ADDIS ABABA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Friday said ethnic clashes in Southern Ethiopia have displaced more than 200,000 people.
UNOCHA said it's working with officials from Southern regional state, home area of ethnic Gedeos and officials from Oromia regional state, home area of ethnic Oromos, to repatriate the internally displaced people, the office said in a statement.
Clashes between ethnic Gedeos and ethnic Oromos started on April 13, apparently over utilization of resources along the shared border of the two communities, the statement said.
As of May 1, 85,000 displaced people from both communities have returned to their homes, UNOCHA said, adding that further work is being undertaken to rehabilitate the remaining displaced people.
Ethiopia follows an ethnic federalism model, which has been credited with giving self-governance rights to the more than 80 ethnic groups that make up the country's estimated 100 million people.
However, critics say the model magnifies ethnic diversity at the expense of national unity, leading to occasional ethnic tension and clashes.
