SACRED objects worth an estimated 885,000 birr ($104_000) were stolen last month from an Orthodox church in central Ethiopia, police said on Friday, adding that one person had been killed during the robbery. The theft took place on July 29 in a church in Girar Jarso in Oromo country, police told the national news agency. Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the robbery, during which a church guard was killed. Corporal Dereje Fetene said ancient parchments, gold crosses and silver spoons were among the items stolen. The administrator of the church is among those suspected of involvement. The traffic of art objects to Europe, especially ancient crosses, has become an increasingly lucrative business over recent years, prompting authorities to step up their efforts to preserve Ethiopia’s heritage. In July, an 800-year-old cross and a century-old book discovered in France were returned to the church in Ethiopia from which they had been taken. – AFP