ADDIS ABABA (Halbeeg News) – At least 20 people are reported dead after renewed ethnic clashes between Oromo and Somalis flared up on the Ethiopian border town of Moyale.
The fighting erupted on Wednesday and went on to Thursday morning before intervention by the Federal Police.
Ali Kunay, one of the Somali elders, said that put the number of those injured at 30 while hundreds are reported to have been displaced.
Oromos and Somalis share Ethiopia’s longest inner border, a meandering line from Moyale in the south to Mulu in the east.
Parts of the border follow the Ganale Doria River, but the regional boundary mostly stretches between the Oromia grasslands and Somali desert.
Despite close relations, the two ethnic groups have experienced occasional conflicts over resources, including land and water, over the past 25 years.
In 2004, a referendum to decide on the fate of more than 420 kebeles – the country’s smallest administrative unit – gave 80% of them to Oromia.
Following the outcome, tens of thousands of ethnic Somalis reportedly fled the areas for fear of repercussions.
The decision has still not been implemented, and this is one factor behind the current conflict.
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