90,000 displaced by clan violence in Ethiopia

June 30, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Deadly inter-clan violence has forced nearly 90,000 people in southern Ethiopia to flee their homes in the past three weeks, government officials and aid workers said on Friday.

Land clashes between the rival Guji and Borena clans have left about 100 people dead in and around the towns of Shakiso, Arero and Yabello, all within about 100 kilometers (60 miles) of each other south of Addis Ababa, they said.

In Arero, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of the capital, between 27,000 and 29,000 people have been displaced since early June, regional administrator Jaatanni Taadhii said.

In Yabello, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital, the figure is between 37,000 and 39,000 people, according to an aid worker in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The British charity Oxfam, meanwhile, said that more than 20,000 people had been displaced in Shakiso, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) south of Addis Ababa, since June 16.

“With the Ethiopian Red Cross, we have started distributing blankets, jerrycans and teapots to help the displaced,” said Oxfam spokeswoman Liz Lucas.

Inter-clan violence in Ethiopia’s semi-arid and drought-prone southern Borena region runs high and there are frequent clashes over water, land and cattle.

(ST)