transporting a tabot to Woybela Mariam Church during the feast day of Saint Michael. They threw tear gas at the children's choir to stop the ritual progression. Three people were killed by the police's gunfire while ten people were injured.[2][3]
Response
editThe event stirred up criticism directed at Abiy Ahmed's government, which was blamed for not quickly responding to the action. Abune Melke Tsadek, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, decided to temporarily keep the tabot at Keraneyo Medhanealem Church in response to the violence. In the aftermath, the Ethiopian Orthodox followers began mobilizing to resume the procession.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Ethiopian gov't continue to arrest journalist after State of Emergency is lifted". Borkena Ethiopian News. 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ a b "Oromia police killed at least three Orthodox church followers during epiphany celebration in Addis Ababa". Borkena Ethiopian News. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
- ^ "በአዲስ አበባ ታቦት በማስገባት ሥነ ሥርዓት ላይ በተከሰተ ችግር የሰው ሕይወት ጠፋ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
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