Two residents and a priest in the Sherka district testify by phone about how their relatives and others have been killed. They say 44 people were killed in total, but one of them says the number is as high as 51.
"We are deeply shaken by this tragic killing and appeal to the government to intervene and restore security," said a deacon at one of the churches.
Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest state, with a mixed population comprising different ethnic groups and religions. Sherka is located less than 200 kilometers south of the country's capital, Addis Ababa.





