Tens of thousands of Ethiopians flee clashes into Kenya's Moyale
UNHCR says 50,000 crossed by October 29, up from 36,000 two days earlier, and is processing new arrivals at a primary school in the border town.
Around 50,000 people have crossed from southern Ethiopia into Kenya since unrest began in the border town of Moyale, according to the United Nations, and thousands of them were waiting on Monday to be registered.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has granted the new arrivals temporary international protection status. Processing was taking place at Al-Huda primary school in Moyale, the Kenyan town that faces its Ethiopian counterpart across the frontier. The Ethiopian side of Moyale is jointly administered by the Oromia and Somali regions.
The 50,000 total was recorded as of October 29, a sharp rise from the 36,000 counted two days earlier, the UN said. Fatima Mohammed-Cole, UNHCR's representative for Kenya, said the number could change quickly given conditions on the ground. Many of those who fled were women and children, she said.
"While some are staying with relatives and host communities, others have sought shelter in temporary locations like schools and churches," Mohammed-Cole said.
Africanews reported that the unrest was sparked on October 20 when a Somali regional flag was raised on the Ethiopian side of Moyale. Several people have been killed in the clashes, according to sources cited by AFP. No account carried a death toll from Ethiopian or Kenyan authorities, and no figure was given for people displaced inside Ethiopia.
UNHCR said it had sent an emergency team to the area and was working with the Kenyan government, the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations to reach those who fled.
The Rio Times, citing Kenyan police, reported that three rocket-propelled grenades from Ethiopia landed in Moyale and were detonated safely after being found on November 1. Nobody was hurt.
Oromia and Somali are two of Ethiopia's federal regions. The reports describe the displacement as a consequence of friction between the regions' leaders rather than of a declared military campaign, and neither the federal government in Addis Ababa nor the two regional administrations was quoted on the fighting or the exodus.
How the reports differ
Africanews led with the registration of displaced Ethiopians in Moyale and the protection status UNHCR granted them, and it alone carried the jump from 36,000 to 50,000 and the October 20 trigger: a Somali regional flag hoisted on the Ethiopian side of the town. The Rio Times reported only the security dimension, saying Kenyan police found three rocket-propelled grenades from Ethiopia in Moyale on November 1 and detonated them, with no injuries. Neither account quoted Ethiopia's federal government or the Oromia and Somali regional administrations, and neither gave a death toll from an official source.
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