Ethiopia says refugees have returned from Kenya, warns NGOs and media

The Command Post implementing a state of emergency in Ethiopia has said that majority of Ethiopians who fled the country following the army’s killing of civilians in Moyale town have returned to their villages from Kenya.

Over 8,000 civilians crossed into Kenya from Moyale, seeking asylum after a botched military operation left nine citizens dead.

A military team ostensibly dispatched to intercept a banned armed group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) members ended up acting on wrong intelligence leading to the incident. Activists, however, held that it was a deliberate government effort to sow insecurity.

The country’s police chief police chief, Assefa Abyou, on Monday told journalists that those who had fled would soon be repatriated.

In the statement announcing the return of citizens that had fled the country, the Command Post also warned that it would take action against humanitarian agencies and media that have been spreading baseless information by inflating the number of people who have fled to Kenya from the area.

“NGOs & media which have either their own or other anti-peace organizations agenda are spreading information that are baseless & far from the truth.”

Ambassador of Ethiopia to Kenya, Dina Mufti, told FBC that it is difficult for all sides to know the exact number of people who have crossed into Kenya from Moyale.