A new conflict erupted in Ethiopia's south, compounding a nationwide crisis [16] that has already seen federal forces capture and occupy the northern Tigrayan capital of Mekelle last month. Sparked by an internal border dispute, the fighting in the south has forced up to 50,000 [17] people to flee across the border into Kenya. The clashes [18] were triggered on Oct. 20 when a Somali regional flag was raised in Moyale, a town on the Kenyan border that is jointly administered by Somali and Oromia regions.
Amid the fighting between Somali and Oromia security forces, more than 60 people [19] were killed in attacks on Orthodox Christians in Oromia region. These were blamed by the central government on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA)—part of a seven-member armed opposition coalition [21], the Alliance for Survival [22] (informally the Tsimido [23], Tigyana for "alliance"). The OLA denied involvement, but there has been a trend of sectarian attacks [24] in Oromia in a politicization of religious and ethnic identities [25]. The inhabitants of Oromia are a mix of Muslims, Protestants and Orthodox Christians, although the OLA is simply ethno-nationalist, with no sectarian affiliation.
Meanwhile, Russia has offered to mediate [26] between Ethiopia and Eritrea [27] over Ethiopia's expanding internal conflict—although that didn't stop Moscow selling advanced military hardware [28] to Addis Ababa. (TNH [29], Vatican News [30])
