More than 55,000 ethnic Oromos have been displaced from Ethiopia’s Somali region after a week of clashes with Somalis in which dozens were killed, the regional government of Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region said on Sunday. The statement from the Oromia government follows claims by Somali regional officials last week that more than 50 people were killed in an attack against ethnic Somalis in Aweday town. “More than 55,000 Oromos were displaced from the Somali region after the recent incident and are now sheltered in makeshift camps,” Addisu Arega, Oromia region’s spokesman, said in the statement. On Sunday the presidents of the two regions met in the capital Addis Ababa and said efforts are underway to resettle the displaced. Ethiopia’s Somali region is currently experiencing drought conditions, while Oromia region was a hotbed of massive anti-government protests since November 2015 that claimed the lives of more than 600 people.

Source: Ethiopian News September 17, 2017 17:15 UTC