Ethiopia: Border clash leaves 15 injured

ESAT News (May 8, 2017)

A border clash between the Afar and Amhara last week in Hadar, 15 kms from Bati, left at least 15 people injured from both sides, according to ESAT’s sources.

The sources also said tensions remained high and there is fear that another clash could erupt any time. Federal Forces in the area did not intervene to calm the situation, the sources said.

Residents also told ESAT that officials from both sides met last month to resolve the border issue but to no avail. Observers repeatedly accuse the regime of instigating ethnic conflicts to sustain its divide and rule policies.

Border conflicts between communities in various parts of the country have been the cause of loss of lives and displacement in recent years.

Clashes between the Somali and Oromo communities in southeastern Ethiopian left at least 200 dead. Oromo political parties and rights groups blamed the Liyou Police of the Somali region for inciting the violence and perpetrating the killings.