The Vatican will face demands to return Christian treasures looted from Ethiopia, The Telegraph can reveal

Ethiopia hopes to reclaim artefacts taken during the Italian fascist occupation that began in 1936, as well as items removed by the British military decades earlier.

The east African nation will bring a legal case against the Italian government. Officials in Addis Ababa want to recover 300 Ethiopian Orthodox Christian manuscripts held in the Vatican Library, among other items.

The library is overseen by the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church led by Pope Francis.

The push to reclaim artefacts is part of an international campaign, revealed by The Telegraph. In the UK, it will target the King’s Royal Collection, the British Museum, and the British Army.

Efforts will be led by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, a branch of the tourism ministry. Abebaw Ayalew Gella, its director, told The Telegraph in Addis Ababa that experts were drawing up inventories of the plundered artefacts held in Italy and the Vatican.