Representational photo showing a displaced Amhara woman stands at the entrance of her tent at the crowded Bakelo Camp for internally displaced people in Debre Berhan, on October 19, 2026. (Photo by Marco Simoncelli / AFP)
Geneva, Switzerland: Around 50,000 people have fled fighting in southern Ethiopia and crossed into Kenya since last week, the United Nations confirmed Wednesday, drawing on estimates from local border authorities.
The figure represents a sharp jump from the 36,000 recorded on Tuesday by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in the wake of clashes between the armies of southern Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions.
"According to local authorities, up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya," said Fatima Mohammed-Cole, the UNHCR representative for Kenya.
That number could quickly change given the situation on the ground, with fresh crossings being recorded, Mohammed-Cole warned.
The unrest was sparked on October 20 after a Somali regional flag was hoisted in Moyale, a city jointly administered between Somali and Oromia. Several people have died in clashes, sources told AFP on Saturday.
Many of those who had fled were women and children, Mohammed-Cole said.
"While some are staying with relatives and host communities, others have sought shelter in temporary locations like schools and churches," she added.
UNHCR has sent an emergency team to the region and is working with the Kenyan government, alongside other humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross, to provide aid to those displaced.
