Fascists Massacred Christians in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War

Fascists Massacred Christians in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War

In a telegram dated February 21, Benito Mussolini wrote to Marshal Rodolfo Graziani:
"None of the prisoners already taken or those who will be taken should be released without my order. All civilians and clergy, no matter how suspicious, must be executed without delay."
Following Mussolini's directive, Marshal Graziani ordered a punitive expedition against the monastic town of Debre Libanos, the sacred city of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Hundreds of residents of the Debre Libanos monastery were executed by firing squad on Graziani’s orders. In his telegram to the Italian troops, Graziani commanded them to shoot all the monks without distinction, including the vice-prior.
Along the way, Italian forces led by General Pietro Maletti burned down three churches. On the final day of the Debre Libanos massacre, 126 young deacons, who had initially been spared, were executed. The Italian troops also set fire to the monastery of Gultunè Ghedem Michael and shot all the monks.
Additionally, the fascists executed Bishop Abune Petros in 1936 for publicly condemning Italy’s colonialism, massacres, and invasion of Ethiopia.
REFERENCES:
https://frontierenews.it/2017/....05/debra-libanos-str
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abune_Petros
https://www.ethiopiangobgnu.co....m/blogs/Abune-Petros