Oromo-Somali clashes

The Oromo-Somali clashes began in December 2016 following territorial disputes between Oromo and Somali communities in Ethiopia. Hundreds of people were killed.

Course of the conflict
From December 2016 at the border of the Oromia and Somali regions, the Oromia and Somali communities territorial tension boiled, notably near the town of Deka, leaving at least 30 people dead and more than 50,000 displaced. The Oromo claim the area is their ancestral land and the Somali families had been brought in from Ethiopian Somali regional. The situation escalated when the two communities’ clansmen started revenge attacks. The clashes involved heavily armed men on both sides in locations all along the border. Schools were looted and civil servants shot in their offices. Residents on the Oromo side also reported widespread rapes. The worst of the violence took place in the area around Negele Borana. More than 100 people died and thousands were displaced in February and March in the Negele area alone. Oromo activists have claimed much higher numbers.

On 20 April 2017 the Oromia and Somali states of Ethiopia have signed an agreement to peacefully solve disputes. Though in September 2017, clashes erupted killing hundreds of the Oromo ethnicity and some on Somali side.