Wire reporting: (Reuters, via Arab News), (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Hundreds of Ethiopians crossed into Kenya at the divided border town of Moyale this week after fighting and gunfire on the Ethiopian side, Kenyan police said^1,2. Nation Africa, citing residents on Friday, described thousands of women and children arriving as clashes continued⁷.

Police said the arrivals, mostly women, children and young people, came through several Kenyan entry points in Moyale, including Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti, with crossings starting Wednesday^1,2. Nation Africa said hundreds of arrivals were housed at Manyatta Madrassa in Heillu Manyatta Ward⁷.

Kenyan police attributed the flight to tensions between leaders of Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regional states^1,2. Al Jazeera, citing Ethiopian media, said fighting began Sunday as a dispute over raising the Somali Regional State flag and then involved regional forces². Arab News, carrying Reuters, said it was not immediately clear what started the fighting in southern Oromiya, and officials there were not immediately reachable⁵. Nation Africa described the fighting as between Somali and Oromia forces, also called Region Four and Region Five forces and law-enforcement officers, in its fourth day, with Friday morning fighting reported in Moyale and Hudhat districts⁷.

A Kenyan police report cited by Africanews said a woman was shot in the neck and treated in stable condition, an officer was struck after a bullet hit a tent support at a police football ground, and a hotel window was shattered; police did not identify the source of the rounds¹. Gunfire was heard on the Ethiopian side from about 5:50 a.m. Thursday and continued, the brief said^1,5. Resident Ali Abdullahi told Nation Africa the gun battle was about five kilometres from Kenyan Moyale and that stray bullets had hit people and buildings on the Kenyan side Thursday⁷.

Marsabit County commissioner Stanley Kamande told Reuters, as carried by Arab News, that hundreds of people, mainly children and women, were staying with relatives and well-wishers in Kenyan villages around Moyale⁵. On Thursday he told Nation Africa that security agencies were monitoring the situation to avert a spillover and appealed for humanitarian and peace-building groups to help⁷. Businessman Ali Mumin told the paper some businesses, including banks, had closed and that trade with Ethiopia had been hit⁷.

The Kenya Red Cross said it was setting up temporary shelter and distributing cereal and porridge flour, with an initial target of 1,000 households, and was assessing needs^1,2. The Rio Times said that target referred to households, not individuals, and that no official registration had produced a confirmed count⁸. A Red Cross official said no camp was ready yet⁵. Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Ahmed Idris said teams were distributing tents, blankets, sleeping mats, jerrycans and kitchen sets, providing first aid, and working to restore family links, according to Nation Africa⁷. The Rio Times said many arrivals stayed with relatives and that no formal Kenyan border closure had been announced as of Oct. 23⁸.

The fighting is far from a separate conflict in Tigray between Ethiopian government forces and a Tigray People's Liberation Front-led alliance^2,5. Ethiopian regional officials' on-record accounts were not in the reports reviewed.

Sources

1. AfricanewsGunfire rocks Ethiopia-Kenya border as hundreds fleeOct 23, 5:21 AM
2. Al JazeeraHundreds of Ethiopians cross into Kenya to flee regional fightingOct 23, 1:00 AM
3. ReutersKenya Red Cross rushes aid to Ethiopians who crossed border fleeing violenceOct 23, 3:40 AM
4. (Reuters, via Arab News)Hundreds of Ethiopians flee into Kenya after border town fightingOct 22, 12:33 PM
5. (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)Gunfire and chaotic scenes in Kenyan border town as hundreds flee EthiopiaOct 22, 1:20 PM

Reuters · Nation Africa · The Rio TimesShowHide

1. ReutersHundreds of Ethiopians flee into Kenya after border town fightingOct 22, 11:40 AM
2. Nation AfricaMoyale on edge: Thousands flee into Kenya as clashes in Ethiopia intensifyOct 23, 5:58 AM
3. The Rio TimesMoyale Border Crisis Pushes Ethiopians Into KenyaOct 23, 8:31 AM

Read the original at Africanews ↗