ADDIS ABABA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Friday said ethnic clashes in Southern Ethiopia have left more than 68,000 people displaced.
UNOCHA said its working with officials from the 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 Oromos started on June 3, apparently over a long running dispute on the utilization of resources along the shared border of the two communities.
UNOCHA further said an unknown number of civilians have died along with substantial damage to private properties and to public infrastructures, including schools and health facilities has been reported in the clashes.
"Government security forces are deployed to the area to prevent the escalation of the conflict and for protection of civilians, but the situation remains tense," said UNOCHA.
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.
