GENEVA, Switzerland: Fighting in southern Ethiopia has forced an estimated 50,000 people to flee across the border into Kenya since clashes erupted last week, the United Nations announced on Wednesday, citing local authorities.
This represents a significant increase from the 36,000 displaced individuals recorded on Tuesday by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, following armed clashes between the military forces of Ethiopia’s Somali and Oromia regions.
“According to local authorities, up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya,” stated Fatima Mohammed-Cole, the UNHCR representative for Kenya.
She warned that this figure could fluctuate rapidly as the situation on the ground evolves, with ongoing crossings being reported.
The violence was ignited on October 20 after a Somali regional flag was raised in Moyale, a city jointly administered by the Somali and Oromia regions. Sources reported to AFP that several individuals lost their lives in the subsequent clashes.
Mohammed-Cole noted that a large portion of those fleeing the conflict comprised women and children.
“While some have found refuge with relatives and host communities, others have been forced to seek shelter in temporary locations such as schools and churches,” she added.
In response, UNHCR has deployed an emergency team to the area and is collaborating with the Kenyan government, alongside other humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross, to deliver aid to the displaced population.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation with approximately 130 million people, continues to experience various armed conflicts across its expansive territory.
The borderlands of its diverse regions, whose administrative boundaries were drawn in 1991, remain frequent flashpoints for clashes.
For years, the federal government has been engaged in conflicts with rebel movements in the Oromia and Amhara regions, the country’s most populous areas.
Following months of heightened tensions, fighting has resumed in the northern Tigray region, which previously endured a devastating war between 2020 and 2022.
Additionally, diplomatic friction with neighboring Eritrea has raised concerns over potential renewed conflict between the volatile neighbors in the Horn of Africa.