About 50,000 people have fled clashes in southern Ethiopia and crossed into Kenya, where United Nations agencies are appealing for $8.9 million to provide food, shelter, water and protection over the next three months. The fighting, centred on the divided border town of Moyale, has spilled across the frontier into Kenya, where stray bullets have killed at least one person and forced Kenyan families from their homes.
The appeal, issued jointly by the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the UN children's fund UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Food Programme, aims to support up to 50,000 people, with agencies planning for as many as 80,000 arrivals if the fighting continues, according to the Daily Nation and CGTN. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that the security situation on the Ethiopian side of Moyale "remains volatile".
Most of those who have crossed are women and children, according to county authorities cited by CGTN, and the majority are being sheltered by host communities on the Kenyan side rather than in formal camps. The largest camp, relocated out of Moyale town, holds about 5,000 people, mostly women and children, the Kenya Red Cross said.
What the UN appeal covers
UNHCR's representative in Kenya, Fatima Mohammed-Cole, said the agency is working with IOM and UNICEF to raise the funds, which would go towards food, shelter, water and sanitation, registration and protection services over three months. UNHCR is mobilising emergency relief supplies, including household items and temporary shelter materials, to support nearly 12,000 people, with efforts under way to scale up as needs grow.
"Thousands of people have crossed into Kenya seeking safety, and most are being sheltered by local communities. The situation remains fluid, and the numbers of arrivals could increase in the coming days," IOM Kenya's chief of mission, Nomagugu Ncube, said. "Meeting their immediate needs, while also supporting the communities who are now hosting thousands, is an urgent priority."
IOM said its emergency response would include shelter and essential household items, targeted emergency shelter for the most vulnerable families, water tanks and water-purifying tablets, as well as assessments and monitoring. Displaced people have gathered at temporary sites including OMC Secondary School in Moyale, where they received food assistance on 4 November, according to CGTN. The Kenya Red Cross said the first baby born to a refugee mother had been safely delivered at a local hospital.
How the fighting started
Fighting in Ethiopia's Moyale area began on 18 October and escalated into armed clashes on 22 October, according to OCHA, cited by CGTN. The trigger, according to multiple Kenyan reports, was a dispute over the opening of a Somali regional administration office and the raising of the Somali regional flag in contested territory, which set off clashes between forces and groups from Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali regional states.
Moyale is a single town split by the Kenya–Ethiopia border, and the fighting has been between communities on the Ethiopian side over long-standing territorial and administrative disputes. The border crossing, a busy trade route on the Moyale–Addis Ababa highway, has been blocked, with trucks stranded for days and drivers stuck on the Ethiopian side for two weeks, according to the Daily Nation.
Why Moyale matters: the town sits on one of East Africa's main overland trade corridors, linking the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Addis Ababa. When fighting closes the crossing, it cuts a lifeline for goods as well as people — and because the town is split by an international border, gunfire on one side lands in homes on the other.
The spillover into Kenya
The violence has not stayed on the Ethiopian side. Stray bullets and rocket-propelled grenades have forced many Kenyans living near the border out of their homes, the Daily Nation reported. The areas most affected by stray ammunition include the Somare, Sessi, Biashara, Lami and Heillu estates of Moyale town.
On 2 November, 65-year-old Amina Guchi was killed by a suspected stray bullet while visiting the Moyale County offices, next to the Moyale Law Courts, according to The Star. It was the second such incident since the fighting began. Two days later, two more people were hit by stray bullets, one of them near Moyale Police Station, and heavy fighting on the Ethiopian side on Wednesday night left houses and a vehicle with bullet holes in Lami estate, the Daily Nation reported. An unexploded device believed to be a rocket-propelled grenade landed near Sessi Primary School on 31 October; police secured the scene and no injuries were reported.
Humanitarian workers in Moyale continued to record new arrivals even as the sound of gunshots could still be heard from the Kenyan side of the border, the Daily Nation reported on 2 November. "There is relative calm on Friday afternoon, though we woke up to the sounds of gunshots across the border," Kenya Red Cross regional head Malik Adan said.
"People sheltering near the border are facing heightened protection risks, and humanitarian partners are collaborating with local authorities in Kenya to relocate them to safer locations."
— UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, humanitarian update, 6 November 2026, via CGTN
Kenya's response
Kenya is actively engaging the Ethiopian government to resolve the conflict, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said during a visit to Moyale on 5 November, when he led a delegation of security chiefs to the border town and met displaced people at the OMC School shelter.
"Securing Kenyans living along the border is our top priority. We are also keen on safely evacuating several truck drivers and other Kenyans stuck on the Ethiopian side," Mr Kanja said. He added that the government would deploy more resources and personnel along the border, and said it was working with Ethiopia "so that the displaced people return home".
Kenya has stepped up patrols along the border with the Kenya Defence Forces, the Kenya Police Service, the Administration Police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, according to the Daily Nation. Mr Kanja was accompanied by the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, the General Service Unit commandant Johana Tonui and Regional Commissioner Jacob Ouma. Local elders are also involved: Moyale Cross-border Committee vice-chairman Mohamed Guyo said security agencies must remain vigilant to avert a spillover, and that elders were working to prevent the conflict spreading by encouraging communities to embrace peace. "Currently, children are traumatised and terrified whenever night sets in," he said.
Timeline
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| 18 October 2026 | Fighting begins in Ethiopia's Moyale area, according to OCHA |
| 22 October 2026 | Clashes escalate into armed fighting; cross-border movements into Kenya begin |
| 29 October 2026 | Displaced Ethiopians photographed camping in Moyale, Kenya |
| 31 October 2026 | Unexploded device lands near Sessi Primary School in Moyale; no injuries |
| 2 November 2026 | UN agencies appeal for $8.9 million; Amina Guchi killed by suspected stray bullet |
| 3 November 2026 | County authorities estimate 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya |
| 5 November 2026 | Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja visits Moyale; Kenya says it is engaging Ethiopia |
| 6 November 2026 | OCHA reports the security situation on the Ethiopian side "remains volatile" |
What is not yet verified: casualty figures on the Ethiopian side of the fighting have not been independently confirmed, and reports of the number of Kenyans killed or injured by stray fire differ between sources. Arrival figures remain preliminary and could change as registration and verification continue, according to IOM. This article reports only figures confirmed by named sources.
Frequently asked questions
What do we know?
About 50,000 people have fled fighting in southern Ethiopia into Kenya since late October, according to UNHCR, county authorities and the Kenya Red Cross. Four UN agencies are seeking $8.9 million to support them for three months. The fighting began on 18 October and escalated on 22 October, and the security situation on the Ethiopian side remains volatile, according to OCHA. Stray fire has crossed into Kenya, killing at least one person, and Kenya's police chief visited Moyale on 5 November.
What don't we know yet?
The death toll inside Ethiopia has not been independently confirmed. Arrival figures are still preliminary and may rise — agencies are planning for up to 80,000 people. It is not yet clear when the Moyale–Addis Ababa highway will reopen, or when displaced families will be able to return home.
Who is helping?
UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM and the World Food Programme are coordinating the response with the Kenyan government, Marsabit County authorities and the Kenya Red Cross. Most displaced people are being sheltered by host communities in Moyale, with others in schools, churches and temporary camps.
Key takeaways
- About 50,000 people have fled clashes in southern Ethiopia into Kenya since late October, most of them women and children.
- UN agencies are appealing for $8.9 million to support up to 50,000 people for three months, and are planning for as many as 80,000 arrivals.
- The fighting, between Oromo and Somali regional forces, began on 18 October and escalated on 22 October after a dispute over a Somali regional office and flag.
- Stray fire has crossed into Kenya, killing a 65-year-old woman on 2 November and forcing Kenyan families from border estates.
- Kenya's police chief visited Moyale on 5 November and says Nairobi is engaging Ethiopia to end the conflict and bring the displaced home.
What to watch next
The next signals will be whether the fighting on the Ethiopian side eases or intensifies, whether arrivals continue to climb past 50,000, and whether the UN's $8.9 million appeal is funded quickly enough to reach the people still sheltering with host families. Kenya's engagement with Ethiopia's federal government — and the reopening of the Moyale–Addis Ababa highway — will determine whether displaced families can return home, or whether Moyale becomes a longer-term displacement crisis on Kenya's northern border.
