‘Praying that God Protects Us’: Killing Continues as Witnesses Recall Massacre of 800 at Church in Ethiopia

• For weeks, rumors circulated that something ghastly had occurred at the Church of St. Mary of Zion in late November, with estimates of several hundred people killed. But with Tigray cut off from the world and journalists blocked from entering, little could be verified as Ethiopian and allied fighters pursued the Tigray region’s fugitive leaders.
• The deacon, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he remains in Axum, said he helped count the bodies – or what was left after hyenas fed. He gathered victims’ identity cards and assisted with burials in mass graves.
• He believes some 800 people were killed that weekend at the church and around the city, and that thousands in Axum have died in all. The killing continues . . .

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A mass killing of an estimated 800 people is said to have happened in November at an Ethiopian church where the ancient Ark of the Covenant is believed to be housed, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The deacon of the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum told the AP that he counted the bodies of some 800 people in the church and around the city after Eritrean soldiers burst into the church in late November and began shooting worshippers who fled the building. . .  .

Rumors had spread that a mass killing had happened at the Orthodox Church, but because Tigray was cut off from the world, little could be verified, according to the AP. . . .

The deacon spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for personal safety, and told the AP that he gathered the victims’ identity cards and helped with burials in mass graves. The massacre could be the conflict’s deadliest, according to the AP.

The church in Axum is believed to house the Ark of the Covenant, which was built to hold the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Thousands of people gather annually at the church to celebrate the day Ethiopians believe the Ark of the Covenant was brought there, although the pandemic and regional conflict prevented the gathering in 2020. . . .

He told the AP that the situation was even worse in rural areas, and that the shooting and looting continued in the day after the church killing.  . . .

“They started to kill people who were moving from church to home or home to home, simply because they were on the street,” another witness, who watched the fighting from his hotel room, told the AP. “It was a horrible act to see.”

“On every corner, almost, there was a body,” he said. “People were crying in every home.”

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed ordered troops into Tigray in early November after accusing the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) of attacking a military base, according to the Independent.  . . .

Ahmed has rejected outside “interference” and said no civilians were killed after an offensive that resulted in the country’s military gaining “full control” of Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region.  . . .

However, the foreign ministry acknowledged Thursday that “rape, plunder, callous & intentional mass killings” could occur in the conflict, and blamed Tigray forces for leaving the region “vulnerable,” according to the AP.

The church had become a shelter for people who fled the fighting in Tigray.  . . .

Once the soldiers left the city, the victims were buried in mass graves near the church, the deacon told the AP. He believes that the Eritrean soldiers have killed thousands more people in villages outside the city where the church is located. Despite continued fighting, he said he is staying at the church to provide his services.

“We’re also protecting the church,” he said. “Even now, I’m talking to you from there. We are not armed. What we do is mostly watching. And, of course, praying that God protects us.”

(Excerpt from The Daily Caller. Article by Marlo Safi. Photo Credit: Unsplash.)

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