NAIROBI (Kenya), Oct 23 (Bernama-Anadolu) — The Kenya Red Cross said late Thursday that it was scaling up emergency assistance for families fleeing deadly clashes between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional states, with an initial humanitarian response targeting 1,000 households in northern Kenya, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
“Our priority is to make sure every family arriving in Moyale is safe, sheltered and treated with dignity. Our volunteers and staff are on the ground and will continue to respond as needs evolve,” Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Dr Ahmed Idris said in a statement.
Marsabit County Commissioner Stanley Kamande confirmed that displaced Ethiopians had entered Kenya, with many seeking shelter among relatives and residents on the Kenyan side of the border.
Hundreds of Ethiopians crossed into Kenya following violence in Moyale, a town divided by the international border, where gunfire erupted amid tensions between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regions, as the cause of the clashes remained unclear.
The Red Cross said many displaced families had arrived in Kenya’s Marsabit County with few belongings and urgently needed shelter, food, clean water and medical assistance.
Working with county and national authorities, the humanitarian organisation said it had begun establishing temporary shelters and distributing tents, blankets, sleeping mats, water containers and kitchen supplies.
It is also providing fortified porridge flour for young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers alongside first aid and assistance to reunite families separated during the displacement.
The organisation warned of urgent shortages of food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and health services, particularly affecting women, children, older people and people with disabilities.
The violence erupted in Moyale on the Ethiopian side of the border following tensions over the display of the Somali Regional State flag at a local administrative office in an area administered by Ethiopia’s Oromia Regional State.
Oromia and the Somali Regional State are two of Ethiopia’s federal regions, home predominantly to Oromo and ethnic Somali communities, respectively. Both communities have longstanding ties to the border area.
The killing of a 13-year-old girl on October 18 further heightened tensions before armed confrontations rocked with heavy gunfire broke out Wednesday night and intensified Thursday.
Residents reported heavy gunfire involving regional security forces, while local officials said the fighting had spread to Gumi Eldallo, Wachile and Arero districts in southern Ethiopia, according to Ethiopian local media stations.
Homes and trading centres were burnt, disrupting commercial activities and forcing residents to abandon their properties.
The exact number of people killed or injured remained unclear, with no independently verified casualty figures available.
Moyale, approximately 780 kilometres (485 miles) north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and about 770 kilometres (478 miles) south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, by road, is a major commercial crossing between the two countries.
The border town serves communities in both countries, with close family and trading connections, making it an important route for people fleeing insecurity.
The Kenya Red Cross said it was conducting a rapid assessment to determine the most urgent humanitarian needs and would continue coordinating with government authorities and other partners.
The organisation also said it was restoring family communication links to help displaced people reconnect with relatives.
Although the initial relief operation is expected to assist 1,000 households, the total number of people displaced within Ethiopia or crossing into Kenya has not yet been established.
The violence comes amid renewed conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, adding to concerns over civilian safety and humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa.
— BERNAMA-ANADOLU