Hundreds of Ethiopians cross into Kenya to flee regional fighting

Hundreds of Ethiopians have crossed into Kenya, fleeing ⁠⁠fighting in ⁠⁠the border town of Moyale.

Key points

• "The response will initially reach 1, 000 households, " the Kenya Red Cross remarked in an official note on Thursday.
• The individuals who crossed the border were fleeing tensions between leaders of Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regional states, according to Kenyan police.
• The Kenya Red Cross remarked it was setting up temporary shelter and distributing essential items including cereal and porridge flour.
• Tensions escalated into fighting between forces from the Oromia and Somali regions.

Hundreds of Ethiopians have crossed into Kenya, fleeing ⁠⁠fighting in ⁠⁠the border town of Moyale. It was reportedly prompted by loyalists publicly raising the flag of a neighbouring majority-Somali state.

Kenyan police remarked on Thursday that hundreds of Ethiopians, mostly women and children, crossed into Kenya through a number of entry points in Moyale, including the Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti areas.

In practice, the individuals who crossed the border were fleeing tensions between leaders of Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regional states, according to Kenyan police. The police documented gunfire and chaotic scenes in Moyale.

Ethiopian media documented that the fighting in Moyale kicked off as a dispute over raising the flag of the Somali Regional State, a regional state in eastern Ethiopia, on Sunday.

For context, the Kenya Red Cross remarked it was setting up temporary shelter and distributing essential items including cereal and porridge flour.

It continued that experts were conducting an assessment to work out how numerous individuals were ⁠affected and what their needs were.

Notably, the regional clash is hundreds of kilometres away from ‌‌a larger conflict in the northern Tigray region between administration forces and a rebel alliance led by the Tigray People's ‌‌Liberation ‌‌Front.

In short, hundreds of Ethiopians cross into Kenya to flee regional fighting is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.