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The 30 Ethiopian Christians filmed being beheaded and shot by Islamic State militants in Libya are likely to have been desperate migrants trying to reach Europe. This was disclosed by Ethiopean officials.
The 29-minute video released yesterday is titled ‘Until It Came To Them – Clear Evidence’, and shows dozens of militants butchering two separate groups of men in the north African country.
The news comes just hours after more than 900 migrants were feared dead after the fishing boat they were travelling in capsized in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after leaving Libya.
Speaking of his concerns that the 30 brutally murdered Christians were migrants bound for Europe, Ethiopia’s government spokesman, Redwan Hussein said: “If this is confirmed, it will be a warning to people who wish to risk and travel to Europe through the dangerous route.”
Abba Kaletsidk Mulugeta, an official with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church’s Patriarchate Office, said he also believed the victims were probably migrants.