Ethiopia: Killings continue in ethnic clashes in Moyale

ESAT News (December 19, 2018)

A further 13 people were killed on Monday in Ethiopia’s southern border town of Moyale in clashes between the Somali Gare and Borena Oromo communities. Eight people were also killed in an attack on a hotel in which federal forces are accused of involvement.

The BBC Afaan Oromo quoting an official reported that 12 people were also wounded in the conflict.

Twenty-one people were killed in clashes between the two communities on Saturday.

Utukana Mole, a member of peace delegation told ESAT on Sunday that About 600,000 people have been displaced in Moyale in the past eight months. At least one hundred people have also been injured in the fight while residents of Moyale were forced to flee in their thousands to save their lives, according to Utukana Mole.

Both sides blame the other of deadly attacks.

Conflict between Somali Gare and Borena Oromo communities goes back to 2005 over territories claimed by both sides.  

Ethnic clashes in the south and south eastern Ethiopia led to the displacement of over 1.4 million people and the country currently has 2.2 million people IDPs as a result of conflict.

In the just ending year, Ethiopia has more new conflict-driven Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) than any other country in the world.

The total IDPs in Ethiopia has reached 2.8 million.