Kenyan MPs urge Ruto to intervene as Moyale clashes push nearly 15,000 people into Kenya

Members of Parliament from northern Kenya have asked President William Ruto to intervene diplomatically in Ethiopia, Anadolu Agency reported. Clashes on the Ethiopian side of the Moyale border crossing, which the agency described as deadly, have driven nearly 15,000 people into Kenya.

The appeal shows how a dispute between two of Ethiopia's federal regions is affecting a neighbouring country. The displaced are arriving in a remote Kenyan county with limited resources. According to the lawmakers, the fighting has shut businesses along a key trade route between Ethiopia and Kenya. Kenyan leaders have also warned against reprisals on their side of the border.

The lawmakers' appeal

Dido Ali Rasso, who represents Saku constituency, spoke to local media in Nairobi, according to Anadolu Agency. He was joined by Moyale MP Guyo Waqo Jaldesa and other leaders from Marsabit County. They asked the Kenyan government for urgent action and called for international humanitarian support.

"We are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict on the Ethiopian side of the border in Moyale," Rasso said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency. He said he hoped for "a swift, peaceful end to the hostility."

The group called for an immediate end to the fighting, the agency reported. It also asked Kenyan authorities to tighten border security and to guarantee safe passage for civilians fleeing the violence.

Women and children arriving with little

According to the lawmakers, most of the people crossing are women and children. Many carry few possessions and need food, shelter and medical care.

The Kenya Red Cross had earlier counted more than 10,900 displaced people in six temporary camps in Moyale, Anadolu Agency reported. About 4,000 more were staying with relatives or host families. Together, those figures are close to the total of nearly 15,000 cited by the lawmakers.

No casualty figures from the fighting have been reported. It is also unclear how many people have been displaced inside Ethiopia.

Warning against reprisals

The Marsabit leaders also addressed residents on the Kenyan side. They warned against revenge attacks on civilians linked to either community involved in the fighting.

"We strongly appeal to our local community members not to harm innocent civilians who live or work in our region," the leaders said, according to Anadolu Agency. They added that those people "have no involvement in the conflict taking place across the border."

The leaders urged peaceful coexistence among communities in Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera, three Kenyan counties along the Ethiopian frontier. Oromo and Somali communities live on both sides of the border.

Trade corridor disrupted

The violence has forced businesses to close and has disrupted commerce along the Kenya–Ethiopia trade corridor, the lawmakers said, according to Anadolu Agency. Moyale is the main overland crossing between the two countries. By road, it lies roughly 780 kilometres north of Nairobi and roughly 775 kilometres south of Addis Ababa.

Background: a dispute over a flag

Anadolu Agency reported that the fighting began after tensions over the display of the Somali Regional State flag in an area administered by the Oromia region. Oromia and the Somali Region are both federal states of Ethiopia.

The two regions share a long internal boundary, and control of several localities along it has been contested for decades. A 2004 referendum meant to settle the boundary did not end the dispute. In 2017 and 2018, fighting along the frontier displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Moyale has been a recurring flashpoint, with parts of the Ethiopian side claimed by both regional administrations. The town is split by the international border into a Kenyan half and an Ethiopian half.

At the time of writing, no public response to the latest clashes had been reported from Ethiopia's federal government or from the Oromia and Somali regional administrations.

What comes next

It is not known whether Nairobi will raise the matter with Addis Ababa, or through what channel. Ruto's government had not publicly said whether it would act on the request at the time of writing.

Aid needs in the Moyale camps will depend on how long the fighting lasts and whether people can return safely. The lawmakers warned that conditions for the displaced could worsen without more international help.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Picture: Anadolu Agency