Ethiopia Border Closed in Moyale Riots

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Hussein Salesa

18 May 2011

The Kenya-Ethiopia border remained closed yesterday following riots by Moyale resident protesting police failure to arrest four men who sexually assaulted a raped a 16-year-old girl. The border was closed to prevent a spillover of the riots into Ethiopia.

A man was hacked to death and two others went missing after the riots turned ugly with unidentified gunmen opening fire on the stone throwing protesters.

The Upper Eastern regional commissioner Nakoru Isaih said three of the four men who assaulted the teenage girl have been arrested and will be charged. Two women who lured the girl where the men were waiting have also been arrested.

Isaih said a team of police officers will continue patrolling the town to ensure there was no resurgence of violence. He also warned residents against taking the law into their hands and target members of the Burji community as they have been doing during the riots.

Isaih said the offence was a criminal offence committed by individuals and should not degenerate into a war between the Burji and Borana communities. ” We are not going to tolerate hooligans take advantage of the situation and loot, but we will ensure peaceful co-existence of communities in the area,” Isiah said. Tension remained high in the town as police attempted to retrieve some of the goods that had been stolen from the shops during the riots.

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