Hundreds Flee Ethiopia Fighting, Seek Refuge in Kenya

Hundreds of Ethiopians, mostly women and children, have fled into Kenya following clashes in the border town of Moyale amid rising tensions between two regional governments.

Kenyan police said on Thursday that the fleeing residents crossed through several entry points in Moyale, including Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti.

The influx followed fighting linked to tensions between leaders of Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional states. Police also reported gunfire and chaotic scenes in the border town.

Ethiopian media reports traced the latest violence to a dispute that began on Sunday over the public display of the flag of the Somali Regional State in eastern Ethiopia.

The disagreement reportedly escalated into clashes between forces from the Oromia and Somali regions, forcing residents to flee their homes in search of safety.

In response to the influx, the Kenya Red Cross said it had begun arranging temporary shelters and distributing essential supplies to affected families.

The relief items include cereals and porridge flour, with the initial response targeting 1,000 households, the humanitarian organisation said in a statement on Thursday.

The agency added that assessment teams were working to establish the number of people affected and determine their immediate humanitarian needs.

The displacement comes amid wider security challenges in Ethiopia, although the clashes in Moyale are separate from the conflict in the country’s northern Tigray region.

The Tigray conflict involves government forces and a rebel alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, with fighting in the north occurring hundreds of kilometres from the latest clashes.