Conflict Continues in Ethiopia’s Moyale as Borana Abba Geda, Somali Elder Harden Stance to ‘Defend’ Territory

November 4, 2026 

The pictures show the route through Malka Mana Waaqaa, which the previous Borana Abba Geda crossed while travelling from Dire to Liban. The area has reportedly been blocked and militarized. The current Abba Geda is expected to travel through the same route in approximately a month as part of the customary Gada journey. Photo: Provided to Addis Standard

Addis Ababa – Clashes in Moyale and surrounding areas along the Oromia-Somali regional states border have continued in seven districts since the conflict erupted in Moyale town on October 18 following a dispute over the raising of a flag and the killing of a 13-year-old girl, with particularly heavy fighting in Areero district around the Dawa River basin, a river flowing within the Borana and Dawa zones of the Oromia and Somali regions, respectively.

The conflict, which has already caused casualties, displaced thousands and disrupted livelihoods, is also threatening to obstruct an important traditional journey of the Borana Gadaa institution, raising concerns among community leaders that the fighting could interfere with the Abba Geda’s scheduled migration from Dirree to Liban next month for customary rituals.

Borana Aba Gada Guyyoo Boruu told Addis Standard that heavy fighting had continued around Dawa River basin, particularly in areas locally known as Malkaa Mana Waaqaa and Eela Orbaa. He said the locations were important because they lie along the route through which the Abba Gaeda is expected to travel to the ritual grounds in Liban.

“We will defend ourselves against the attack launched upon our homeland until the last Borana son is left,” Guyyoo vowed.

His tone hardened when he alleged that the current fighting was part of a broader effort to encroach on Borana territory and disrupt the Gada institution’s traditional journey. “After they spent years preparing to wage war against us, they provoked us by planting a flag inside our land; furthermore, they killed our young girl who had not even fully experienced her youth,” he said.

A Somali elder from Dawa Zone, speaking to Addis Standard, disputed the Borana account of the territorial dispute, arguing that land belongs to the community that has historically settled there. He maintained that the dispute over the flag and questions of territorial identity had hardened his community’s position.

An elder from the Garii Somali clan offered a different account of the flag incident, saying the Somali flag had been displayed in Moyale for years without provoking similar confrontations. He said the latest flag-raising took place after the town mayor inaugurated a new office under a revised administrative structure.

“The Somali flag has been in Moyale for many years without raising any issues, and this flag was raised here as well because the mayor opened a new office as part of a new administrative structure,” he said.

The elder accused Borana residents of opposing the display of the Somali flag not only in Moyale but also in Goofaa, Layee, Qadaduma, Cilaanqoo and Udatti, extending toward Baanasaa. He insisted that the Garii clan considers the disputed areas its “ancestral territory” and would not surrender them.

“The Garii will not yield even a single meter of their land to the Oromo,” he said, adding that defending territorial boundaries was regarded as a religious obligation in Islamic tradition. He described the situation as increasingly critical.

The competing territorial claims have been accompanied by increasingly hardline rhetoric from both sides. Abba Geda Guyyoo said the ongoing conflict was markedly different from previous confrontations, citing the reported use of heavy weaponry and the movement of armed forces across the border, which he said had raised concerns even in neighboring Kenya.

“Our enemy has dug trenches, prepared food and water, and strategically occupied the Dawa river basin,” he said, arguing that removing the Somali flag from what he considers “Borana territory” was the only way to resolve the dispute.

The Garii elder, meanwhile, reiterated that his community would not “relinquish territory” it considers its own. “We will not relinquish any territory,” he said, warning that the confrontation could result in further loss of life.

The conflict has also disrupted efforts to maintain the traditional eight-year cycle of the Borana Geda system, under which the Abba Gada undertakes a customary journey to designated ritual grounds. Abba Gada Guyyoo said the fighting along the route could prevent the scheduled journey to Liban, an event of considerable cultural and institutional significance to the Borana community.

A Southern Oromia security official familiar with developments told Addis Standard that clashes were continuing and had intensified considerably during nighttime in Moyale town. The official also confirmed that the fighting had obstructed the route designated for the Abba Gada’s journey from Dirree to Liban.

The official alleged that preparations for the confrontation had included the advance construction of trenches around key locations, and said the developments threatened the traditional Gadaa journey.

These claims could not be independently verified by Addis Standard.

Attempts to contain the conflict through mediation have so far failed. Guyyoo said he had raised the matter with Oromia and federal authorities, as well as other stakeholders, but that no lasting solution had emerged.

The Garii elder said government security institutions on both sides were involved in attempting to manage the clashes and that the authorities had the power to stop the fighting. “Since the matter is being led from both sides by government security bodies, the government has the full authority to stop or continue the war; however, our objective is to defend our land,” he said.

The Southern Oromia zone security official separately told Addis Standard that efforts had been made to bring representatives of the two sides together at locations where federal military commanders were stationed. However, two attempts at mediated negotiations ended without an agreement, the official said.

With fighting continuing across multiple districts, the competing claims over territory and identity showing little sign of easing, the federal government keeping silent, and mediation efforts yet to produce an agreement, residents fear more clashes, displacement and a growing uncertainty over the prospect of their future.