UN Allocates $3 Million for 50,000 Ethiopian Refugees in Kenya
United Nations agencies are providing emergency aid to 50,000 Ethiopians who fled ethnic clashes in Moyale into northern Kenya.
The United Nations has launched an emergency response to assist approximately 50,000 Ethiopians, mostly women and children, who fled into Kenya's Marsabit County following ethnic clashes between Somali and Oromo communities in Moyale, Ethiopia. The violence, which began on October 18 and escalated on October 22, caused multiple deaths in Ethiopia and spilled over into Kenya, where the Kenya Red Cross Society reported three deaths and 20 injuries from stray bullets.
On November 6, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher announced a $3 million allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund to provide food, clean water, temporary shelter, and health services. This follows a joint appeal on November 5 by UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, and the World Food Programme for an additional $8.9 million to sustain aid and scale the response for up to 80,000 arrivals. Currently, at least 11,000 displaced persons are sheltering in temporary sites such as schools and repurposed public buildings.
Security remains volatile, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is working with local authorities to relocate refugees from high-risk border areas to safer locations. In response to the instability, Kenya's Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja has intensified border patrols and surveillance to prevent further spill-over of the conflict into Kenyan territory.
