Ethiopia: News - 13-Year-Old Girl Killed After Flag Dispute in Borana's Moyale - Protesters Block Transport Services
A 13-year-old girl is dead after gunfire broke out in Moyale town, in the Borana zone of Oromia, on October 18. The violence started when Somali regional forces and Oromia local militias exchanged fire following the opening of a new Somali Region administration office and the raising of its flag in the town.
Residents told Addis Standard that the fallout from the shooting did not stop there. Protests erupted in response to the killing, and by Monday demonstrators had disrupted transport services across the area and forced local businesses to shut their doors.
Moyale sits at a historically contested border between the Oromia and Somali regional states, and a flag raised over a new administration office was enough to ignite a confrontation that cost a child her life. What happens next in that town is a question the communities living there cannot afford to leave unanswered.
Originally published by AllAfrica.