• Analysis
Ethiopia clashes: 50,000 flee to Kenya, UN warns number could rise
Around 50,000 people have crossed from southern Ethiopia into Kenya after clashes between the armies of the Somali and Oromia regions broke out last week, the United Nations said on Wednesday, citing local authorities - a sharp rise from 36,000 a day earlier.
A rising refugee count
The Ethiopia clashes that made 50000 flee to Kenya have been tracked by the United Nations, which credited local authorities for the figure. It marks a sharp jump from the 36,000 refugees the UNHCR recorded on Tuesday. Fatima Mohammed-Cole, the UNHCR representative for Kenya, cautioned that the count was not settled.
That number could quickly change given the situation on the ground, with fresh crossings being recorded
She also said many of those who had fled were women and children.
How the Moyale flag dispute started
The fighting pits the armies of Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions against each other. It was sparked on October 20 after a Somali regional flag was hoisted in Moyale, a city the two regions administer jointly. Several people have died in the clashes, sources told AFP on Saturday.
Where the refugees are sheltering
Those crossing the border are finding refuge in different ways: some are staying with relatives and host communities, while others have sought shelter in temporary locations like schools and churches, according to Mohammed-Cole.
UNHCR has sent an emergency team to the region and is working with the Kenyan government and organisations including the Red Cross to aid the displaced.
A country under strain
The unrest adds to the pressures on Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country at some 130 million people, which hosts several armed conflicts:
- •Regional borders, whose tracing dates back to 1991, make the borderlands a frequent source of clashes.
- •Diplomatic disagreements with Eritrea have raised fears of a new conflict, and Ethiopian forces have pushed towards the Eritrean border in recent weeks.
- •At the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on Wednesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Ethiopia received 12 Russian fighter jets and will also receive four S-400 air defence system batteries.
- •Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was interested in Ethiopia and Eritrea normalising their relations.
- •The government has been locked in conflict with rebel movements in Oromia and Amhara, the country's most populous regions.
- •Fighting has also broken out again in northern Tigray, already the scene of a devastating war from 2020 to 2022.
For now, the UNHCR's emergency response continues alongside the Kenyan government and the Red Cross, as fresh crossings are recorded.
