ISIOLO, 21 February (IRIN) - Ethiopian asylum-seekers, who have been camped near the Kenyan border town of Moyale, have urged the government to rescind an order forcing them to return to Ethiopia, saying they feared for their safety.

At least 1,000 people fled their homes along the Kenya-Ethiopia border and headed towards Moyale after a wave of violent conflict that left at least 11 people dead and scores injured on 9 February. Ever since they arrived, the 1,010 asylum-seekers have been camped in the open in Funyanyatta and Kinisa area, without assistance.

"I have never been a refugee before," said Hadija Diba, who gave birth a day before her village was attacked. "We left our country because of fighting. Many people were killed; our neighbours, relatives and friends. I am shocked [at the order] because we shall be killed."

Saying she was still in pain after giving birth then having to flee across the border to Kenya, she added: "I am worried and starving even though I am breastfeeding the child."

Molu Katelo, a Gabra elder at Funyanyatta, said: "Our lives are also important and equal to other people; we should not be forced to die."

The asylum-seekers were uprooted from their homes after fighting between Borana and Gabra pastoralists at Elbera grazing field in Ethiopia.

The killing of a herder on 19 February in Oda village on the outskirts of Moyale town caused more people to flee, heightening tension between the asylum-seekers and local residents, Molu Shampicha, a trader in the town, said.

But on Tuesday, the Kenyan government ordered them to return home. Moyale district commissioner Victor Okemo and the eastern provincial police officer, Jonathan Koskei, told the Ethiopians they had to leave immediately. "You have until noon tomorrow," Koskei said.

"The situation is bad, many people are moving away from their homes and grazing fields in Ethiopia because of the fighting," he said. "More people are leaving their homes in Oda … worried and confused because nobody is assisting them."

However, the Moyale district officer, Omar Beja, refuted the claims. Beja, who is coordinating the repatriation exercise, said the asylum-seekers were willing to go back and had been assured by the Ethiopian government the situation was calm and they should not be worried.

"We have not received any information to suggest that these people are not willing to go back," he told IRIN. "Ethiopian official were here [in Moyale] yesterday and assured them that necessary steps have been taken to protect them," said Beja.

Insisting that the group was preparing to leave, he added: "We have a lorry to ferry them back home and we are looking for one more truck after they requested an extra one."

Last week, residents of Moyale demonstrated against increasing insecurity, demanding that the state address the problem to enable pastoralists to live without fear along the border.

Pastoralists from Moyale and Marsabit frequently engage in violent conflicts over pasture and water. According to analysts, the conflict demonstrates competition between communities living in arid areas over scarce resources and inter-communal animosity exacerbated by political rivalry.

na/mw/eo

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