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| Africa Horn |
| Kenya: Ethiopians Cross Into Kenya After Deadly Military Attacks |
| 2018-03-17 |
| [All Africa] The Kenyan part of Moyale town is staring at a possible humanitarian crisis. The town straddles the porous Æthiopian-Kenyan border and the number of refugees fleeing a military operation in Æthiopia is rising by the hour. Education has been crippled in the Kenyan town as schools closed down to host the asylum seekers. Some people are nursing gunshot wounds and humanitarian agencies are calling for urgent assistance. At Kenya's Moyale Hospital, doctors have been overwhelmed by the number of people seeking treatment for gunshot wounds. Public health officer Sacha Tacho describes the situation: "We have another very sick patient in the ward, with a bullet in the neck, the bullet is still in the neck and we cannot remove it here in Moyale." Solomon Gubo, the Deputy Governor of Moyale County, says that they are helping the refugees to settle in, but it is proving to be a challenge especially due to the heavy rains and insufficient humanitarian assistance. "There is no housing, there is no food; that is the challenge we are facing as of now," says Gubo. A military operation that started almost one week ago triggered the sudden influx of people from Æthiopia. The government in Addis Ababa had announced the deployment of soldiers to the Moyale area, saying that they were pursuing fighters of the Oromo Liberation Front, which the government has banned as a terrorist group. According to the government-run Æthiopian News Agency, some soldiers then launched an attack based on a faulty intelligence report. The forces reportedly killed at least nine people and injured 12. The government has said it has now disarmed five of the officers involved and declared that they would now face an investigation and military court. Government explanation 'not acceptable' Speaking to DW earlier this week, Taye Dendea, spokesperson of the state-run Oromia Justice Bureau, condemned the government's actions. "After killing unarmed people in broad daylight, trying to argue that it happened due to wrong information is not acceptable," Dendea told DW. "This is a premeditated crime and it is also a war crime against the people. Firing a machine gun at people in their house, daily laborers on the street, people trading in their shops and people eating at restaurant is totally unacceptable. This did not happen based on wrong information. Saying this itself is an insult to the people. Even some of them were told to kneel and were shot on the spot." DW has confirmed that on Thursday Dendea was detained for questioning. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 "We have another very sick patient in the ward, with a bullet in the neck, the bullet is still in the neck and we cannot remove it here in Moyale." Well, obviously you CAN. Whether you should is a different question |
| Posted by: Frank G 2018-03-17 10:01 |