Oromo Expansion into Somali Territory: Years of Conflict and Somali Regional Government Accused of Abandoning Its Own People

As fighting around Moyale drives Ethiopian civilians across the Kenyan border, questions are mounting over years of Oromo territorial expansion, the suffering of Somali border communities and the Somali Regional State’s failure to respond decisively. Critics accuse the regional leadership of applying a double standard—confronting Afar expansion while remaining silent when Oromo forces are involved.

MOYALE (WDN) — Hundreds of Ethiopian civilians, reportedly including women, children and young people, have crossed into Kenya following renewed fighting and gunfire in the border town of Moyale, exposing once again the human cost of a conflict that has unsettled communities along Ethiopia’s Somali-Oromo frontier for years.

The displacement comes amid reports of armed clashes between Somali and Oromo communities on the Ethiopian side of the border. Although the precise number of people who have fled remains unconfirmed, the worsening security situation has forced families to abandon their homes and seek refuge among relatives and host communities in Kenya.

The Kenya Red Cross has begun preparing emergency assistance for up to 1,000 affected households, including temporary shelter, food, clean water and healthcare. The immediate humanitarian priority is to protect civilians and meet the needs of families displaced by the violence.

But the latest emergency raises a deeper question: why have Somali communities along the frontier continued to face insecurity and displacement, while critics accuse their own regional administration of failing to protect them?

A conflict that has been building for years

The current crisis cannot be understood solely as an isolated outbreak of communal violence in Moyale. Accounts from the affected Somali communities describe what they regard as an ongoing expansion into Somali-inhabited territory over much of the past six years.

Two communities are particularly affected in these accounts: the Gare around Moyale and the Gari in the Faafan area . Residents and critics of the regional administration allege that pressure on their territory, recurring insecurity and the threat of further encroachment have progressively undermined their safety and livelihoods.

These allegations require independent investigation, including a clear examination of territorial boundaries, the origins of the clashes, the involvement of armed forces and the displacement of civilians. But the duration of the reported grievances makes it increasingly difficult to dismiss the crisis as a temporary dispute between neighboring communities.

For families living along the frontier, the consequences are immediate. Insecurity threatens homes, livestock, trade, access to public services and the ability to cultivate or use land. When conflict repeatedly forces people from their homes, the damage extends beyond the battlefield, undermining the economic foundations of entire communities.

The central complaint is that these border populations have been left to absorb the consequences of a conflict that requires a sustained political and security response.

A regional government accused of looking the other way

The Somali Regional State government, led by President Mustafe Mohammed Omar, faces serious questions over its response to the insecurity.

Critics accuse the administration of remaining silent when Oromo expansion is alleged, while failing to provide the protection and assistance that Somali border communities need. Some go further, arguing that the leadership is reluctant to challenge the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for fear of damaging its relationship with Addis Ababa.

Those are serious political allegations, and evidence would be needed to establish whether the regional government has deliberately tolerated territorial encroachment or acted under pressure from the federal authorities. Nevertheless, the administration has a clear responsibility to explain what measures it has taken to protect affected civilians, prevent further violence and address longstanding grievances.

One particularly troubling allegation concerns the fighting between Gari and Oromo forces. According to accounts from critics, clashes had reportedly come to within approximately 15 miles of Jigjiga without prompting a sufficiently forceful intervention from the regional authorities.

If that account is accurate, it raises fundamental questions about the regional government’s security priorities. A conflict approaching the regional capital should prompt urgent efforts to protect civilians, establish the facts and prevent further escalation—not political silence.

The criticism becomes more serious still if, as alleged, members of the Oromo national army participated in the fighting. Any confirmed involvement of federal military personnel would require an independent investigation into their conduct, the circumstances of their deployment and whether civilians or territory were unlawfully targeted.

Critics also allege that, rather than confronting the reported military involvement, the regional leadership asked the Gari to return weapons captured from Oromo forces. If confirmed, that response would raise an obvious question: why would a regional administration prioritize the return of weapons over a transparent investigation into how those weapons came to be captured and whether federal forces had been involved in the fighting?

The authorities should clarify what happened, establish the legal status of the weapons and explain whether any military personnel participated in the clashes. Such questions cannot be answered through political loyalty or silence.

The contrast with the Afar frontier

The most damaging accusation against the Somali Regional State is that it has applied a double standard in protecting communities threatened by territorial expansion.

Critics point to the response to clashes involving Somali communities and Afar expansion, particularly the Issa community. They argue that the regional government deployed its own forces to help contain the advance, assisted displaced civilians and supported the establishment of settlements for people forced from their homes.

That response, they say, demonstrated that the administration possesses the capacity to act when it chooses to do so.

The contrast with the situation involving Oromo communities is therefore central to the criticism. When the perceived threat comes from a non-Oromo community, critics argue, the regional government is prepared to intervene. When Oromo expansion is alleged, they say, the leadership becomes hesitant and unwilling to challenge the federal authorities.

This comparison is politically explosive. It suggests that the protection of Somali communities may be influenced not simply by security assessments but also by the regional leadership’s relationship with the federal government.

The comparison, however, must be assessed against the facts of each conflict, including the scale of violence, the legal circumstances and the measures actually taken. A credible investigation should establish whether the two cases received different treatment and, if so, why.

The fundamental principle is straightforward: every Somali community deserves equal protection, regardless of the identity or political influence of the people accused of threatening it.

Border communities need protection, not abandonment

For communities living along Ethiopia’s Somali frontier, security cannot be reduced to deploying troops after violence has already erupted. A serious strategy would combine civilian protection, conflict prevention, public services, economic investment and assistance for families whose lives have been disrupted.

The regional government should explain whether its forces have been deployed adequately in vulnerable border areas and whether early-warning mechanisms exist to detect and prevent escalation. It should also publish a clear plan for assisting displaced families, treating the injured, supporting orphans and rebuilding livelihoods damaged by the conflict.

Critics say the Gare and Gari communities have been excluded from development initiatives while insecurity has persisted. That allegation deserves particular scrutiny. If public investment has been withheld from affected communities because of political considerations, the consequences would extend far beyond the current fighting.

Roads, schools, healthcare facilities, water supplies and economic opportunities are not luxuries for frontier populations. They are essential components of stability. Communities that feel abandoned by the authorities are more likely to lose confidence in regional institutions, while unresolved grievances can deepen divisions and create conditions for future violence.

The regional administration should therefore publish information about development spending in the affected districts, the distribution of humanitarian assistance and the measures planned to support communities on both sides of the frontier.

Abiy Ahmed’s government must answer questions, too

The allegations also raise questions for Ethiopia’s federal government. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration must clarify its position on territorial disputes involving Somali and Oromo communities and investigate any credible reports that federal forces participated in clashes affecting civilians.

It would be premature to conclude, without independently verified evidence, that the prime minister personally directed an expansionist campaign into Somali territory. But the federal government cannot avoid responsibility for investigating the conduct of its military personnel, protecting civilians and ensuring that disputes are resolved through lawful political and administrative processes.

If federal troops were involved in the fighting, the authorities should establish the mission under which they operated, whether their actions complied with the law and whether any personnel should face disciplinary or criminal proceedings.

The Somali Regional State, meanwhile, must demonstrate that it can represent the interests of its population while cooperating with the federal government. Federal cooperation should not require regional leaders to remain silent about credible allegations of abuses or territorial encroachment.

A regional administration that cannot publicly defend the safety and rights of its own communities risks undermining the very legitimacy on which its authority depends.

An opportunity to prevent a wider crisis

The flight of civilians from Moyale into Kenya is a warning that the consequences of the conflict are no longer confined to the immediate battlefield. Continued displacement places pressure on host communities and humanitarian services while deepening uncertainty over when families can safely return home.

The immediate priorities are to protect civilians, establish the facts surrounding the fighting, provide emergency assistance and prevent further escalation. In parallel, an impartial investigation should examine the reported territorial encroachment, the alleged involvement of military forces and the regional government’s response.

The investigation should not presume collective guilt on the basis of ethnicity. Responsibility must be established through evidence, and individuals found to have committed crimes should be held accountable under the law.

The wider political challenge is to ensure that border communities are not treated as expendable in the calculations of regional and federal leaders. Their safety, land rights and access to development must not depend on which ethnic or political group is involved in a dispute.

The people of the Somali frontier should not have to choose between defending their communities themselves and waiting indefinitely for a government that may never arrive. They deserve effective security, equal treatment, humanitarian assistance and a regional administration willing to defend their lawful rights without fear or favour.

If the Somali Regional State can mobilise forces and support displaced civilians when one community faces territorial pressure, it must explain why comparable protection appears to be lacking in the Gare and Gari areas. If the federal government’s forces were involved in the clashes, their role must be investigated openly.

Silence will not resolve the grievances. Nor will blaming the victims restore confidence in the authorities.

The test of leadership is not how faithfully officials serve powerful political allies in Addis Ababa. It is whether they protect the people entrusted to their care.

For the Somali Regional State, the choice is becoming increasingly stark: demonstrate that every Somali community is entitled to equal protection and development, or risk deepening the alienation of the very populations whose trust gives the regional administration its mandate.

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