Current Situation
In February 2021, ACLED records three incidents of armed clashes between Afar and Somali ethnic militias in Mille, Adaar, and Amibara woredas of Afar region. Intensified violence erupted again in April 2021.
Fighting between Afar and Somali regional forces and their associated militias reignited after the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) listed 30 polling stations in these three areas under the Somali regional state. When the Afar regional state disputed this decision,3 the NEBE decided to cancel the disputed polling stations and instead advised residents in the contested areas to register and vote in neighboring kebeles.4 The Somali regional government rejected NEBE’s decision and warned it would present “difficulties” for voters if these polling stations remained closed.5
Fighting triggered by this dispute from 2 to 6 April 2021 resulted in at least 100 reported fatalities.6 As the conflict intensified, so too did the dispute between warring parties with each accusing the other of instigating the violence. The Afar Regional State Communication Bureau claimed that soldiers from the Somali regional special forces attacked Hanruk, Gelano, and Gewane woredas from 2 to 6 April 2021. Meanwhile, the Somali Regional State Communication Bureau insisted that it was the Afar regional special forces, along with a militia – called Uguguma (ኡጉጉማ) – that attacked civilians in Deawdi, Kerefa, Deawdid, Gewrean, Kelale, and Denlehe kebeles.7
To resolve the conflict, the Ministry of Peace invited both parties to meet with participants from the country’s peace and security institutions for dialogue on 8 April 2021. Presidents of both regions attended the dialogue conference with their delegations. At the end of their discussion, both parties agreed to stop the violence, remove their respective forces from the disputed territory, and respect and abide by previous agreements. They also agreed to allow the federal government to investigate the latest round of conflict in order to identify the perpetrators of the recent violence.8 In May 2022, Afar and Somali regional states reached an agreement to remove their special forces from the disputed territory.9
Despite the peace agreement, violence has continued to erupt sporadically. Between May 2022 and April 2023, six armed clash events involving both parties were recorded in the disputed territory between the Somali and Afar regions.
Most of the violence along the Afar-Somali regional borders has involved the participation of Afar and Somali regional special forces. In April 2023, the Ethiopian federal government announced the integration of all regional special forces into other security sectors in the country, a move which could lead to a reduction of conflict (for more, see EPO weekly: 8-14 April 2023).