Gunfire heard across Ethiopia border as growing numbers flee into Kenya

Gunfire could be heard from the Ethiopian side of the border in Kenya’s town of Moyale on Friday morning, as people continued to flee violence into Kenya. An Associated Press journalist recorded the gunfire while filming from the Kenyan side of the border on Oct. 30.

The United Nations said Tuesday that 36,000 people had crossed into Kenya, as fighting near the border town of Moyale continues to displace civilians, mostly women and children. "More and more people are fleeing from their country and coming to our town," Benedict Munywoki, deputy county commissioner for Moyale Sub-County, told the AP.

The U.N. refugee agency, the International Organization for Migration and the Kenya Red Cross were working to provide medical care, food and shelter.

Ethiopian doctor Seifu Negash, who fled into Kenya, is volunteering with the Kenya Red Cross to treat fellow refugees. "We are facing a lot of challenges in Ethiopia and here in this refuge (camp) but I am treating people with the Kenya Red Cross voluntarily,” Negash said.

The fighting on the Ethiopian side of the border stems from a territorial dispute between the Oromia and Somali regional administrations, aggravated by the killing of a 13-year-old girl in an area administered by the Somali regional administration.

Local leaders in Kenya’s Marsabit County have appealed for support, warning that the arrivals could overwhelm communities already struggling with food and water shortages.