IOM is appealing for funds to respond to the urgent humanitarian
needs of some 8,000 Ethiopians displaced by conflict and the
community that hosts them in Somare, Moyale district, on the Kenya
side of the Ethiopia-Kenya border.

An inter-agency assessment led by IOM, UNHCR and WFP, with the
assistance of World Vision and in coordination with the District
Commissioner for Moyale, was carried out to determine the number of
people displaced following fighting that broke out between the Gari
and Borana tribes from Ethiopia in late July.

 

The assessment also sought to identify emergency needs and shelter
requirements, assess environmental health issues, conduct a return
intentions survey, and develop an initial humanitarian response
plan in coordination with other agencies.

The assessment established that while many of the displaced have
already returned home, those remaining are currently all in one
location – Somare – either camping out or living with
host families.

The host community, which receives food from the UN World Food
Programme (WFP), has largely exhausted its resources in providing
assistance to the displaced and as such both populations now need
help.

The needs of the displaced population include emergency shelter,
non-food relief items, medicine, food, and water and sanitation
services. The host communities need additional food aid.

Preliminary results of the assessment also show that the
majority of the displaced intend to return home once security and
shelter conditions in their communities of origin have
improved.

Fighting broke out between the Gari and the Borana when 200
displaced Gari tried to settle in the Borana area, forcing
communities to seek refuge on the Kenyan side of the border. The
situation has now stabilized, but tensions between the two
communities remain high. 

For more information please contact 

Lillian Matama

IOM Nairobi

Tel:  +254 713601043

Email: "mailto:lmatama@iom.int">lmatama@iom.int