Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali Regional Forces Clash in Moyale as Kenya Sends Troops to the Border

Security forces from two of Ethiopia’s own regional states, Oromia and Somali, have been fighting each other in and around the southern border town of Moyale since about 20 October 2026. At least nine people have been killed, according to a hospital official who spoke to Reuters, and Kenyan officials say tens of thousands of people have crossed into Kenya. Kenya has moved army troops to its side of the crossing. Ethiopia’s federal government had not publicly responded as of 25 October.

What happened in Moyale

Moyale is a divided town. One half lies in Kenya’s Marsabit County, the other in Ethiopia, where the town and its surroundings are shared between Oromia’s Borana Zone and the Somali Region. The current fighting began with a dispute over the raising of a Somali Regional State flag in an area the Oromia side considers its own. On 18 October a 13-year-old girl was killed in the confrontation that followed, according to the ACLED conflict monitor, cited by AFP, and residents who spoke to Addis Standard.

Heavy fighting broke out between 20 and 22 October, depending on the account. Addis Standard reported exchanges of heavy gunfire between the two regions’ security forces at several locations in the town from dawn on 22 October. It said the fighting spread the same day to parts of the Gumi Eldallo, Wachile and Arero districts of southern Oromia. Each side blames the other for opening fire. Residents on both sides described houses being burned.

AFP, which described the combatants as the “armies” of the two regions, quoted a resident on 24 October as saying Somali fighters were firing heavy weapons from large buildings while Oromia forces fired back. Gunfire could be heard during AFP’s phone calls with residents.

Casualties and displacement: what the figures say

The death toll is still unclear. An official at the hospital on the Ethiopian side told Reuters on 23 October that about 30 wounded people had been brought in, most of them hurt by “heavy weapons”, and that nine had died over two days. ACLED, cited by AFP, gave a toll of the girl plus at least five others. AFP said it could not verify the figures, and Kenya’s The Standard quoted sources saying scores had been killed on both sides. That claim has not been confirmed.

Displacement figures have grown quickly:

• 23 October: at least 2,500 displaced Ethiopians were staying in Kenyan Moyale, Marsabit County Commissioner Stanley Kamande told Reuters.
• 24 October: at least 10,000 people had crossed, a Kenya Red Cross official told Kenya’s NTV, as reported by AFP.
• 25 October: about 35,000 people had sought refuge, Kamande told the government-run Kenya News Agency. He said about 15,000 were in camps and 20,000 were staying with local families, and appealed for tents, blankets, mosquito nets and sanitation.

Cross-border trade through the Moyale one-stop border post has been disrupted, with trucks unable to cross in either direction, the Kenya News Agency said. A Kenyan police report seen by Reuters said a stray bullet had struck a woman on the Kenyan side.

Kenya’s military response

Kenya has not reported any incursion, but it has reinforced the border. A Kenya Army detachment from Odha camp has joined the General Service Unit and the police border patrol unit at the Moyale crossing, The Standard reported, citing Kamande. He said the aim was to prevent any spillover from the Ethiopian side and to protect people arriving as refugees. Moyale lies on the main road corridor between Nairobi and Addis Ababa, so a long closure would matter to both economies. For more on Kenya’s forces, see our overview of Kenya’s military modernisation and our Kenya and Tanzania comparison.

Where are Ethiopia’s federal forces?

As of Addis Standard’s 22 October report, eyewitnesses said neither the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) nor the Federal Police had stepped in. AFP reported on 24 October that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government had not yet reacted. The Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition party, condemned the violence and called for an independent investigation into the girl’s death and a constitutional settlement of the boundary, according to Ethio Affairs.

That silence matters. In April 2023 the federal government announced that the regional “special forces” each state had built up would be absorbed into the federal army, police and regional police. The decision set off protests in Amhara. The Moyale fighting, with both sides reportedly using heavy weapons, suggests that regional forces in Oromia and the Somali Region still have significant firepower of their own.

Why the Oromia–Somali boundary keeps flaring

The Oromia–Somali boundary is about 1,400 km long and has been contested for decades. A 2004 referendum was meant to settle ownership of disputed localities, but several areas, including parts of Moyale, remain in dispute. Clashes along the boundary in 2017 and 2018 displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The latest round comes while the ENDF is stretched elsewhere, with tensions with Eritrea covered in our report on the two countries’ self-defence letters at the UN, and continuing insurgencies in Amhara and Oromia. For the federal army’s size and equipment, see How Strong Is Ethiopia’s Military in 2026?

What to watch

• Any statement from the federal government, the ENDF or the two regional administrations, and whether federal troops are sent to separate the forces.
• A verified death toll from hospitals, ACLED or humanitarian agencies.
• Updated refugee figures from Kenya and UNHCR, and whether the Moyale border post reopens to trade.
• Whether the fighting spreads further along the Oromia–Somali boundary.

Sources

• Reuters via Arab News: Fighting in Ethiopia border town kills nine, thousands flee to Kenya (23 October 2026)
• AFP via Arab News: Several dead in clashes between rival Ethiopia regional armies (24 October 2026)
• Addis Standard via allAfrica: Fighting in border town Moyale spreads to three more districts (22 October 2026)
• Kenya News Agency: Some 35,000 Ethiopians seek refuge in Moyale-Kenya as conflict escalates (25 October 2026)
• The Standard (Kenya): Army deployed in Moyale as Ethiopians flee violence (October 2026)
• Ethio Affairs: OFC condemns violence in Moyale (24 October 2026)