ADDIS ABABA: Several people have died during clashes between the armies of southern Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions in recent days, against a backdrop of territorial disputes, sources said on Saturday. Fighting erupted after a Somali regional flag was hoisted in Moyale, a city near the border with Kenya jointly administered between the two Ethiopian regions.
That act sparked "a confrontation that resulted in the death of a 13-year-old girl", according to the ACLED conflict monitor, which gave a toll of at least five dead. "Somali fighters are firing heavy weapons from large buildings in the town while Oromia forces are fighting back," Wako Ganale, a resident, said. Another local, Hussein Halkeno, said that "several civilians had been killed and wounded in the clashes".
At least 10,000 people have fled the fighting over the border to Kenya, Malik Adan, who works for the Red Cross in Kenya, told the Kenyan NTV broadcaster on Friday. Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country at some 130 million people, is the scene of various armed conflicts across its vast territory. Diplomatic disagreements with neighbouring Eritrea have likewise led to fears of another conflict between the fractious Horn of Africa neighbours. — AFP
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