The Moyale clashes in southern Ethiopia have displaced about 10,000 Kenyans along the border and pushed more than 50,000 Ethiopians into Kenya’s Marsabit County, Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali said on 13 November.
A month after fighting broke out between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional forces over the divided border town, the violence is now a humanitarian and security problem for Kenya, with stray bullets, unexploded grenades and disease outbreaks on its side of the frontier.
What did Kenya’s officials say about the Moyale clashes?
Ali told a press conference that Kenyans living in the Sessi, Biashara Street, Lami and Heillu areas had fled their homes because of stray bullets and rocket-propelled grenades, the Daily Nation reported. A government-led rapid needs assessment estimated that more than 50,000 Ethiopians had crossed into the county, he said.
Police reports show two people killed by stray bullets and more than 20 injured on the Kenyan side since the Moyale clashes began, according to the newspaper. Earlier reports in Ethiopian media had put the number of Kenyans killed at three; the figures have not been independently reconciled.
“We are particularly alarmed by the public health risks arising from overcrowded shelters, shortages of essential medicines, worsening nutritional conditions and confirmed cases of measles and rubella,” Ali said. He asked national security agencies to clear unexploded ordnance that has landed in civilian areas. Kenya’s army destroyed 12 more unexploded rocket-propelled grenades in Moyale on 13 November, The Star reported.
What caused the fighting in Moyale?
The Moyale clashes began on 18 October after a confrontation over the opening of a Somali regional administration office and the raising of its flag in a disputed part of Ethiopian Moyale, according to the conflict monitor ACLED. It links the locations involved to a long-running boundary dispute between Borana (Oromo) and Garre (Somali) communities.
A 13-year-old girl was killed in the first exchange of fire, and the violence later spread to seven districts, with the heaviest fighting around Arero and the Dawa river basin, Addis Standard reported. The Ethiopian outlet said it could not independently verify the competing accounts of the two sides or the extent of regional security forces’ involvement.
Oromia and the Somali region share Ethiopia’s longest internal boundary, which has never been fully settled, The EastAfrican noted.
No public statement on the latest fighting from Ethiopia’s federal government or the two regional administrations could be found. Kenya’s foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, said on 9 November that he had spoken to his Ethiopian counterpart, Gedion Timotheos, and that Addis Ababa had promised to restore normalcy, Wazema Radio reported.
How is Kenya coping with refugees from the Moyale clashes?
About 10,000 Ethiopians displaced by the Moyale clashes were living in schools, public buildings and temporary shelters around Moyale during a visit by Kenya’s police chief, Douglas Kanja, reported on 6 November by the state-run Kenya News Agency reported. Many more are staying with local families. The Kenya Red Cross said the number of people affected had risen from about 36,000 to more than 50,000.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has put arrivals at up to 50,000 and called for a ceasefire so families can return, as the UN warning on Ethiopian refugees in Kenya set out. Kanja said the fighting had cut cross-border trade and the electricity that Moyale draws from Ethiopia. The Moyale border crossing remained closed under heavy security on 13 November, Kenyans.co.ke reported.
The Moyale clashes add to strains in Kenya’s north, where an attack near Mandera killed eight people, including road engineers, on 10 November. In Ethiopia, regional violence elsewhere has also drawn scrutiny, including killings in Dalati in the west.
What happens next?
Ali has asked the national government, UN agencies and donors for emergency shelter, medicines, immunisation and water. Local leaders in Moyale want aid extended to host families as well as camps. Residents told Wazema Radio that federal forces had not been deployed to calm the town as of 9 November, and the continued fighting has raised concerns about further displacement.
FAQ
How many people have the Moyale clashes displaced into Kenya?
A Kenyan government-led assessment estimates more than 50,000 Ethiopians have crossed into Marsabit County, and about 10,000 Kenyans have left homes along the border, the Marsabit governor said.
Who is fighting in Moyale?
Forces and militias linked to Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional administrations, in a dispute over territory and administrative control that ACLED traces to an 18 October row over a regional office and flag.
Have Kenyans been killed?
Kenyan police reports cited by the Daily Nation say two people have been killed by stray bullets and more than 20 injured on the Kenyan side. Other reports have given a higher toll.
Has Ethiopia responded to the Moyale clashes?
Kenya’s foreign minister said Ethiopia promised to restore normalcy. No public federal or regional statement on the latest fighting could be found.
