UN agency reports a rapid surge in refugees entering Marsabit County as regional fighting intensifies along the southern Ethiopian border
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Over 50,000 civilians have fled across the southern Ethiopian border into Kenya as heavy fighting between regional security forces flared in the border town of Moyale, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The influx of displaced families entering Marsabit County surged rapidly from 36,000 recorded earlier in the week to more than 50,000, the UNHCR reported. Fatima Mohammed-Cole, UNHCR representative in Kenya, stated that local authorities are tracking continuous border crossings, warning that casualty figures and displacement metrics remain fluid as families escape active military engagements.
Local accounts indicate that the armed conflict in the border hub of Moyale was triggered after the Somali Regional State flag was hoisted in the town, sparking immediate resistance and escalating into sustained artillery and small-arms exchanges between security forces and allied militias from the Oromia and Somali regions. Clashes subsequently expanded into surrounding localities across the Borana Zone, including Arero and Wachile woredas, resulting in confirmed civilian fatalities and the destruction of local infrastructure.
Humanitarian assessment teams report that the overwhelming majority of those seeking refuge in Kenya are women, children, and the elderly. While a small percentage of displaced persons have been integrated into host community households, thousands remain in temporary shelters, including local schools, churches, and makeshift encampments. Officials note that UNHCR emergency teams are operating alongside the Kenyan government and the Kenya Red Cross Society to distribute food rations, clean water, and non-food emergency relief supplies to affected border populations.
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