Thousands of people are fleeing Ethiopia's Somali region following clashes in recent days.
Eighteen people are confirmed dead following protests which erupted in towns in the east of the country, Adisu Arega, spokesperson of the Oromia regional government, told the BBC.
He said 12 of the dead were ethnic Somalis while the remaining six were Oromos.
The spokesman said that the trouble began when a special unit of police from the neighboring Somali region arrested officials from Oromia, who were then killed.
This sparked protests and clashes between the two communities in eastern Ethiopia.
Over the past few weeks there have been clashes in several villages on both sides of the border separating Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regions.
The spokesperson of the Oromia regional government alleged that a special police and militia force of the Somali regional government, as well as armed soldiers from the republic of Somalia, had carried out killings deep inside Oromia region.
Officials on the other side of the regional border have a very different view on the events.
RELATED CATEGORYMore
4522 Views Comments
10 Killed when Security Force Fired Live Shots on Protesters in Ambo
Addis Abeba, Oct. 26/2017 – At least ten people were killed today and 20 more wounded in a fresh round of protest that started on
4981 Views Comments
In Ethiopia’s Restive Oromia Region, 11 Killed in Continued Violence
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has not made any recent comments on the unrest that is engulfing major towns in Oromia, including those close to the
4196 Views Comments
Ethiopian, Egyptian Fleeing Deportation Re-arrested
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (Arab Times)―An Egyptian man and an Ethiopian woman who escaped from the Deportation Center at two different locations were apprehended by security
Click Here to Comment on this Article