Slaughtered on the sands: ISIS behead and shoot two groups of Ethiopian Christians in sickening 29 minute propaganda video
The 29-minute video, released this afternoon, appears to show
the militants holding two groups captive in Libya. At least 16 men,
described by Islamic State as the 'followers of the cross from the enemy
Ethiopian Church', are lined up in a desert area (bottom right inset)
while 12 others are filmed walking down a beach (above) wearing
Guantanamo-style orange jumpsuits. The group at the coast are forced to
kneel by the sea (top left inset) before being beheaded while the others
are shot. A masked fighter in black then brandishes a pistol as he
makes a statement threatening Christians if they do not convert to
Islam. Initial reports did not make it clear who the captives were or
when they were captured.
Slaughter on the beach: ISIS behead and shoot Ethiopian Christians in sickening new propaganda video
- Video seems to show militants in Libya holding one group of at least 16 captive on a beach and 12 others in a desert
- Before the killings a masked fighter in black brandishes a pistol as he vows to kill Christians if they do not convert
- Ethiopia unable to confirm its citizens were killed by militants in the footage but condemned the 'atrocious act'
- It comes two months after 21 Egyptian Christians were beheaded by extremists in a similar video from Libya
A shocking new video appearing to show at least 30 Christians being beheaded and shot by ISIS in Libya has been released.
The
29-minute video, titled 'Until It Came To Them - Clear Evidence', shows
dozens of militants holding two separate groups captive, thought to be
in the south and the west of the country.
At
least 16 men, described by Islamic State as the 'followers of the cross
from the enemy Ethiopian Church', are lined up and shot in a desert
area while 12 others are filmed being forced to walk down a beach before
being beheaded.
This
follows another video in February of the beheading of a group of 21
Coptic Christians on the beach in Libya, though that terrain was rockier
than the one shown in the latest film.
It
raises fears that ISIS is consolidating its presence on the 'doorstep
of Europe', as Libya is just a few hundred miles from the coast of
Italy.
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Thirty Ethiopian Christians appear to
have been beheaded and shot by ISIS in a sickening new propaganda video.
Above, at least 16 men are marched down a beach in Libya by militants
before they are killed
Ethiopia
was unable to confirm its citizens were killed in the footage but
condemned the 'atrocious act', a government official said.
The
video shows the men at the coast wearing Guantanamo-style orange
jumpsuits and being held at the neck by fighters in combats with
balaclavas covering their faces. The victims inland are forced to kneel
as militants dressed in combats and green masks stand behind them
holding rifles.
It
starts with what it called a 'history of Christian-Muslim relations',
which includes scenes of militants destroying churches, graves and
icons.
A masked fighter in black then brandishes a pistol as he vows to kill Christians if they do not convert.
In an
apparent reference to Ethiopia's attacks on neighbouring Somalia, whose
population is almost entirely Muslim, he says: 'Muslim blood shed under
the hands of your religions is not cheap. To the nation of the cross we
are now back again.'
The
footage, which was released on websites and social media accounts
officially linked to ISIS, also cuts to Christians in Syria explaining
how they were given the choice of converting to Islam or paying a
'special tax'.
At
the end it switches between the two sets of captives - thought to be
mainly migrant workers - with one group shot dead at point-blank range
and the others beheaded on the beach. The video has not yet been
verified.
The men - wearing
Guantanamo-style orange jumpsuits - are held at the neck and forced to
kneel by fighters in combats with balaclavas covering their faces
The men, thought to be migrant works,
are described by Islamic State in the video as the 'followers of the
cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church'
The footage also shows around 12 men
being shot in a desert area, believed to be in the south of the country,
by militants wearing green balaclavas and combats
A masked fighter in black (right)
brandishing a pistol vows to kill Christians if they do not convert,
saying: 'Muslim blood shed under the hands of your religions is not
cheap. To the nation of the cross we are now back again'
The victims are
forced to kneel in front of the militants (above) before being shot at
point-blank range simultaneously. The video bore the official logo of
the IS media arm Al-Furqan and resembled previous footage released by
the extremist group
The militant in black - who is
completely covered apart from his eyes - remains flanked by two people
holding guns throughout the clip
Initial reports did not make clear who the captives were or when they were captured.
The video bore the official logo of the IS media arm Al-Furqan and resembled previous footage released by the extremist group.
Redwan
Hussein, an Ethiopian government spokesman, said: 'We have seen the
video but our embassy in Cairo has not been able to confirm that the
victims are Ethiopian nationals. Nonetheless, the Ethiopian government
condemns the atrocious act.'
He
added that Ethiopia, which does not have an embassy in Libya, would
help repatriate Ethiopians if they wanted to leave. Libyan officials
were not immediately available for comment.
It
comes just two months after IS militants filmed themselves beheading
21 captured Egyptian Christians on a similar beach, which immediately
drew Egyptian airstrikes on the group's suspected positions in Libya.
Whether Ethiopia would - or could - respond with similar military force remains unclear.
Islamic
State has been able to gain a foothold amid chaos in Libya, where two
governments backed by rival alliances of militias are battling each
other as well as extremist groups.
The group is also advancing in Iraq, where it has captured three villages near the city of Ramadi.
It comes just two months after the extremist group in Libya beheaded 21 captured Egyptian Christians on a beach (above)
Islamic State fighters, pictured carrying flags and dressed in black, have been able to gain a foothold amid the chaos in Libya
More than 90,000 people have fled the ISIS's advance in Anbar, a United Nations humanitarian agency said earlier this morning.
The
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement
that civilians are fleeing Ramadi as well as the three nearby villages
captured by the IS group a few days ago.
Lise
Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said: 'Our top
priority is delivering life-saving assistance to people who are fleeing -
food, water and shelter are highest on the list of priorities.'
Iraqi officials in Anbar have described Ramadi as a ghost town, with empty streets and closed shops.
Iraqi
troops backed by Shiite militias and U.S.-led airstrikes managed to
dislodge ISIS, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and wants to
redraw the map of the Middle East, from the northern city of Tikrit
earlier this month.
But
the troops have struggled against the militants in Anbar, which saw
some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year U.S. military
intervention that ended in 2011.
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