Ethiopia says Christians killed in Libya were its citizens

Reuters
Islamic State militants stand behind what are said to be Ethiopian Christians in Wilayat Fazzan, in this still image from an undated video made available on a social media website on April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TV

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.