Published on 22 Oct 2026
Hundreds of Ethiopians have crossed into Kenya to escape fighting in the border town of Moyale, violence that reportedly erupted after loyalists raised the flag of a neighboring majority-Somali state.
Kenyan police said on Thursday that hundreds of Ethiopians, mostly women and children, entered Kenya through several entry points in Moyale, including the Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation, and Miti areas.
According to Kenyan police, those crossing the border were fleeing tensions between leaders of Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional states.
Police reported gunfire and chaotic scenes in Moyale.
Ethiopian media reported that the fighting in Moyale began on Sunday as a dispute over raising the flag of the Somali Regional State, a regional state in eastern Ethiopia.
The dispute escalated into fighting between forces from the Oromia and Somali regions.
Gunfire and Chaos
The Kenya Red Cross said it is setting up temporary shelter and distributing essential items, including cereal and porridge flour.
“The response will initially reach 1,000 households,” the Kenya Red Cross said in a statement on Thursday.
The organization added that experts are conducting assessments to determine how many people were affected and what their needs are.
The regional clash is hundreds of kilometers away from a larger conflict in the northern Tigray region between government forces and a rebel alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.