Patriarch Matthias I and the Holy Synod of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church of Ethiopia have decided to offer 16 days of fasting and prayer that precede and follow the liturgical solemnity of the Dormition of St Mary Mother of God–(celebrated on August 15), to invoke the gift of peace and reconciliation in Jijiga and in the Somali region, after ethnic violence, which in recent days, exploded in that part of Ethiopia, causing about 30 victims. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has paid a high price due to the spiral of violence: accord-ing to information by local media, at least seven Orthodox Churches have been attacked and set on fire, and local sources speak of at least six priests and several faith-ful killed.

The clashes began at the end, when armed men of the Liyu militia, of ethnic Somali and under the orders of AbdiIlley (President of the Somali Region) tried to interrupt a meeting between members of the regional parliament and representatives of the city of Dire Daua, with the intent of denouncing the violation of human rights in the region.