While the entire Somali region is facing a multitude of challenges, from periods of drought and flooding to violent conflict, the consequences have been particularly dire in Sitti Zone, Given its location, Sitti is a vital artery to export and import goods. The zone, formerly known as Shinile, is located in the northwestern part of Somali region…
It is bordered to the south by Dire Dawa and Oromia, to the west by the Afar, to the north by Djibouti, and to the east by Somaliland, Human suffering in the zone has included numerous massacres of civilians. As reported on SIMA TV in July 2022, more than 150,000 people have been displaced from the border between Afar and Somali regions into Sitti over the last three years.
Severe drought affecting the region has been accompanied by violent clashes with forces from Afar, which have been recurrent since 2019. Owing to these crises, the zone is currently experiencing a catastrophe.
Border conflicts
Border demarcation issues between the Somali region and Afar, its western neighbor, have deep historical roots. More recently, they have resulted in frequent eruptions of large-scale violence. Territorial contestations between the two neighboring kilils mainly concern the administration of a few villages and kebeles along the Djibouti-Addis Abeba highway.
When clashes occur, reciprocal accusations are made between Afar and Somali actors. Civilian residents are routinely targeted, as several incidents—like the calamitous 24 July 2021 raid by Afar regional forces on the town of Garba-Issa and its surroundings—indicate.
It is difficult to confirm the total number of people who have been killed over the past three years, but a local source estimates the figure to be around 1,300-1,500. The clashes are accompanied by actions targeted at dislodging residents, like burning homes, burying water wells, and raiding livestock, which lead to displacement.
Because most residents of these areas are ethnically Somali, they have sought refuge in the adjacent Sitti zone. To get a sense of the scale of the crisis, according to an August 2021 rapid inter-agency needs assessment carried out by UN agencies, around 32,000 people were displaced to western Sitti in the aftermath of the above mentioned episode alone.
