Turkana Clashes Kill 30, Displace Thousands

Violent clashes between communities residing on either side of the Ethio-Kenya border resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people in late February, while 10,000 Ethiopians were forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting.

Information obtained from ReliefWeb, a humanitarian information service provider by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reveals that violence erupted between the residents of Southern Ethiopia’s Dassanech Woreda and Kenya’s Turkana County on February 20, 2025, when two Ethiopian fishermen were killed and another injured during an attack by Kenyan militias from Turkana County.

“In response, armed militias from the Dassanech community launched a counter-attack two days later in the Lopemukat common waters of Lake Turkana near Todenyang in Turkana County, resulting in confrontations with Kenyan national police reservists” reads a report on ReliefWeb.

The ensuing clash resulted in the death of at least 20 Kenyan fishermen, while several others were injured. Eight Ethiopians lost their lives as well, according to the report.

The attackers took possession of boats, firearms, and fishing gear before fleeing. Kenyan security forces recovered some of the stolen items, including a motorbike, and returned six individuals from the Dassanech community to Ethiopia.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, Ethiopian local government reportedly apprehended 32 Kenyans who had been fishing in the Ethiopian part of Lake Turkana, confiscating five boats. The detained fishermen were released and sent back to Kenya on the same day, according to the report.

Nonetheless, the violent disputes continued for several days, and February 23 saw a retaliatory attack from Turkana ethnic militias in the Ediboron and ToltenaLebamukit kebeles of Dassanech Woreda, resulting in clashes with pastoralists.

The fighting lasted two days, claiming 13 more lives and injuring two more on the Ethiopian side.

Thousands of civilians were forced to evacuate their homes and residents reported that the aggressors also stole six boats, fishing equipment, and half a million dried fish, among other things.

Local authorities from both sides noted that the conflict stemmed from the theft of boats, tents, and fish from the Ethiopian side of Turkana Lake, according to the humanitarian information service provider.

The Lake, which both communities share, straddles the border between the two countries and reports of clashes over grazing land and cattle rustling are common.