NAIROBI, Kenya
Kenyan lawmakers have called on President William Ruto to intervene diplomatically in neighboring Ethiopia as deadly ethnic clashes along the shared border force nearly 15,000 people to seek refuge in Kenya, straining local resources and disrupting trade.
“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict on the Ethiopian side of the border in Moyale. The situation is deeply concerning and we hope for a swift, peaceful end to the hostility,” Saku Member of Parliament Dido Ali Rasso told local media in Nairobi.
Rasso, alongside Moyale lawmaker Guyo Waqo Jaldesa and other leaders from northern Kenya’s Marsabit County, appealed for urgent government intervention and international humanitarian support.
The leaders warned that thousands of displaced Ethiopians, particularly women and children, were arriving with few belongings and urgently needed food, shelter and medical assistance.
They also cautioned against retaliatory violence targeting innocent civilians in Kenyan communities near the border.
“We strongly appeal to our local community members not to harm innocent civilians who live or work in our region. They have no involvement in the conflict taking place across the border,” the leaders said.
The lawmakers urged authorities to strengthen border security, guarantee safe passage for civilians and promote peaceful coexistence among communities in Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera counties.
They warned that the fighting had forced businesses to close and disrupted commercial activities along the Kenya-Ethiopia trade corridor.
The Kenya Red Cross previously reported that more than 10,900 displaced people were staying in six temporary camps in Moyale, with another 4,000 accommodated by relatives and host families.
The violence erupted following tensions over the display of the Somali Regional State flag in an area administered by Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Both are federal regions of Ethiopia.
Moyale, a major border crossing, lies approximately 780 kilometers (485 miles) north of Nairobi and 775 kilometers (482 miles) south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, by road.
The lawmakers called for an immediate end to hostilities and greater international assistance to prevent the humanitarian situation from deteriorating further.
