The Meserete Kristos Church called on all armed groups to refrain from killing people because it is a sin and a crime, in a Nov. 21 statement “regarding the breach of peace in different areas of Ethiopia.”

Before the outbreak of violence in November 2020 involving multiple militias in the Tigray region, the federal government and the Eritrean military in northern Ethiopia, the Anabaptist denomination called on all groups preparing for war to settle issues peacefully.

Violence has taken the lives of many civilians. MKC reports 348 members, ministers and other leaders of its churches have been killed. Church buildings, houses and other property of church members have been set on fire.

MKC spent more than $1.2 million this year to address emergency needs of people displaced by war. It also strengthened peacebuilding efforts to sustain social ties among diverse groups.

The body called on the Ethiopian government to protect people’s safety, make telecommunication systems open and provide information to help people protect themselves. MKC requested that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and other relevant bodies investigate crimes committed against innocent people and bring perpetrators to justice.