'Fighting won't stop': Ethiopia clashes drive thousands into Kenya

Deadly clashes between armed forces in southern Ethiopia have driven tens of thousands into neighbouring Kenya with no idea when they can safely return home.

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country with around 130 million people, is grappling with multiple armed conflicts, particularly along borders between its states.

Two communities in the south of the country -- the Ethiopian Somalis and the Oromos -- have been fighting over control of the town of Moyale since October 18, driving around 50,000 people across the border into Kenya, according to local authorities.

Conflict monitor ACLED has reported several deaths in the clashes, although the exact toll remains difficult to establish.

"The fighting just won't stop, it's going on daily. Many people are fleeing. People are dying," Beshir Dadie Tufa, 51, a father of three missing children who fled Ethiopia, told AFP.

Moyale straddles the border with Kenya, but the influx is straining resources in the Kenyan county where two-thirds of residents live below the poverty line.

At least 11,000 displaced people, mainly women and children, are sheltering in temporary sites, mostly schools, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Others are being hosted by local communities.

"We could see lots of dead bodies along the way," said Halima Hussein, 28, a mother of three who fled Ethiopia and also has family members missing.

"We have suffered; our houses were torched, we have no food," she added.

AFP journalists on the Kenyan side of the border could still hear heavy artillery fire on Monday.

The Kenyan Red Cross said stray bullets had killed three people in Kenya and wounded 20 others.

The town of Moyale -- the scene of the clashes -- straddles the Kenya-Ethiopia border. By Tony KARUMBA (AFP)

"There's nobody (left) in that area, only the gunmen... exchanging bullets," said Beshir.

Borders between Ethiopia's regions, established under the 1991 constitution, are frequent flashpoints for violence.

Just weeks ago, fighting erupted in Tigray, hundreds of kilometres to the north, when rebels launched attacks on government forces.

Edward Bach, an Africa analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, warned that Ethiopia's federal government was neglecting the southern conflict as it focused on fighting in Tigray.

"This has exacerbated the clashes and facilitated the steady deterioration," Bach said.