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ETHIOPIA-KENYA: Gov't orders Ethiopian asylum-seekers to
leave |
21 Feb 2007
14:48:33 GMT
Source: IRIN
ISIOLO, 21
February (IRIN) - Ethiopian asylum-seekers,
who have been camped near the Kenyan border
town of Moyale, have urged the government to
rescind an order forcing them to return to
Ethiopia, saying they feared for their
safety.
At least 1,000 people fled their homes along
the Kenya-Ethiopia border and headed towards
Moyale after a wave of violent conflict that
left at least 11 people dead and scores
injured on 9 February. Ever since they
arrived, the 1,010 asylum-seekers have been
camped in the open in Funyanyatta and Kinisa
area, without assistance.
"I have never been a refugee before," said
Hadija Diba, who gave birth a day before her
village was attacked. "We left our country
because of fighting. Many people were
killed; our neighbours, relatives and
friends. I am shocked [at the order] because
we shall be killed."
Saying she was still in pain after giving
birth then having to flee across the border
to Kenya, she added: "I am worried and
starving even though I am breastfeeding the
child."
Molu Katelo, a Gabra elder at Funyanyatta,
said: "Our lives are also important and
equal to other people; we should not be
forced to die."
The asylum-seekers were uprooted from their
homes after fighting between Borana and
Gabra pastoralists at Elbera grazing field
in Ethiopia.
The killing of a herder on 19 February in
Oda village on the outskirts of Moyale town
caused more people to flee, heightening
tension between the asylum-seekers and local
residents, Molu Shampicha, a trader in the
town, said.
But on Tuesday, the Kenyan government
ordered them to return home. Moyale district
commissioner Victor Okemo and the eastern
provincial police officer, Jonathan Koskei,
told the Ethiopians they had to leave
immediately. "You have until noon tomorrow,"
Koskei said.
"The situation is bad, many people are
moving away from their homes and grazing
fields in Ethiopia because of the fighting,"
he said. "More people are leaving their
homes in Oda … worried and confused because
nobody is assisting them."
However, the Moyale district officer, Omar
Beja, refuted the claims. Beja, who is
coordinating the repatriation exercise, said
the asylum-seekers were willing to go back
and had been assured by the Ethiopian
government the situation was calm and they
should not be worried.
"We have not received any information to
suggest that these people are not willing to
go back," he told IRIN. "Ethiopian official
were here [in Moyale] yesterday and assured
them that necessary steps have been taken to
protect them," said Beja.
Insisting that the group was preparing to
leave, he added: "We have a lorry to ferry
them back home and we are looking for one
more truck after they requested an extra
one."
Last week, residents of Moyale demonstrated
against increasing insecurity, demanding
that the state address the problem to enable
pastoralists to live without fear along the
border.
Pastoralists from Moyale and Marsabit
frequently engage in violent conflicts over
pasture and water. According to analysts,
the conflict demonstrates competition
between communities living in arid areas
over scarce resources and inter-communal
animosity exacerbated by political rivalry.
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