More than 40 people were reportedly killed Saturday in attacks targeting Orthodox Christian churches and villages in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to local witnesses, with reports also indicating that residents were taken hostage and homes were destroyed.

The reported death toll varied among witnesses. One resident said 44 people had been killed, while another estimated the number at 51. A deacon from one of the attacked churches put the toll at 46 and appealed to the government to restore security.

“My sister and uncle were killed, and several of my relatives were taken hostage in Chole ward of Shirka district,” one resident said. Another witness reported that several homes belonging to targeted residents had been destroyed. Witnesses also said two churches were attacked.

The Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, a state-run agency, said it was following the situation. Confirming details of violence in the country can be difficult because of restrictions on media access, leaving the full circumstances and final death toll unclear.

“Religious tensions remain very high in the area and could escalate into a wider crisis if left unaddressed,” one witness warned.

Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest region, with a population of approximately 40 million people. Its communities include Muslims, Protestants and Orthodox Christians. Although political representation and ethnic tensions have been major factors in the region’s long-running conflict, religious identity has also been used to mobilize fighters and intensify divisions.

The attacks come amid broader instability across Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country, which has faced multiple armed conflicts. Federal forces have been fighting rebel movements in Oromia and neighboring Amhara, while renewed fighting in the northern Tigray region has raised concerns about another prolonged conflict following the devastating war there from 2020 to 2022.

Additional violence has erupted along the boundary between the southern Somali and Oromia regions. Clashes broke out Tuesday in the border city of Moyale after a Somali regional flag was raised in the town, which is jointly administered by the two regions. The conflict monitor ACLED reported that the confrontation killed a 13-year-old girl and at least five other people.

Residents described heavy weapons being used during the fighting, with Somali forces and Oromia forces exchanging fire. Local accounts also reported civilian deaths and injuries.

At least 10,000 people fled the clashes across the border into Kenya, according to Malik Adan, a Red Cross worker in Kenya who spoke to Kenyan broadcaster NTV on Friday.

Ethiopia continues to face overlapping security crises, including disputes over regional borders and political authority. Tensions with neighboring Eritrea have also raised concerns about the possibility of further conflict in the Horn of Africa. The latest reported attacks on Orthodox Christian communities add to fears that religious divisions could further aggravate the country’s existing instability.