Ethiopia rehabilitates 86,000 displaced people by regional conflict

ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has rehabilitated 86,000 people displaced by conflict between Oromia and Somali regional states, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists, Negeri Lencho, Minister of Ethiopia Government Communications Affairs Office (GCAO), said the displaced were rehabilitated with the help of federal and regional government organs.

He further said a total of around 40 million U.S. dollars has been collected from state and private entities to rehabilitate the displaced.

"Federal and regional government officials are jointly working to calm the conflict and bring perpetrators to justice," said Lencho.

Oromia and Somali regional states have been locked in a dispute over the delineation of their common boundary for almost two decades.

A referendum in October 2004 was supposed to demarcate the boundary, but its implementation has been stalled with both sides accusing each other of non-compliance with the referendum results.

Fierce clashes along the Oromia-Somali boundary since September has escalated into ethnic violence, leaving scores of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The unrest is fueling fears about security in Ethiopia, east Africa's biggest economy. Enditem