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ADDIS ABABA. — Ethiopia began three days of national mourning yesterday, with joint Christian and Muslim prayers for more than 20 Ethiopian Christians killed by Islamic State militants in Libya. The murders have horrified Ethiopians and sparked global condemnation, including from Pope Francis who expressed “great distress and sadness” over the murders.

“They are animals, they are outside of all humanity,” said Tesfaye Wolde, who saw his brother Balcha Belete executed on a video released by the militants. “I saw him kneeling, a masked man pointing a gun to my brother and his friend, with a knife to their throats.”

“We have a duty to raise our voice to tell the world that the killing of the innocent like animals is completely unacceptable.” — AFP.