More than 14,000 Ethiopians flee to Kenya amid clashes in border town of Moyale, Red Cross says

More than 14,000 Ethiopians have crossed into Kenya to escape fighting in and around the border town of Moyale, the Kenya Red Cross said on Saturday, according to Anadolu Agency. Addis Gazette has not independently verified how many people have crossed the border.

Reported arrival numbers have climbed quickly over several days. On Thursday, Reuters reported that hundreds of Ethiopians had crossed, citing the Kenya Red Cross and local government officials. On Friday, Marsabit County Commissioner Stanley Kamande said more than 2,000 had arrived, Anadolu Agency reported. By Saturday, the Kenya Red Cross said more than 10,900 people were being housed in six temporary camps in Moyale and about 4,000 more were staying with relatives and host families, according to Anadolu Agency.

Fighting in Moyale

Moyale straddles the border and has sections on both the Ethiopian and Kenyan sides. The Ethiopian section is in southern Oromia region. Fighting there began this week. Residents told Reuters that gunfire could still be heard on Thursday in parts of the Ethiopian side. Africanews cited a Kenyan police security brief that said shooting on the Ethiopian side began at about 5:50 a.m. on Thursday and continued afterward. Anadolu Agency reported that residents described continuing heavy gunfire and shelling in social media posts.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the cause of the fighting was not immediately clear. Anadolu Agency later reported that the clashes are between Oromo and Somali communities. It said a dispute over the display of the Somali Regional State flag in an area administered by Oromia had fuelled tensions. Africanews reported that Kenyan police said the arrivals were fleeing tensions between the leaders of the Oromia and Somali regional states.

Reuters reported that nine people had been killed. Anadolu Agency said at least nine deaths were reported on Friday and that humanitarian officials feared the toll could exceed a dozen. Ethiopian federal and regional authorities have not publicly confirmed a death toll.

Stray bullets have also reached the Kenyan side of Moyale, according to a Kenyan police report cited by Africanews:

• A bullet struck a metal tent pole at the football ground of the Moyale police station and hit a police officer on the head. The report said he was not injured.
• A woman was shot in the neck. The bullet was removed at a private hospital, and she was reported to be in stable condition.
• Another bullet shattered a window at the La-Tahsan Hotel.

Police did not say where the shots had come from.

Humanitarian response

Kenyan police said the displaced entered Kenya through several points in Moyale, including the Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti areas, Africanews reported. Police said most were women, children and young people. Kamande told Reuters on Thursday that the arrivals were mostly women and children and that many were staying with relatives and well-wishers in villages on the Kenyan side.

The Kenya Red Cross had no camp ready when the crossings began, Red Cross official Ibrae John told Reuters on Thursday. He said the organisation would work to set one up. Africanews reported that the Red Cross said in a statement that it was setting up temporary shelter and that its first round of aid, including cereal and porridge flour, would reach 1,000 households.

Since then, the Red Cross has distributed tents, blankets, sleeping mats and other supplies, and has provided nutritional support to children and breastfeeding mothers, according to Anadolu Agency. Malik Adan, who heads the Kenya Red Cross in the Upper Eastern region, appealed for more help. "We urgently need more well-wishers to support us with food and water," he told reporters, Anadolu Agency reported. He also called for sanitary supplies and additional toilets to prevent diarrhoeal disease. Local authorities have promised more food, including rice and beans, and humanitarian officials warned that supplies may not keep pace with the growing number of displaced people, according to Anadolu Agency.

Moyale is a major crossing point between Ethiopia and Kenya. By road, it is about 775 kilometres south of Addis Ababa and about 780 kilometres north of Nairobi. Anadolu Agency reported that the fighting has disrupted cross-border trade and raised fears of further displacement. Reuters noted that the clashes are hundreds of miles from the conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Africanews, The Washington Post