Amid a brutal political conflict in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, armed troops attacked the holy city of Axum, a city of major significance for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Close by, fighters also shelled and looted the al Nejashi Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the world believed to have been built during the time of the Prophet Muhammad by the first Muslims to migrate to Africa.

Incidents such as these attacks are not uncommon in African countries experiencing political conflict and civil war. Assaults against houses of worship, religious leaders, and objects of spiritual significance are common in many armed conflicts in Africa, even when those conflicts are not fought because of religious differences and where religious actors are not combatants.