Ethiopia border clashes drive over 50,000 to Kenya's Moyale amid acute food shortages

The Kenyan Red Cross estimated that more than 50,000 people have fled the conflict between Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regions. An International Organization for Migration assessment found that 71% of surveyed households lacked sufficient food.

More than 50,000 people have fled to northern Kenya from deadly clashes in the Ethiopian border town of Moyale, Kenyan Red Cross regional official Malik Aden told Al Jazeera. The previous estimate had put the figure at around 36,000. The total includes people living in temporary shelters and those hosted by local families, but it has not yet been independently verified.

An assessment conducted by the Kenyan government and the authorities of Marsabit County with support from UN agencies on October 29 and 30 estimated that around 35,950 displaced people were in the area as of October 24. Nearly 25,000 were staying with host families and about 11,000 were in temporary sites. The assessment covered 758 households.

نازحون إثيوبيون ينتظرون التسجيل والمساعدة في موقع إيواء بمويالي

71% of households lack sufficient food

The assessment, whose findings were published by the International Organization for Migration and reported by Addis Standard, found that 71% of surveyed households lacked sufficient food, while 80% identified food as their most urgent need. The IOM's chief of mission in Kenya, Nomagugu Nkobi, said fleeing families faced severe shortages of food, water and shelter, while host communities were already struggling with limited resources.

Kenya's acting refugee affairs commissioner, Mwasaro Mercy, told Al Jazeera that no emergency food stocks had been set aside for the crisis because it erupted suddenly. She said the establishment of a refugee camp had been postponed until the security situation improved. Fatuma Mohamed Kul, the UN refugee agency's representative in Kenya, said many of those arriving were women and children and called for a ceasefire to allow families to return.

عاملة صحية تقيس طفلاً نازحاً ضمن فحوص التغذية في مويالي

A dispute over land and a flag

The conflict stems from a longstanding dispute over land and administrative control between the authorities of Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regions. According to Addis Standard, clashes erupted on October 18 over the opening of an office for the Somali regional administration and the raising of its flag in Moyale. A 13-year-old girl was killed, and the fighting intensified on October 22 before spreading to other areas in eastern Borana. As of November 4, battles were continuing in seven areas, while mediation efforts had failed.

During a visit to Moyale on November 5, Kenya's Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said Kenya would strengthen its border deployment and engage with the Ethiopian federal government to end the conflict. He also referred to the death of a Kenyan citizen from a stray bullet. The Ethiopian Red Cross Society distributed shelter materials and household supplies worth about 30 million Ethiopian birr to 1,000 displaced families inside Ethiopia.

Photos: UNICEF in Kenya

Ethiopia border clashes drive over 50,000 to Kenya's Moyale amid acute food shortages