Ethiopia says Christians killed in Libya were its citizens

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Monday that the 30 Christians shown being shot and beheaded in Libya on a video purportedly made by Islamic State were its citizens. The video, in which militants call Christians "crusaders" who are out to kill Muslims, showed about 15 men being beheaded on a beach and another group of the same size being shot in the head in a patch of scrubland. "The Ethiopian government is deeply saddened by the barbarous act committed against our innocent nationals," a government statement said. Officials were working to identify the victims, it said. Ethiopia will observe three days of national mourning starting on Tuesday, with flags lowered to half-staff mast to mourn what it described as "atrocities committed against our nationals in Libya and South Africa". Ethiopian nationals have also been caught up in a wave of anti-immigrant violence sweeping across South African townships. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho, Editing by Angus MacSwan)