Ethiopia Ethnic Clashes Send Over 2,000 Fleeing to Kenya, 9 Dead
Stanley Kamande, commissioner of Kenya’s Marsabit County, told reporters that thousands of Ethiopians streamed across the border into the town of Moyale after armed clashes broke out on the Ethiopian side on Wednesday.
Reports from Ethiopia say at least nine people were killed and dozens wounded. Those casualty figures have not been independently verified.
The fighting pits ethnic Oromo and Somali communities against each other, sparked by a dispute over the flying of the Somali Regional State flag in territory administered by Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Both are federal regions within Ethiopia, separate from the nation of Somalia, which borders both Ethiopia and Kenya.
The violence has spilled across the frontier. A woman in Moyale was reportedly wounded by a bullet fired from the Ethiopian side and has received medical treatment.
Kenya Scrambles to Aid the Displaced
The Kenya Red Cross said Thursday it had begun emergency relief for displaced families, initially aiming to reach 1,000 households. Working alongside government authorities, it is arranging temporary shelter, food, clean water, and other essential supplies.
Moyale, a key crossing point between the two East African nations, sits 780 kilometers (485 miles) north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and 775 kilometers (482 miles) south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
The unrest has stoked fears of further displacement and disruption to cross-border trade.
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