International Christian Concern (ICC), a US-based group investigating reports of religious persecution, told BosNewsLife in a statement that the Christians were stoned in Jijiga, a city on the border with Somalia, while on their way to a local church meeting. They were identified as Seid Ahmed and Musa Ibrahim, but their real names were not released due to security concerns, ICC said.
The attack on July 19 was the latest violence against Christians in Ethiopia "where the spread of radical Islam is fueling the persecution of Christians," the group added.
Ahmed, who is a church leader, was hit by eight stones and reportedly suffered a severe concussion and injuries on his torso. He was admitted to Karamara Hospital where he was treated for his injuries, ICC said.
IBRAHIM ESCAPES
His fellow Christian, Ibrahim, apparently escaped physical harm “as he fled the scene to call the police who never arrived to stop the attack,” ICC investigators said. “The mob finally dispersed when Mr. Ibrahim ran in the direction of the local police station.”
Jijiga is the capital city of Somali Regional State, which is one of nine states in Ethiopia. The majority of residents in Somali State are ethnic Somalis who are majority Muslim. This is not the first time that Christians have been attacked in Jijiga. On August 5, 2007, the Ethiopian Full Gospel Church in Jijiga was bombed. Although the church was packed with five hundred people, no one was hurt by the explosion, according to reports. The same church was attacked by bomb five years earlier.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho warned that, "Unless the growth of radical Islam is curbed in Ethiopia, the attacks against Christians will continue to rise.” Racho said that the Ethiopian government officials, particularly local officials in Muslim dominated areas of the country, “should be made accountable for failing to protect Christians against such attacks."
