Clan Violence Displaces Nearly 90,000 in Southern Ethiopia

Source:- VOA News 04 July 2006

Aid workers and government officials in southern Ethiopia say continued clan violence has displaced nearly 90,000 people.

United Nations officials say fighting between the Guji and Borena clans has forced residents to flee homes in and around the towns of Shakiso, Arero and Yabello - all south of Addis Ababa.

A regional administrator, Jaatanni Taadhii, says up to 29,000 have fled their homes in Arero, while an aid worker in Yabello says the number of displaced there may be as high as 39,000.
The aid group Oxfam says more than 20,000 people have fled Shakiso since mid-June.

This fighting began early last month after the government sided with the Guji community in a land dispute against its Borena neighbors. Aid groups say more than 100 people have died in the violence.