23,000 homeless in Ethiopia after tribal fighting
June 16, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Fighting between rival clans over a land dispute has driven more than 23,000 people from their homes in southern Ethiopia and left them in need of food, aid groups said on Friday.
“Regional authorities have reported that overall more than 23,000 people have been displaced after the inter-clan clashes over the past 15 days in the south of Ethiopia,” Liz Lucas of the international aid group Oxfam said.
“Elders, traditional leaders, and local government officials are meeting to settle the conflict. Oxfam is also working with local partners on peace-building in the area,” she added, speaking in the capital Addis Ababa.
Aid officials earlier this week reported that 150 people had died in fighting between the rival Guji and Borena tribesmen in a region between Yabello and Finchewa, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of the capital.
Another humanitarian source in the capital who asked to remain anonymous confirmed the refugee figure on Friday.
“Reportedly 23,400 people” from the districts of Arrero and Yabello have been displaced, the source said. Of these, 20,400 people have settled in Shakiso, a Guji gold mining district 100 km northeast of Yabello.
“Food assistance is needed. Sporadic clashes were still going on this week,” the source added.
Aid workers in the region said on Monday the fighting between the Guji and Borena tribesmen erupted late last month, sparked when land formerly belonging to Borenas was awarded to Gujis.
(ST)