IS kills 30 Ethiopian Christians

Pope Francis has expressed his “great distress and sadness” at the murder by Islamic State (IS) terrorists of 30 Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. In a message to Patriarch Matthias of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church, he spoke of “the continuing martyrdom cruelly inflicted on Christians in Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia”.

The murders were filmed and shown in a video released by IS on 19 April. The men were killed “for the sole reason that they are followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”, the Pope said. Ethiopia declared a three-day period of mourning for the men, who are thought to be migrant workers captured in Libya, similar to the Egyptian Copts beheaded by IS in February.

The Ethiopian Government  confirmed on Tuesday that the victims were Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Patriarch Matthias said the murderers did not represent any faith. The Ethiopian Muslim Affairs Supreme Council condemned the “genocidal acts”.

The footage depicts the beheading of 15 men by masked terrorists on a strip of beach, and masked gunmen in a desert landscape shooting dead another 15 by firing to the back of the head. A subtitle refers to both groups as “worshippers of the Cross”.