{"id":838340,"date":"2026-10-28T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T04:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838340"},"modified":"2026-10-27T23:50:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T03:50:49","slug":"more-than-36000-people-displaced-into-kenya-by-moyale-fighting-kenya-red-cross-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838340","title":{"rendered":"More than 36,000 people displaced into Kenya by Moyale fighting, Kenya Red Cross says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kenya Red Cross staff with a pan of rice, in a photo released by the aid group on October 27, 2026. Photo: Kenya Red Cross via X<\/em><\/p>\n

More than 36,000 people displaced by fighting in the Ethiopian border town of Moyale are now sheltering in six camps and host communities in Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

More food supplies are reaching the camps, and volunteers are preparing and serving hot meals every day alongside health services and household items, the aid group said, adding that it is working with the County Government of Marsabit. On Sunday the Red Cross said health service points were running in all six camps, that volunteers were screening children and mothers for malnutrition, and that it was helping separated families find each other.<\/p>\n

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) put the number of arrivals at about 40,000 in a statement on Tuesday. More than 15,000 people are staying in eight temporary shelters and more than 20,000 with relatives and friends, the commission said, naming sites that include St. Mary's Catholic Church, Harhosha Secondary School, Manyatta Burji, Sessi and the Lanzi Mosque Hospital. Four women have given birth at Manyatta and Bitiye, and continuing rain could worsen conditions and raise the risk of disease, it said, according to Kenyans.co.ke. Counts differ: the Kenya Red Cross says more than 36,000, the KNCHR about 40,000, and Marsabit County officials said about 35,000, DW reported.<\/p>\n

People who fled described days under fire. A man who traveled from Addis Ababa to Moyale on business last Wednesday told DW Amharic that heavy shooting between the security forces of the two regions and armed members of the communities began on Thursday and went on through Friday night. Confined to his hotel for five days, he said transport had stopped and "all the roads are empty," and that the hotel told guests it had run out of food. He crossed into Kenya on Sunday with the help of the Ethiopian Red Cross, he said.<\/p>\n

Residents who stayed told DW on Monday afternoon that the shooting, which had not stopped from Thursday to Sunday, seemed to have calmed. "Here, on the fifth day, the firing has calmed down a little," said a resident who gave his name as Mio. Another resident said his family was split, with some in Kenya and some in Moyale. "Those who reached Kenya somehow get food. Here, especially those displaced outside the town, are suffering from hunger," he said. KNCHR said the situation on both sides of the border was calm as of Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

DW Amharic traced the fighting to a dispute that began on October 18 over the raising of a Somali regional flag in the town, which AFP described as jointly administered by the two regions, and said a 13-year-old girl was killed. Heavy shooting began on October 22, DW said. AFP, citing the ACLED conflict monitor, put the start of the fighting at October 20 and reported at least six dead, including the girl, a toll AFP could not verify. Addis Standard reported that the clashes have spread to seven districts. Transport between Moyale and Addis Ababa, and between Moyale and Nairobi, has been disrupted.<\/p>\n

The federal Government had not said anything publicly about the fighting, DW reported on Monday, and DW said its repeated attempts to reach local officials for comment had failed. The Government Communication Service had not responded to a request for comment Mereja sent on Tuesday. Suleiman Dedefo, described by Inside Somalia as a former Ethiopian ambassador to Somalia, said there was "credible information" that three Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spies entered Moyale days before the fighting began and were there when it broke out. He gave no evidence, and Mereja could not independently confirm the claim. The account @Semibintjemal3 described the fighting as a proxy war by the TPLF, al-Shabaab and foreign powers that "was crushed by the iron fist" of the people and security forces.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the commentator Habtish Gurmu (@Habtishgreat) wrote on X that Moyale was "at peace" after talks between the federal Government and the Oromia and Somali regional governments, and that the two regions had set up a committee to investigate. Neither the federal Government nor the regional governments had announced such an agreement publicly, and Mereja could not independently confirm it. The opposition politician Jawar Mohammed wrote that federal security forces "must disarm both sides of the conflict in the Moyale area," with particular attention to heavy weapons. A situation report by the Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) said nine people were killed on October 22 and 23 and that the violence had spread to Gumi Eldallo, Wachile and Arero districts, Capital reported.<\/p>\n

"Diredawa yesterday. Moyale today. Jigjiga tomorrow. Wajaale day after," wrote @Abdirahman_mohd, who describes himself as a Somalilander and accused the Ethiopian Government of targeting Somalis. A user who said he had been to Moyale wrote that "the road demarcates the boundary between somali side and oromo side. Moyaale is divided."<\/p>\n

The commission urged the Kenyan government to coordinate with Ethiopian authorities and aid agencies to ensure safe movement across the border and humane reception. "The influx is placing significant pressure on host communities and available resources, particularly food, clean water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare," KNCHR said. "The protection of life and human dignity cannot be postponed," the commission's chairperson, Claris Ogangah, said, according to Anadolu Agency. The commission also reminded authorities of the principle of non-refoulement, which bars returning people to places where they face serious threats.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n