A mob shuts main arterial railway on Ethiopian-Djibouti border

The mob barricaded the road with stones and bricks cutting the main transit route for commodities and commercial goods imported at Djibouti port which are transported to 110 million people in Ethiopia.

News Keydmedia Online
28 July 2021

JIGJIGA, Ethiopia - An angry youth staging a protest against an alleged massacre by Afar militia in the Somali regional state of Ethiopia shut down the main arterial railway line on the border with Djibouti.

Mustafa Omar, the president of the Somali region president has confirmed the closure of the street that served as the nerve route of the trade between the two neighboring East Africa countries.

The mob barricaded the road with stones and bricks cutting the main transit route for commodities and commercial goods imported at Djibouti port which are transported to 110 million people in Ethiopia.

The youths were protesting over an attack on Saturday on the border by Afar militia which the regional government said left hundreds of civilians dead as the border disputes between the two sides renewed.

"We are working to reopen the railway line," President Mustafa told Reuters in a text message. "We are in talks with the youth and the people,” Omar added.

Ethiopia is on the brink of civil as ethnic violence is spilling over several regional states, including Somali, Amahara, Tigray, and Afar, a new headache to PM Abiy Ahmed who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

KEYDMEDIA English