For Ethiopian mothers sheltering in Kenya, safety brings a struggle to feed their children

MOYALE, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian mothers who fled fighting into Kenya have found safety but are struggling to feed their children, relying on communal meals and sleeping on floors as more families cross the border seeking help.

The families are fleeing fighting between Somali and Oromo communities in southern Ethiopia. The violence stems from a longstanding territorial dispute between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional administrations and has driven tens of thousands of people across the border into Kenya.

“We came here on foot late in the night, running for our lives, and arrived with very little,” said Shukria Dalacha, 26, whose daughter, Sijra Bonaiyo, was five days old when they crossed the border. “We do not have the means to sustain our families.”

For Dalacha, reaching safety has meant sleeping on the floor and relying on rice and beans provided to families awaiting registration. She said she was struggling to produce enough breast milk and worried about feeding her newborn.

The border violence adds to Ethiopia’s wider instability, including renewed fighting in Tigray and an insurgency in Amhara. Seven opposition groups formed an alliance in September seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

The 2020-2022 war in northern Tigray caused about 500,000 civilian deaths from violence, famine and the collapse of health services, according to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium.

Conflict has also left communities less able to withstand drought. A September assessment by regional and federal disaster authorities and humanitarian partners estimated that 3.9 million people in Tigray would need emergency food assistance through December. It said displacement, restricted access to farmland and disrupted livelihoods were compounding the impact of poor rains.

Families continued arriving during a visit to Moyale by The Associated Press. Hundreds crowded registration areas at reception points, waiting to be counted and gain access to household rations and basic supplies. In one Kenyan host’s home, 30 displaced people shared a single room for sleeping.

Kerko Mohammed, 70, said she fled with her family after gunfire struck the walls of their home during fighting between Somali and Oromo communities in Ethiopia.

“We had no choice but to escape, and in the process, we suddenly became homeless,” she said.

A Kenyan host had provided food and water, Mohammed said, but the household had limited money.

The arrivals have added pressure in Kenya’s Marsabit County, where local leaders had already warned that food and water shortages could leave communities struggling to accommodate those fleeing Ethiopia.

At the Al-Huda temporary camp, aid workers registered arrivals and distributed basic supplies. Families of six ate together from a single round aluminum tray. Others lay on the floor.

UNHCR and local authorities say registration helps identify displaced families and establish their needs. Registered families receive household food rations and basic supplies. Those awaiting registration, as well as families staying with Kenyan hosts, can receive communal meals at protection sites.

Henok Ochalla, a senior emergency coordinator with the U.N. refugee agency, said aid workers were providing meals at reception points and distributing blankets, sleeping mats, drinking water and mosquito nets. Pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under 5 particularly needed medical care and nutrition support.

UNHCR had profiled about 14,000 people by Nov. 6 to establish their needs, he said. That was not a total count of arrivals. In late October, the agency cited local authorities’ estimate that up to 50,000 people had crossed into Kenya. Registration and verification were continuing.

The agency said it had appealed for $8.9 million to assist those fleeing into Kenya but did not say how much it had received.

“With the limited capacity in terms of financial resources that we have, we will not be able to respond to a larger population,” Ochalla said.

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