Two Ethiopian Regions Fight Over Border Town

ETHIOPIA · MOYALE · SECURITY

Forces and armed civilians from two Ethiopian regions have been fighting for days in the border town of Moyale, and families are fleeing into Kenya.

Fighting between forces and armed civilians from Ethiopia’s Somali and Oromia regions has hit the border town of Moyale for days, leaving an unconfirmed number of people dead and sending families across the frontier into Kenya. The clashes grew into heavy gunfire before dawn on Thursday 22 October 2026, residents say, and they pit two Ethiopian regional states against each other rather than involving the country of Somalia.

Ethiopia’s federal government had not commented by Sunday 25 October, and each side blames the other. This follow-up to our earlier report on the Kenyan side of the crisis adds what Ethiopian residents, local officials and an opposition party say about who is fighting and why.

Who Is Fighting and Where

The Ethiopian half of Moyale is administered jointly by the Somali and Oromia regional states, and the two sides dispute where the boundary between them runs. The French agency AFP reported on Saturday 24 October, in a story carried by the Somali outlet Caasimada Online, that forces of the two states are fighting over a land dispute.

The Standard in Nairobi describes heavily armed civilians from both regions fighting in at least five urban settlements in and around Moyale district, between 5 km and 30 km from the Kenyan town. A resident named Wako Ganale told the French agency by phone, as Caasimada relays it, that Somali forces were firing heavy weapons at large buildings while Oromia forces fought back.

Residents told the BBC’s Amharic service on Friday 23 October that shooting had continued since before dawn on Thursday and that shops, homes and hotels had burned. Residents quoted on Thursday also said the shops were shut and the road from Moyale to Addis Ababa was closed.

What Set It Off

Moyale’s Oromia-side mayor, Gelma Korcha, told the broadcaster’s Oromo and Somali services that the trouble began on Sunday 18 October, when people from the Somali side crossed the boundary and planted their administration’s flag inside Oromia. He said he asked for it to be taken down until the responsible authority decided, and that a 13-year-old girl who came to object was shot and died.

A resident told the broadcaster’s Amharic service that the girl was killed by fire from security forces, and the mayor told its Somali service that Borana, Somali and Garre elders agreed she was Borana but the other side refused to hand over the body. The broadcaster could not verify the accusations, and its attempts to reach Somali Region officials went unanswered.

Aid worker Abdirahman Karama, who gave the Somali side’s account to the broadcaster’s Somali service, said a newly named Somali-side administration had rented an office, that the Oromia side objected and the matter was settled by agreement, and that Oromia militias then mobilised and opened fire on Thursday. The opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has instead blamed armed groups from the Somali Region for border violations, and it calls attempts to seize land and change administrative boundaries unilaterally a direct constitutional breach.

Why Moyale Keeps Flaring Up

Caasimada’s account of the wire report says the violence is rooted in a land dispute and that disputes over regional boundaries drawn in 1991 often cause clashes. A resident told the broadcaster’s Amharic service that Somali and Oromia residents of Moyale have fought before, but that this time heavy machine guns and mortars are in use and people are fleeing into the bush and across the border.

“We respect that flag. It is the flag of the Somali regional state, one of the flags Ethiopia has, and we love and respect it. But we told them the flag was raised in an unsuitable place.”
Gelma Korcha, Oromia-side mayor of Moyale, to the broadcaster’s Somali service, translated from Somali

The mayor said there is a boundary dispute in the area, that the clash was between Oromo and Somali people from the same families, and that such clashes should not happen until the government and the parties reach a final decision. The OFC likewise says Oromo and Somali peoples have a long history of peaceful coexistence, trade and cultural ties, and that border disputes cannot be settled by force, intimidation or arbitrary flag-raising.

How Many Have Died or Fled

No official toll exists, and the figures do not agree. None of the counts below has been independently verified.

On the Kenyan side, Reuters quoted Marsabit County Commissioner Stanley Kamande on Thursday saying “hundreds” of people, mainly women and children, had arrived and were staying with relatives. A Kenya Red Cross official, Malik Adan, told Kenya’s NTV on Friday that at least 10,000 people had fled, according to Caasimada, and Kenyan troops have joined police and the General Service Unit at the Moyale crossing.

Kenya Red Cross said its first response targets 1,000 households, and an official said on Thursday that no camp was ready. A Kenyan police report says a stray bullet hit a local woman in Kenya’s Moyale, and her condition was reported as stable.

Silence From Addis Ababa

Neither the federal government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, nor the Oromia and Somali regional authorities had publicly commented by Sunday morning, according to the broadcaster’s Amharic service. Abiy comes from Oromia, and Caasimada’s account notes that the federal government is already fighting rebels in Oromia and Amhara and is again at war in Tigray.

“The federal government can no longer choose silence or use historical complexity as a reason not to act.”
Oromo Federalist Congress, statement of 24 October 2026, as reported in Amharic and translated

The OFC, an Oromo opposition party, condemned the worsening attacks, the infiltration of armed forces and what it called unconstitutional administrative changes, and it asked for a clear, independent and swift investigation into the girl’s death. It also faulted Oromia’s regional government for failing to protect residents, and it said the most worrying point is an incursion by a government militia that appears out of control, between regions led by the same national ruling party.

What It Means for US Readers

The State Department’s Ethiopia advisory, dated 1 April 2026 and set at Level 3, Reconsider travel, already tells Americans not to travel within 50 kilometers of the border areas with Kenya “due to terrorism, armed conflict, and unrest,” and it names the Borena zone, where Moyale lies. Anyone with relatives, staff or deliveries in Moyale should expect closed roads and shut shops, as residents described them on 22 October.

Moyale is a crossing between Kenya and southern Ethiopia, and the State Department says the United States has “a strategic interest in Kenya’s security and stability.” A lasting breakdown would keep the hosting burden on Marsabit County, where relatives and aid groups are already sheltering arrivals, and it adds another internal flashpoint for Ethiopia, which is already fighting in Tigray.

For aid groups and donors, the numbers matter, because the gap between hundreds and 10,000 arrivals decides how much shelter, food and water Kenya needs. The Kenya Red Cross statement still targets 1,000 households, and Kenyan authorities have not released a definitive figure.

What Is Not Known

Nobody has published a verified death toll, an independent account of who fired first, or the exact circumstances of the 13-year-old girl’s death. It is also unclear who commands the forces on each side, because accounts describe them variously as regional security forces, militias and armed civilians.

Accounts also differ on when it began, because Caasimada’s account of the wire report dates the fighting to Tuesday 20 October while residents date the dispute to Sunday 18 October. Nor is it clear how many of the dead were fighters and how many were civilians, since the one count that mentions both gives no split.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is fighting in Moyale?

Forces and armed civilians from Ethiopia’s Somali Region and Oromia Region are fighting in the Ethiopian half of Moyale. It is a dispute between two Ethiopian regional states, not a war involving the country of Somalia.

What started the fighting?

Residents and officials link it to a Somali Region flag raised in Moyale around Sunday 18 October 2026, and to the death of a 13-year-old girl. Each side blames the other, and no independent investigation has been announced.

How many people have died or fled?

No official toll exists, and reported deaths range from four to scores. The Kenya Red Cross first reported hundreds of arrivals, and one of its officials later put the number at least 10,000.

Has the Ethiopian government responded?

As of Sunday 25 October 2026, neither the federal government nor the Oromia and Somali regional authorities had publicly commented. The opposition Oromo Federalist Congress has accused the federal government of choosing silence.

Is the Somali Region the same as Somalia?

No, the Somali Region is a regional state inside Ethiopia where most people speak Somali, while Somalia is a separate country. The fighting is between two Ethiopian regional states.

Sources: BBC Amharic, 22 October 2026, BBC Amharic, 23 October 2026, BBC Amharic, 25 October 2026, BBC Somali, 23 October 2026, Caasimada Online (Somali), 25 October 2026, The Standard, 23 October 2026, Straits Times (Reuters), 22 October 2026, Kenya Today, Kenya Red Cross statement, 22 October 2026, US State Department, Ethiopia advisory, US State Department, U.S. Relations With Kenya. All opened on 25 October 2026. BBC Amharic and Somali pages and Caasimada Online were read in the original and translated by The Rio Times.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief