The Ministry of Peace has announced that the government strongly condemns the tragic terror attacks perpetrated against innocent citizens and religious institutions in the Arsi Zone and at the University of Gondar.
In a statement regarding current affairs, Minister of Peace Mohammed Idris stated that extremist forces and foreign adversaries, disheartened by Ethiopia's national progress and the success of the seventh general election, are resorting to dangerous provocations to dismantle the country’s peace and public unity.
The Minister explained that in the Arsi Zone, the terrorist "Shene" group initiated conflict with security forces. He reported that five militia members and three police officers were martyred while fighting heroically to prevent greater harm to the local population.
He noted that the group’s heinous attacks resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and the burning of an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Furthermore, he reported that a health center and a Kebele office were looted, and 65 residential homes were destroyed.
The Minister reiterated that the government firmly denounces these attacks, which deviate from Ethiopian values. He also criticized the ongoing media and psychological warfare aimed at distorting the truth and inciting national conflict, calling such tactics inappropriate and harmful.
Noting that there are over 6,000 historical monasteries and churches in the Oromia region, the Minister emphasized that while the public and the regional government are working day and night to ensure their security, framing these attacks as religiously motivated is a dangerous path that will lead to accountability.
The Minister stated that both the bomb attack targeting students at the University of Gondar and the malicious acts in Arsi were orchestrated to undermine the historical electoral victory, in which the public participated en masse and successfully thwarted destructive agendas three times.
The Ministry of Peace underscored that religious institutions must not be used as tools for political agendas and called upon the public to resist the media manipulation of destructive forces and to safeguard their values of coexistence.
