Ethiopia declares three days of mourning for IS killings

ethiopiaADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s government yesterday declared three days of mourning after confirming that several Ethiopians held captive in Libya were killed by the Islamic State group, which over the weekend released a video purporting to show the killings.

The days of mourning start today, when lawmakers will meet to discuss the killings and consider the country’s possible response, the government said in a statement.

The national flag will also fly at half-staff during the mourning days.

A 29-minute video, released on Sunday via social media accounts and websites used by the extremists, shows many Ethiopian Christians held captive in Libya being shot or beheaded by militants.

Redwan Hussein, an Ethiopian government spokesman, said on Sunday that he believed the victims were Ethiopian migrants trying to reach Europe.

Abune Mathias, the head of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Tewahedo Church, condemned the killings, urging “all Ethiopians to show the perpetrators that their actions amount to nothing other than a pure brutality.”

Ethiopia long has drawn the anger of Islamic extremists over its military’s attacks on neighboring Somalia, whose population is almost entirely Muslim. While a militant in the video at one point said “Muslim blood that was shed under the hands of your religion isn’t cheap,” it did not specifically mention the Ethiopian government’s actions.

The Islamic State video showing the killing of the Ethiopians starts with what it called a history of Christian-Muslim relations, followed by scenes of militants destroying churches, graves and icons. A masked fighter brandishing a pistol delivers a long statement, saying Christians must convert to Islam or pay a special tax prescribed by the Quran.

Meanwhile, — US Central Intelligence Agency director Paul Brennan held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during an unannounced visit to Cairo, the president’s office said.

The Sunday evening meeting came amid a quickening rapprochement between the long-time allies after Washington in March lifted a partial freeze on its $1.5bn annual aid to Egypt that it imposed when then-army chief Sisi ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

“The meeting underscored the strong ties between Egypt and the USA and the importance of their strategic relationship as well as their commitment to promote relations,” a statement from the president’s office said.

“The two sides agreed to continue consultation and coordination on issues of mutual interest, particularly with regard to areas witnessing conflict in the Middle East and international efforts to eradicate terrorism.”

Egypt has been battling jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.

It has also voiced growing concern about the jihadist presence in its eastern neighbour Libya where ISIS has exploited a power struggle between rival governments to launch increasingly grisly attacks, most recently the videotaped executions of 30 Ethiopian Christians. —AP-AFP.

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