29/07/02 Le conflit Afar / Issa en Ethiopie pourrait reprendre de façon alarmante. (Source IRIN / NU)

NDLR : Le conflit
Afar-Issa semble avoir pour origine des raisons de sécheresse.
C’est la première fois, semble-t-il, que les Afars s’enfoncent
aussi profondément dans la région Issa (Shinille se trouve
à coté de Dire-Dawa). Il est imaginable que les Issas se
sentent légitimement l’obligation de répliquer.

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U N I T E D
N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

ETHIOPIA:
Ethnic clashes worsening effects of drought

ADDIS ABABA, 29
July (IRIN) – Ethnic clashes have erupted between rival
groups fighting over scarce water sources in Ethiopia’s Afar Region and
surrounding areas, the UN Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE) has warned.

The Afar and the Issas
have clashed near the Awash River that runs through
their territory while searching for water, according to a report published
by the EUE.

The report states
that some 400 cattle were stolen by the Afar who launched
the attack on the Issas from Shinille zone in Somali Region.

Many clashes between
the groups are being sparked because of the drought
which has had a "devastating" impact on the pastoralists in
the region.
Children are also begging for water at the side of roads, according to
the
report by the EUE, whose mission was carried out in mid-July.

The clashes are worsening
the impact of the drought which has hit Afar
Region and surrounding areas including parts of Oromiya and Somali Regions.

Issa community leaders
told the EUE team that they would have to return to
the water points regardless of the risks if their cattle are to survive.

Conflict has also
meant that traditional watering holes have been left empty
because it is too dangerous to return to the Awash River and refill them.

"Following clashes,
many Somali pastoralists were forced to leave their
traditional water and grazing areas," the report said. "Without
secure
access to water, the very survival of the pastoral community’s livestock
is
threatened."

"Immediate political
solutions are essential to negotiate conflict
resolution between Afar and Issa communities over water and grazing lands,"
it stressed.

The EUE also called
on regional governments in the Afar and Somali Regions
to set up peace talks between clan elders.

Often the clashes
between ethnic groups – who are all nomadic pastoralists –
are triggered because they wander into each other’s territory in search
of
water or pasture.

The condition of livestock
in the region has also declined over the years.
The EUE said that camels, which could go for 15 to 20 days without water,
would now need to drink every three days.