Ethiopia: Leaders of Afar & Somali Regions Agree to ‘Immediately Resolve’ Ongoing Conflict

The leaders of the Afar and Somali Regional States in Ethiopia have reached "an amicable agreement to immediately resolve issues that arose.", according to the state media. 

News Keydmedia Online
9 April 2021

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The leaders of the two neighbouring states of Afar and Somali in mainland Ethiopia have reached peace agreements to end the latest clashes between the two communities whom for decades live side by side peacefully in the Siti region of Ethiopia. 

The peace-restoration initiative spearheaded by the Peace Minister of Ethiopia, Mufariyat Kamal has succeeded to bring the leaders together at the table to reach a unanimous resolution to hostilities and make room for coexistence and maintain the law and order surrounding the conflict-stricken areas, according to the state media. 

More than 100 mainly herders have been killed in the region in the latest outbreak of violence ahead of national elections in June.

The leaders who met in Addis Ababa agreed to a cessation of the hostilities and build a no-go-zone area of 10 km between the two states physically preventing any form of weapon to be carried in — with the federal government troops taking the role of security maintenance in the region.

Ethiopia’s PM, Abiy Ahmed called on Cagjar and his counterpart to materialise the agreements and pledge an end to the clashes that recently emerged from Siti.

As part of TPLF government reforms in Ethiopia, the largest inhabited Somali region of Siti happened to be ruled under Afar State without their consent - political motive driven back then by the other states who considered themselves purely native Ethiopians seeking a closer area to the Somali’s longest coast to call home.

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