More than 60 people have been killed in a major attack on Christians in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

A statement from the country’s Orthodox Church said that 20 houses were burnt to the ground in the attacks.

Eyewitness told BBC Amharic that five of those killed were children.

A church official described the attacks on three areas in the Shirka district as a “massacre”, saying security forces arrived at the scene but were unable to stop the assault.

Meanwhile, in Jordan, nine people have been killed in an attack on a funeral.

At least 32 others were injured as gunmen opened fire on a church in Hmoud, in the Karak governorate in central Jordan on Friday.

Three men suspected of carrying out the attack were arrested in Karak after a gunfight on Monday.

Jordanian military also launched airstrikes in southern Syria, against what it said were “terrorist organisations” responsible for the funeral attack.

However, it subsequently emerged that three children were among seven people who died, five of whom were from one family.

Prominent Christian voices in the Middle East had expressed appreciation for the words of empathy from fellow Arabs, but deplored the additional shedding of innocent blood.