More than 10,900 people from Ethiopia are in six camps in Moyale, Kenya, Red Cross says

More than 10,900 displaced people from Ethiopia are housed in six temporary camps in the Kenyan border town of Moyale, Marsabit County, and another 4,000 are staying with relatives and host families, the Kenya Red Cross said, Anadolu Agency reported on 24 October.

Reuters reported on 23 October that Marsabit County Commissioner Stanley Kamande said at least 2,500 displaced Ethiopians were staying in Kenya's Moyale. Anadolu said that on 23 October Kamande had put the number of Ethiopians who had crossed into Kenya since violence broke out on 21 October at more than 2,000.

Malik Adan, head of the Kenya Red Cross in the Upper Eastern region, said: "We urgently need more well-wishers to support us with food and water."

Anadolu cited humanitarian officials as saying more than 14,000 Ethiopians have fled the fighting into Kenya. It also reported fears that more than a dozen people may have been killed as heavy fighting continues.

A hospital official in the Ethiopian town of Moyale, across the border from the Kenyan town of the same name, said at least nine people had been killed over several days, Reuters reported on 23 October. The official asked not to be named. Four people died on 22 October and five on 23 October, and about 30 injured people had been brought in, most hurt by heavy weapons.

Local residents said the violence began on 21 October after clashes between the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups, and gunfire could still be heard on 23 October. Anadolu said a dispute over the display of the Somali Regional State flag in an area administered by Oromia had fuelled the tension.

On the Kenyan side, a police report seen by Reuters said a stray bullet had lodged in the neck of a local woman in Moyale. The bullet was removed at a private hospital and she is in stable condition. Kenyan police described the Kenyan side of the town as relatively calm, with officers on high alert, Capital FM reported.

The Kenya Red Cross said late on 22 October that its first response would reach 1,000 households. It is working with the Marsabit County Government to set up temporary shelters and hand out tents, blankets, sleeping mats, jerrycans, kitchen sets and fortified porridge flour, and it is helping relatives separated during the displacement to get back in touch.

"Many have arrived with very few belongings and urgently need shelter, food, water and health care," the Red Cross said, as quoted by Reuters.

A security brief from Moyale Police Station said people crossed into Moyale through Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti. The Moyale Sub-County Security Team and the Moyale Cross-Border Peace Committee have been activated.