Gunfire was heard from the Ethiopian border town of Moyale as civilians continue to flee into Kenya to escape violence from a regional dispute MOYALE, Kenya -- Sporadic gunfire could be heard coming from the Ethiopian border town of Moyale on Friday as Ethiopian civilians continued fleeing into Kenya to escape violence stemming from a regional dispute. Cargo trucks were stranded on both sides of the border as tensions persisted between leaders of the Oromia and Somali regional states of Ethiopia. An reporter in Moyale, Kenya, recorded gunfire coming from the Ethiopian side of the border and reported hearing sporadic gunfire daily since Oct. 22.
Up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, citing local authorities, up from 36,000 reported Tuesday. Registration and verification were continuing, the agency said. Benedict Munywoki, deputy county commissioner for Moyale Sub-County, said Thursday that some of those fleeing Ethiopia were staying in town rather than in camps, making an accurate count difficult.
The U.N. refugee agency, the International Organization for Migration and the Kenya Red Cross were working to provide medical care, food and shelter. At a camp established by the Kenya Red Cross, people cooked food in large pots over wood fires Thursday while health workers weighed children and measured their upper arms to check for malnutrition. Seifu Negash, an Ethiopian doctor who fled into Kenya, was volunteering with the Kenya Red Cross to treat fellow refugees.
Residents have been opening their homes to people fleeing the violence. The conflict monitoring organization ACLED traced the latest fighting to an Oct. 18 confrontation over the opening of a Somali regional administration office and the raising of its flag in a disputed part of Ethiopian Moyale. The Ethiopian town is divided between the Oromia and Somali regional administrations.
The fighting is rooted in a longstanding boundary dispute between the Borana, who are Oromo, and the Garre, who are Somali, according to ACLED’s senior East Africa analyst, Jalale Getachew Birru. A 13-year-old Oromo girl was killed in the initial confrontation, although accounts differ over the circumstances, the analyst said. Fighting subsequently spread to other communities, involving regional police and local militias.
ACLED said fighting appeared to have subsided Wednesday, although tensions remained high. The violence has also raised security concerns in Kenya. Kenyan police reported last week that a woman was wounded in the neck by a bullet in Moyale.
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