More than 50,000 displaced by deadly Ethiopia border clashes

Moyale, Kenya – When Hawa Hassan fled her home in Ethiopia’s Moyale area, she left almost everything behind. Her house was burned during the violence, she said. But one memory has stayed with her: a 13-year-old girl shot while sitting near a wall. Hassan said the girl had not touched a flag, a detail she raised while describing tensions over flag displays in the disputed border area.

Her account of the killing could not be independently verified. The journey into Kenya was brutal. Hassan told Al Jazeera that some women gave birth while fleeing, and that families arrived without food, cooking utensils or bedding. Newborn babies were sleeping on bare floors.

Diarrhoea was spreading, while families feared malaria as mosquitoes multiplied. For many, crossing the border has meant escaping gunfire only to face another struggle: finding food and shelter. The arrivals are also stretching Kenyan communities. Families that opened their homes are sharing scarce supplies, even as some worry the violence could reach their own neighbourhoods.