Fighting in and around Moyale has continued in seven districts along the border between Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regional states, The Eastleigh Voice reported, citing Addis Standard. The worst clashes are in Areero district, around the Dawa River basin. The river flows through Borana zone in Oromia and Dawa zone in the Somali region.
The conflict broke out in Moyale town on October 18. It followed a dispute over the raising of a flag and the killing of a 13-year-old girl. According to the report, the fighting has caused casualties, displaced thousands and disrupted livelihoods. A Southern Oromia security official told Addis Standard that the clashes were continuing. He said they had grown much heavier at night in Moyale town.
Community leaders fear the fighting could block an important Borana Gadaa ritual. The Abba Gada is due to travel from Dirree to Liban next month for customary rites, part of the institution's eight-year cycle. Borana Abba Gada Guyyoo Boruu said heavy fighting was continuing at Malkaa Mana Waaqaa and Eela Orbaa. Both lie on that route. The security official confirmed that the route had been blocked.
The two sides tell different stories. Guyyoo said the fighting was part of a wider push to take Borana land. He said removing the Somali flag was the only way to end the dispute. He said this conflict differed from earlier ones because of reported heavy weapons and armed forces crossing the border. He added that this had raised concerns even in neighbouring Kenya.
An elder from the Garii Somali clan said the Somali flag had flown in Moyale for years without trouble. He said the latest flag went up after the town mayor opened a new office under a revised administrative structure. He said the Garii regard the disputed areas as ancestral land and will not give up any of it. He warned that more lives could be lost. A Somali elder from Dawa zone also rejected the Borana account. He argued that land belongs to the community that has historically settled on it.
The security official claimed that trenches had been dug around key locations before the clashes. Addis Standard said it could not independently verify these claims. Mediation has so far failed. Guyyoo said he had taken the matter to Oromia and federal authorities.
Separately, the fact-checking group PesaCheck rated as partly false an image shared as showing conflict in Moyale in 2026.